The Sniper (1952)

★ 6.7 1h 28m IMDb
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Eddie Miller struggles with his hatred of women, he's especially bothered by seeing women with their lovers. He starts a killing spree as a sniper by shooting women from far distances. In an attempt to get caught, he writes an anonymous letter to the police begging them to stop him.

The Sniper

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Cast

Arthur Franz
Arthur Franz as Eddie Miller Died 2006 · Perth Amboy, New Jersey, USA Arthur Franz (February 29, 1920 in Perth Amboy, New Jersey – June 17, 2006) was a B-movie actor whose most notable role was as Lieutenant, Junior Grade H. Paynter, Jr. in The Caine Mutiny.
Adolphe Menjou
Adolphe Menjou as Frank Kafka Died 1963 · Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA Adolphe Jean Menjou (February 18, 1890 – October 29, 1963) was an American actor. His career spanned both silent films and talkies. He appeared in such films as Charlie Chaplin's A Woman of Paris, whe...
Gerald Mohr
Gerald Mohr as Joe Ferris Died 1968 · New York City, New York, USA Gerald Mohr was an American radio, film and television character actor who appeared in more than 500 radio plays, 73 films and over 100 television shows. Born in New York City, he was educated in Dwi...
Marie Windsor
Marie Windsor as Jean Darr Died 2000 · Marysvale, Utah, USA From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Marie Windsor (born Emily Marie Bertelsen; December 11, 1919 – December 10, 2000) was an actress known as "The Queen of the Bs" because she appeared in so many B...
Frank Faylen
Frank Faylen as Anderson Died 1985 · Saint Louis, Missouri, USA Frank Faylen (born Francis Charles Ruf) was an American stage, screen, and television actor. He is best remembered for his movie performances as the cynical male nurse in The Lost Weekend (1945) and E...
Richard Kiley
Richard Kiley as James G. Kent Died 1999 · Chicago, Illinois, USA Richard Paul Kiley (March 31, 1922 – March 5, 1999) was an American actor and singer. He is best known for his distinguished theatrical career in which he twice won the Tony Award for Best Actor In A...

Audience Reviews

John Chard 8/10 Apr 24, 2014
You must stop me before I do it again.

"High among police problems is that of the sex criminal, responsible last year alone for offences which victimised 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"

Produced by Stanley Kramer, directed by Edward Dmytryk and photographed by Burnett Guffey. Those three things were enough to make me positively desperate to see this film at the earliest opportunity, what I hadn't counted on, and what a true surprise it was too, was just what a taut and tightly scripted picture it is. Written by Edward and Edna Anhalt, who were academy award nominated for their efforts, The Sniper has an edgy griminess to it that itches away at the skin. It's not that the violence is particularly harsh, because it isn't and it's simply executed, it's that our protagonist Edward 'Eddie' Miller is on the surface a normal every day Joe, someone who may be living in our respective neighbourhoods.

This is one of those films that, and I disagree with some of my fellow reviewers on the net, is as relevant today as it was back in 1952. Problems of not recognising psychotic tendencies do still way lay our respective societies, the police and medical staff do still have problems nipping in the bud potential street walking maniacs from being in our midst. Here we get Arthur Franz ("Sands of Iwo Jima" & "The Caine Mutiny") as Miller brilliantly essaying a mind fragmenting by the day, his hatred of women born from some dark place long back in his childhood. Even little girls on the street bring him out in a sweat, as a mother slaps her child, Miller feels the burn on his very own face as well. Some scenes linger once the film has long since finished, a chimney stack shooting or a fair ground sequence as Miller's built up frenzy rises to the surface, all brilliantly put together by Dmytryk and Guffey, with the latter's work in and around San Francisco very impressive. Fleshing out the cast with impacting results is Adolphe Menjou, Gerald Mohr, Marie Windsor, Frank Faylen & Richard Kiley.

It's a fabulous character study that also excellently brings notice to the plight of police procedural matters on a case such as this. No this film isn't some sex maniac shocker that defined a genre, it is however an important film in many ways. The themes that it highlights are not to be ignored, and for 1952 this film to me has to be seen as a landmark of sorts, certainly its influence can be found in many a similar films that followed further on down the line. Finally, because it's largely unseen, it's now available on DVD (excellent print), so hopefully more people can get to see this highly recommended film. A film that may be beautiful to look at, but most assuredly is very very dark in thematics. 8/10

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