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:

They were all brunettes... all under 30... and they all crossed the path of "THE SNIPER"

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Film-Noir | Thriller

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 August 1952 (Denmark)

Also Known As:

El Francotirador

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

After making this film, Adolphe Menjou, a very vocal anti-communist, was asked why he chose to work with director Edward Dmytryk, who had been imprisoned and blacklisted for his communist sympathies. Menjou replied, "Because I'm a whore".

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Goofs

In Mayors office with Liddele, the of the street (Van Ness Avenue), there is an electric bus and people waiting at the crosswalk in the picture they used for outside of the window. Obviously, the Bus nor people ever move.

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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

References Raiders of Tomahawk Creek (1950)

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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

A taut psychological study--pioneer of its genre.

This is a sleeper's sleeper--rarely seen, and difficult to rent on video and even harder to rent on 16mm. An opening letterbox announces "The Sniper" as a study of one man's violence against women. From there on, it does all of that in a highly charged, suspenseful storytelling style. This movie was shot on location in San Francisco, and the closing "chase" sequence--odd and highly symbolic concerning what ails the killer--is classic. This writer interviewed the director (Edward Dmytryk) about this and other scenes in "The Sniper", and though the interview was done in 1994 (Dmytryk was 80+ at that time) his artistic recall of "The Sniper" impressed. At that time, he had never been interviewed about that movie since its release. Arthur Franz played the killer, doing a wonderful job. And overall, the writing and acting in "The Sniper" is tight and extremely convincing. The opening shot of "The Sniper" catches you up in the plight of both the public at large, and the killer--and from there, it is quite a ride. Yet "The Sniper" is more than entertainment--it is indeed a classic early study of violence against women (With Richard Kiley playing the psychiatrist). If you can rent this--get it!