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The Sniper (1952)

Approved  |   |  Crime, Drama, Thriller  |  9 May 1952 (USA)
7.1
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Ratings: 7.1/10 from 1,551 users  
Reviews: 38 user | 24 critic

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

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(screenplay), (story), 1 more credit »
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Title: The Sniper (1952)

The Sniper (1952) on IMDb 7.1/10

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Cast

Cast overview:
...
Police Lt. Frank Kafka
Arthur Franz ...
Eddie Miller
...
Police Sgt. Joe Ferris
...
Jean Darr
...
Police Insp. Anderson
...
Dr. James G. Kent
Mabel Paige ...
Landlady
Marlo Dwyer ...
May Nelson
Geraldine Carr ...
Checker
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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. Written by Jeremy Perkins {J-26}

Plot Summary | Add Synopsis

Plot Keywords:

police | rifle | killing | sniper | murder | See All (190) »

Taglines:

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

Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Certificate:

Approved | See all certifications »
Edit

Details

Country:

Language:

Release Date:

9 May 1952 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

El Francotirador  »

Company Credits

Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

(Westrex Recording System)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1
See  »
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Did You Know?

Trivia

Film debut of Karen Sharpe. See more »

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. See more »

Quotes

Police Sgt. Joe Ferris: No word from the boyfriend yet?
Police Lt. Frank Kafka: He'll probably turn up as soon as he reads the papers. From what I know about musicians, they're not so neat when they want to get rid of their dames.
See more »

Connections

Referenced in America's Sweethearts (2001) See more »

Soundtracks

Plaisir D'Amour
(uncredited)
Composed by Johann Martini (as Jean-Paul Egide Martini)
Played by Marie Windsor in piano bar
See more »

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User Reviews

another rare and excellent noir travelogue
2 December 2004 | by (British Columbia) – See all my reviews

Someone previously has mentioned the value in this sort of location- driven film noir. As 60% of THE SNIPER was filmed on the 1951 streets of San Francisco, we and our descendants will benefit from these wonderful glimpses into the past. The story itself, perhaps somewhat naive as an earlier reporter comments, is intense and strangely current. Richard Wiley's psychiatrist makes a long,and not a little tedious, call for better treatment for sexual predators. Society is still unable to provide early diagnosis not to mention sufficient resources for treatment. As a film noir thriller, we are drawn into the sniper's pathetic personal pain. As a cautionary note, one might well choose to learn from the missteps of victims in this film and stay home and never take unnecessary risks such as meeting new people or expressing any public views that might set someone off on a killing spree. Fortunately we are garrulous beings for the most part and likely won't hibernate our lives away. Still, this film captures the randomness of psychotic death dealers fairly efficiently. The cast is uniformly excellent. I wonder if Adolf Menjou watched NAKED CITY and picked up a few disheveled pointers from Barry Fitzgerald. As a final note, I have to wonder why this excellent little film, like so many. has been hidden from us. Surely I'm not one of so few who love these gems?


23 of 29 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you?

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