The Sniper (1952)

A sniper kills young brunettes as the police attempt to grapple with the psychology of the unknown assailant.

Director:

Edward Dmytryk

Writers:

Harry Brown (screen play), Edna Anhalt (story)

Stars:

Arthur Franz, Adolphe Menjou, Gerald Mohr

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Adolphe Menjou	...	Police Lt. Frank Kafka
Arthur Franz	...	Edward Miller
Gerald Mohr	...	Police Sgt. Joe Ferris
Marie Windsor	...	Jean Darr
Frank Faylen	...	Police Insp. Anderson
Richard Kiley	...	Dr. James G. Kent
Mabel Paige	...	Landlady
Marlo Dwyer	...	May Nelson
Geraldine Carr	...	Checker

Storyline

Apparently rejected by women all his life, a loner with a high-power rifle starts on a trail of murder. The police are baffled by the apparently random killings until their psychologist comes up with some ideas.

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Plot Keywords:

serial murder | san francisco california | long range rifle | obsession | 1950s | 

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Taglines:

To the police - stop me. Find me and stop me. I'm going to do it again.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Film-Noir | Thriller

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Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

Arthur Franz showed up to the interview with just producer Stanley Kramer, but Kramer was so impressed he called in director Edward Dmytryk, and both thought Franz was right for the Eddie Miller part.

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Goofs

Miller takes a full beer out of the refrigerator and takes one sip, but in the next shot, 80% of the bottle is empty.

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Quotes

Police Photographer: [Referring to photographing the dead body] How about one with the sheet off, Lieutenant? Just one, that's all.
Police Lt. Frank Kafka: Not a chance!
Police Photographer: Why not? What's the matter?
Police Lt. Frank Kafka: Listen, food's too expensive to spoil people's appetite for breakfast. I wouldn't want a dead girl on my front page.
Police Photographer: You've got one anyway.
Police Lt. Frank Kafka: I don't like dead girls on the front page or anywhere else.
Police Sgt. Joe Ferris: [Interjecting] Should've been with me last night. You wouldn't have liked a couple of live ones. I had a lot of trouble last night.

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Crazy Credits

A word about the picture which follows: High among police problems is that of the sex criminal, responsible last year alone for offenses which victimized 31,175 women. Adequate and understanding laws do not exist. Law enforcement is helpless. Here, in terms of one case, is the story of a man whose enemy was womankind.

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Connections

Edited into The Green Fog (2017)

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Soundtracks

Pennies from Heaven
(uncredited)
Music by Arthur Johnston
Words by Johnny Burke (1936)
Played by Marie Windsor in piano bar

User Reviews

It's not Ducks He's Shooting

The trouble is Eddie Miller (Arthur Franz) just can't keep himself from shooting women. Plus, he does it from a distance with a sniper's rifle which makes him doubly hard to catch. Today, the sex angle would likely be played up, turning him into a serial rapist. Here, however, his sick motivation looks more like pure rage than sexual desire. Everywhere he goes, he's either humiliated or rejected by women. He's attractive enough (probably too much so to be credible), but he has a personality problem. In short, Eddie simply can't accept himself as a deliveryman; instead, he builds himself up with obvious exaggerations to impress strangers, such that when pretty barfly May Nelson approaches, he ends up offending her with wild stories. Like Psycho's Norman Bates, the problem probably goes all the way back to Mom.

It's certainly a very watchable movie. The San Francisco locations are used to great effect-- the cops surveilling downtown rooftops from on high sets up a marvelous panoramic look at the city. Then too, the smokestack scene with its human fly amounts to pure cinematic magic. A problem in the film lies with too much obviousness where a lighter hand is needed. Thus, when Eddie goes on a little downtown stroll, he doesn't encounter just one woman-caused frustration, but a whole heavy-handed series of them. Too bad, because we get the idea early on that petty annoyances involving women amount to major injuries in Eddie's twisted world. Then there's the let's- hit-you-over-the-head-in-case-you-don't-get-it last scene; it's about as necessary as strip-poker at a nudist colony. Still and all, the movie's heart is in the right place, even if it appears made at times for the slow-witted.

One big benefit for 50's-era fans is cult favorite Marie Windsor in a low-cut evening gown, purring her seductive lines to Eddie even as she exploits him to the hilt. What a great cameo from a really unusual actress.Too bad their scene together comes so early because it's a pip and a movie high point. Speaking of film eras, compare the themes and locations of this movie (1951) with the cinematically similar, Vietnam-era Dirty Harry (1971). Tellingly, the hopeful reformism that Kramer&Co. plead for in Sniper has been replaced by a kind of hopeless vigilantism where Harry (Clint Eastwood) ends up rejecting city hall, killing the sniper, and throwing away his policeman's badge. Mark it down to what you will, but the change-over is pretty stark and startling. Anyway, this little B-film created quite a stir at the time and remains an interesting piece of movie history, well worth thinking about

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 August 1952 (Denmark)

Also Known As:

The Sniper

Filming Locations:

Telegraph Hill, San Francisco, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Stanley Kramer Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1