''The Sniper'' is a 1952 American

film noir Film noir (; ) is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of American ' ...

, directed by

Edward Dmytryk Edward Dmytryk (September 4, 1908 – July 1, 1999) was an American film director. He was known for his 1940s films noir, noir films and received an Academy Award for Best Director, Oscar nomination for Best Director for ''Crossfire (film), Cros ...

, written by Harry Brown and based on a story by Edna and

Edward Anhalt Edward Anhalt (March 28, 1914 – September 3, 2000) was an American screenwriter, producer, and documentary filmmaker. After working as a journalist and documentary filmmaker for Pathé and CBS-TV, he teamed with his wife Edna Anhalt, one of h ...

. The film features

Adolphe Menjou 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'', where he played the lead role; Stanley Ku ...

Arthur Franz Arthur Sofield Franz (February 29, 1920 – June 17, 2006) was an American actor whose most notable feature film role was as Lieutenant, Junior Grade, H. Paynter Jr. in ''The Caine Mutiny (film), The Caine Mutiny'' (1954). Early life Franz ...

Gerald Mohr Gerald Mohr (June 11, 1914 – November 9, 1968) was an American radio, film, and television character actor and frequent leading man, who appeared in more than 500 radio plays, 73 films, and over 100 television shows. Early years Mohr wa ...

and

Marie Windsor Marie Windsor (born Emily Marie Bertelsen; December 11, 1919 – December 10, 2000) was an American actress known for her femme fatale characters in the classic film noir features ''Force of Evil'', ''The Narrow Margin'' and '' The Killing''. Wi ...

. The film marks Dmytryk's return to directing after he had first been named to the

Hollywood blacklist The Hollywood blacklist was an entertainment industry blacklist, broader than just Hollywood, put in effect in the mid-20th century in the United States during the early years of the Cold War. The blacklist involved the practice of denying emplo ...

and had a jail term for

contempt of Congress Contempt of Congress is the act of obstructing the work of the United States Congress or one of its committees. Historically, the bribery of a U.S. senator or U.S. representative was considered contempt of Congress. In modern times, contempt of Co ...

. He chose to testify in April 1951, and named fellow members of leftist organizations from his brief time with the

Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A ...

. Afterward he went into political exile in England for a time. Producer

Stanley Kramer Stanley Earl Kramer (September 29, 1913February 19, 2001) was an American film director and producer, responsible for making many of Hollywood's most famous "message picture, message films" (he would call his movies ''heavy dramas'') and a libera ...

was the first to hire him again as a director. The film was shot on location in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

, though the city is not named in the film.

Plot

Eddie Miller (

), a delivery man, struggles with his hatred of women. This hatred is exacerbated if he feels drawn to a woman who turns out to be unattainable; he tends to see this as a personal affront. Also, he is especially bothered when he sees women with their significant others. Miller knows he is disturbed and, out of despair, burns himself by pressing his right hand to an electric stove. The doctor treating him in an emergency room suspects he might need psychological help, but gets too busy to follow through. Miller begins a killing spree as a

sniper A sniper is a military/paramilitary marksman who engages targets from positions of concealment or at distances exceeding the target's detection capabilities. Snipers generally have specialized training and are equipped with high-precision r ...

by shooting women from far distances with an

M1A1 carbine The M1 carbine (formally the United States Carbine, Caliber .30, M1) is a lightweight semi-automatic carbine that was a standard firearm for the U.S. military during World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. The M1 carbine was produced ...

. Trying to be caught, he writes an anonymous letter to the police begging them to stop him. As the killings continue, a psychologist has the keys (early

criminal profiling Offender profiling, also known as criminal profiling, is an investigative strategy used by law enforcement agencies to identify likely suspects and has been used by investigators to link cases that may have been committed by the same perpetrator ...

techniques) to finding the killer. The film is unusual in that its ending is non-violent, despite its genre and expectations raised throughout.

Cast

as Police Lt. Frank Kafka *

as Edward "Eddie" Miller *

as Police Sgt. Joe Ferris *

as Jean Darr *

Frank Faylen Frank Faylen (born Charles Francis Ruf, December 8, 1905 – August 2, 1985) was an American film and television actor. Largely a bit player and character actor, he occasionally played more fleshed-out supporting roles during his forty-two ...

as Police Insp. Anderson *

Richard Kiley Richard Paul Kiley (March 31, 1922 – March 5, 1999) was an American stage, film and television 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 Musical. Kiley ...

as Dr. James G. Kent *

Lilian Bond Lilian Bond (January 18, 1908 – January 25, 1991) was an English-American actress based in the United States. Life and career Bond was born in London and made her first professional stage appearance at the age of 14 in the pantomime ''Dic ...

