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The Sniper

  • 1952
  • Approved
  • 1h 28m
IMDb RATING
7.1/10
3.5K
YOUR RATING
Geraldine Carr, Marlo Dwyer, Arthur Franz, and Marie Windsor in The Sniper (1952)
Official Trailer
Play trailer2:17
1 Video
51 Photos
CrimeDramaFilm-Noir

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

  • Director
    • Edward Dmytryk
  • Writers
    • Harry Brown
    • Edna Anhalt
    • Edward Anhalt
  • Stars
    • Arthur Franz
    • Adolphe Menjou
    • Gerald Mohr
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    7.1/10
    3.5K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Edward Dmytryk
    • Writers
      • Harry Brown
      • Edna Anhalt
      • Edward Anhalt
    • Stars
      • Arthur Franz
      • Adolphe Menjou
      • Gerald Mohr
    • 57User reviews
    • 46Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 1 Oscar
      • 2 nominations total

    Videos1

    The Sniper
    Trailer 2:17
    Watch The Sniper

    Photos51

    Geraldine Carr, Marlo Dwyer, Arthur Franz, and Marie Windsor in The Sniper (1952)
    The Sniper (1952)
    Dudley Dickerson and Arthur Franz in The Sniper (1952)
    Marlene Lyden in The Sniper (1952)
    Danny Mummert and Adolphe Menjou in The Sniper (1952)
    Robin Raymond in The Sniper (1952)
    Mabel Paige in The Sniper (1952)
    Mabel Paige in The Sniper (1952)
    Geraldine Carr in The Sniper (1952)
    Marie Windsor in The Sniper (1952)
    Paul Dubov, Charles Lane, Jay Novello, and Marie Windsor in The Sniper (1952)
    Frank Faylen in The Sniper (1952)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Arthur Franz
    Arthur Franz
    • Edward Miller
    Adolphe Menjou
    Adolphe Menjou
    • Police Lt. Frank Kafka
    Gerald Mohr
    Gerald Mohr
    • Police Sgt. Joe Ferris
    Marie Windsor
    Marie Windsor
    • Jean Darr
    Frank Faylen
    Frank Faylen
    • Police Insp. Anderson
    Richard Kiley
    Richard Kiley
    • Dr. James G. Kent
    Mabel Paige
    Mabel Paige
    • Landlady
    Marlo Dwyer
    Marlo Dwyer
    • May Nelson
    Geraldine Carr
    • Checker
    Fred Aldrich
    Fred Aldrich
    • Man at Line-Up
    • (uncredited)
    John H. Algate
    • Man
    • (uncredited)
    Jessie Arnold
    Jessie Arnold
    • Woman
    • (uncredited)
    Walter Bacon
    • Passerby On Sidewalk
    • (uncredited)
    Alice Bartlett
    • Woman
    • (uncredited)
    Harry Bechtel
    • Man
    • (uncredited)
    Lilian Bond
    Lilian Bond
    • Mrs. Fitzpatrick
    • (uncredited)
    Gail Bonney
    Gail Bonney
    • Woman at Darr Murder Scene
    • (uncredited)
    John Bradley
    • Rookie Cop
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Edward Dmytryk
    • Writers
      • Harry Brown
      • Edna Anhalt
      • Edward Anhalt
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • 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".
    • Goofs
      Late in the film, Eddie is seen crouched and targeting for a kill shot by a smokestack painter. The latter throws his pail of white paint onto the street below to get the attention of the people who could not hear him and the pail and its contents splatter on the ground. After Eddie shoots the man and the camera returns to the street, the pavement is unmarred.
    • 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.

    • 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.
    • Connections
      Edited into The Green Fog (2017)
    • Soundtracks
      Pennies from Heaven
      (uncredited)

      Music by Arthur Johnston

      Words by Johnny Burke (1936)

      Played by Marie Windsor in piano bar

    User reviews57

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    7/10
    Compact thriller with good San Fransisco location shots...
    THE SNIPER reminds me of a more compact, more personal look at a psycho killer than THE NAKED CITY, which it resembles in style and content.

    ARTHUR FRANZ gets his big break here, a starring role in a well-written thriller about a serial killer who wishes he could stop killing, if the police would only catch him. The final scene is a summation of that wish, but almost seems like a letdown after all the build-up to what we presume would be a bloody climax (if directed by someone like today's Martin Scorsese).

    Franz's trouble is that he looks too much like any clean-cut, normal, handsome young man and his looks work against the grain of the role. He's intense when he has to be, but lacks the intenseness of a James Dean or even a Dane Clark as the man given to sudden outbursts of temper and a psyche that is screaming for help and attention. He's good, but never manages to be better than his material. Think of what someone like DANIEL CRAIG would do with this role today.

    MARIE WINDSOR does a nice job as a glamorous night club pianist who has the young man (who works as an errand boy for the local cleaners) as a sort of friend she trusts. Her walk through an almost deserted looking San Francisco at night, down hilly streets on the way to her workplace, is photographed with noir precision and style, as is most of the film. Neat use of San Francisco's hilly environment is a constant point of interest throughout.

    ADOLPHE MENJOU is not quite as colorful as Barry Fitzgerald was in THE NAKED CITY, playing a detective determined to catch the serial killer before he strikes again. MABEL PAIGE does a nice job as Franz's landlady who talks to her black and white cat as though it was her own dear child, and GERALD MOHR is briskly efficient as a psychiatrist who thinks the police are going about their search the wrong way.

    Wonderfully photographed in B&W shadowy photography, it's a compact and efficient film noir that is perhaps a little too restrained in dealing with frank subject matter but nevertheless gets its points across with chilling clarity, thanks to a tight script and some good suspenseful footage.

    Summing up: Stands on its own as a good thriller from the early '50s.
    helpful•32
    8
    • Doylenf
    • Feb 27, 2007

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • June 6, 1952 (Canada)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Снайпер
    • Filming locations
      • Telegraph Hill, San Francisco, California, USA
    • Production company
      • Stanley Kramer Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 28 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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    Geraldine Carr, Marlo Dwyer, Arthur Franz, and Marie Windsor in The Sniper (1952)
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