as Mrs. Fitzpatrick *

Mabel Paige Mabel Paige (December 19, 1880 – February 9, 1954) was an American stage and film actress. Early years Paige began acting at age four, when she appeared in ''Van, the Virginian''. Career When she was 11 years old, Paige began acting ...

as Landlady * Marlo Dwyer as May Nelson *

Geraldine Carr Geraldine Carr (January 10, 1914 – September 2, 1954) was an American film and television actress. She was best-known as Mabel in 30 episodes of the American situation comedy ''I Married Joan''. Life and career Carr started her career in ...

as Checker *

Wally Cox Wallace Maynard Cox (December 6, 1924 – February 15, 1973) was an American actor. He began his career as a standup comedian and then became the title character of the popular early U.S. television series ''Mister Peepers'' from 1952 to 19 ...

as Laundry Worker * Charles Lane as drunk in a bar *

Jean Willes Jean Willes (born Jean Donahue; April 15, 1923 – January 3, 1989) was an American film and television actress. She appeared in approximately 65 films in her 38-year career. Early years Willes was born Jean Donahue In Los Angeles. She spent pa ...

as passerby on sidewalk *

Karen Sharpe Karen Kay Sharpe (born September 20, 1934) is an American film and television actress. She is known for playing Laura Thomas in the American western television series ''Johnny Ringo''. Life and career Sharpe was born in San Antonio, Texas, th ...

as unnamed teenager on drugstore stool

Production background

Producer

was the first to hire Dmytryk as a director after his encounters with the

House Un-American Activities Committee The House Committee on Un-American Activities (HCUA), popularly dubbed the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), was an investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives, created in 1938 to investigate alleged disloy ...

(HUAC) and testifying in 1951. For first refusing to testify, Dmytryk was named as one of the "Hollywood Ten", barred from work in the film industry and jailed for

. In April 1951 he changed his mind and testified, both about his brief time with the

and naming fellow members of leftist organizations. Afterward he went into a short political exile in England. The film's comparatively comprehensive outdoor footage of 1952

remains unsurpassed in variety for a narrative film. Many of the film's outdoor scenes were shot in the

Telegraph Hill A telegraph hill is a hill or other natural elevation that is chosen as part of an optical telegraph system. Telegraph Hill may also refer to: England * A high point in the Haldon Hills, Devon * Telegraph Hill, Dorset, a hill in the Dorset Down ...

area. One scene not shot in San Francisco, although it purports to be Playland at the Beach, was actually filmed at

The Pike ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

amusement park in

Long Beach Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

Reception

Critical response

Critic

Bosley Crowther Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though his ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' gave the drama a mixed review when it opened, writing:

"Therefore, ''The Sniper'' develops, as it casually gets along, into nothing more forceful or impressive than a moderately fascinating "chase." The kick-off murder of a sultry saloon singer, whom Marie Windsor plays, is ticklishly enacted, and the dragnet thrown out by the police, headed by a clean-shaved Adolphe Menjou, is interesting to observe. Frank Faylen, Gerald Mohr and Richard Kiley also contribute to the pace as assorted police factotums and the real San Francisco building and streets used for locales of the picture give it authority. But the menace and understanding of the sex fiend hopefully implied in the foreword to the picture are never clearly revealed."

British

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

's wrote in its 2008 review,

"A little dated now, especially the nervous documentary-style camera work which soon outstays its welcome, ''The Snipers thriller mechanics nevertheless work efficiently, while Franz's psycho is uncannily convincing."

Awards

Nomination *

25th Academy Awards The 25th Academy Awards were held on March 19, 1953 at the RKO Pantages Theatre in Hollywood, and the NBC International Theatre in New York City, to honor the films of 1952. It was the first Oscars ceremony to be televised, the first ceremony ...

Academy Award for Best Story The Academy Award for Best Story was an Academy Award given from the beginning of the Academy Awards until 1956. This award can be a source of confusion for modern audiences, given its co-existence with the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenpl ...

Edna Anhalt Edna Anhalt (born Edna Thompson) was an American screenwriter, television writer, and film producer. Together with then-husband Edward Anhalt, she enjoyed some considerable success in a 10-year stretch from 1947 to her retirement in 1957. This ...

and

; 1952.

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sniper 1952 films 1950s psychological thriller films American black-and-white films American psychological thriller films Columbia Pictures films 1950s English-language films Film noir Films scored by George Antheil Films directed by Edward Dmytryk Films set in San Francisco Films shot in San Francisco Police detective films Films about snipers Films produced by Stanley Kramer Films with screenplays by Harry Brown (writer) 1950s police procedural films Films with screenplays by Edward Anhalt Films with screenplays by Edna Anhalt 1950s American films