Steve D
Effective but not a worthy topic.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
04/06/24
Full Review
Phantom P
The description Rotten Tomatoes gives is misleading and pathetic. The main character doesn't fantasize about killing women then do it - that's much too simplistic. He has an urge to do it that he is constantly fighting, it's much more psychological. His mother abused him while he was growing up, it led to him resenting women. Everywhere he looked he saw women behaving badly. What sets him off is when he meets one woman that treats him nicely, he thinks he's special to her, only for him to find out she has a boyfriend. He sees this as a betrayal, snaps, can't stop himself after that.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
09/25/23
Full Review
Matthew B
When a violent killer targets women or a lone gunman shoots children, some commentators suggest that the media should avoid focusing on the culprit, and instead concentrate on the victims. The idea behind this well-meaning suggestion is that we should not give attention to the killers for fear of encouraging new mass-murderers.
A different view is offered by Dr James Kent (Richard Kiley) in Edward Dmytryk's film noir, The Sniper. In a heated meeting where one member suggests, "The important thing to think about is three dead women, not coddling the man who killed them," Kent retorts: "Look, I'm thinking of the hundreds of women who will be dead if something isn't done."
Here is a different wrinkle on the age-old debate concerning serial killers and violence against women. If we focus on the murderer rather than his victims, then perhaps this might prevent further deaths in the future.
This is the central problem posed by Dmytrk's movie. Edward Dmytryk made The Sniper as a return to American movies following a short period where he was blacklisted for Communist links. The beleaguered director was reinstated in American cinema after he named names to the House of Un-American activities.
Nonetheless The Sniper seems a curious choice of film for a director who had recently been under scrutiny, especially since this film noir arguably belongs to the sub-category known as film gris, a name referring to film noirs that contained a subtle left-wing message.
The film takes place in an unnamed city which is obviously San Francisco. The steep streets of the city seem to reflect the unbalanced and slanted worldview of its lead character, Eddie Miller (Arthur Franz). Here is a man who never sees things from a level or stable angle.
Eddie walks the narrow streets, which are often empty, an objective correlative for his own life. He has no friends or family members who support him. He has no idea how to speak to a woman he likes, and there are not many women that he likes. Even a friendly attempt by Eddie to pass a ball to some street children ends badly.
When he is not delivering laundry, Eddie lives in a claustrophobic apartment. No matter in which direction the camera moves around the room, we see the walls close by. Eddie's room is seen in the opening credits. It seems to be an ordinary room with the usual mundane trappings until Eddie opens a drawer to reveal an enormous rifle that seems out of proportion for the needs of a man living in the middle of a large city.
We know what kind of man Eddie is now. He is a mentally disturbed individual with a hatred of women. He is easily triggered by any woman who talks about men, who discusses finding a new boyfriend, or who engages in public displays of affection.
When Eddie is fighting the urge to take the rifle out of his drawer, he puts his hand on his stove so that he can go to his local hospital. A doctor is concerned about this deliberate act of self-harm, but it is a busy day at the hospital, and nobody takes the issue further, even when Eddie pleads that it is a matter of life or death.
Eddie tries to phone the prison doctor who supported him while he was inside, but the doctor is away for two weeks, and nobody else will help. Should Eddie have been released without psychiatric support just because his sentence had ended? Even after the killings begin, Eddie writes a poignant note to the police: "Stop me – Find me and stop me. I'm going to do it again". This is no bravado – this is a cry for help.
Eddie begins by killing one of his customers. Other victims follow – a drunken woman is shot in her apartment. A philanthropic woman gives out her address on television, and is killed at home. A woman is murdered in the park. An unfortunate witness is shot while trying to warn the town. In each case, Eddie shoots them from the top of a building. He is literally looking down on his victims.
The Sniper is more than a serial killer film however. It is also a police procedural drama, filmed in the quasi-documentary style of many crime movies that aim for realism. The story follows the investigation into the crimes by Lieutenant Kafka and Sgt Joe Ferris (Gerald Mohr).
They move from investigating individuals connected to the first victim to investigating potential sex murderers when other women are killed in the same way. They accept the help of a doctor who understands sex offenders. In one amusing scene, they bring in a police line-up of convicted or suspected sex criminals, and a cynical police officer mocks them.
Kafka and Ferris are well-meaning and capable crime fighters, but they can do little more than capture yet another killer. The problem is not one of law enforcement, but of the absence of laws that might have prevented Eddie from killing in the first place. This is an avoidable tragedy that Eddie himself wanted to escape, but by the time it has reached the hands of Kafka and Ferris it is already too late.
While The Sniper might be criticised for expressing its message in a heavy-handed manner, the film represents a serious attempt to look at the problem of the sex killer, albeit one who does not rape or molest his victims. In some respects The Sniper anticipates films such as Joker, which also portray the killer as being as much a victim as a culprit, and a reflection of the failure of society to solve deeper problems.
Dmytryk does a good job of directing a film that is always interesting, and which is often tense and suspenseful. The Sniper is good entertainment, as well as a movie with a poignant and important message.
I wrote a longer appreciation of The Sniper on my blog page if you would like to read more: https://themoviescreenscene.wordpress.com/2023/08/27/the-sniper-1952/
Rated 4.5/5 Stars •
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars
09/18/23
Full Review
Nawt W
Major kudos for the script for not pulling out a Psycho moment. There is no scene where someone from the police would sit everyone down in the room and explain in a blunt fashion what made Edward Miller what he is now and what drew him to killing. Thankfully, the movie only hints at what could've occurred that made him hate women with an almost agonizing fervor.
The story is about the regular hunter and the hunted, where the police just react to Miller's killings while trying to figure out his identity with the most rudimentary criminal profiling techniques from the 1950s.
With very misguided insinuations that apparently petty misdemeanors can't escalate to outright murder without somehow being tracked by the police. If only the boomers knew. What they did know is how to moralize with incredibly obvious soapbox speeches about how many mentally ill people just slip through the cracks of the system and the government would rather shoot them all instead of addressing the bigger issue.
Arthur Franz is doing a proficient job with his character. Others, not so much. Most of the police staff just read their lines in either a monotone or slightly concerned voice, looking at bodies all over 1950s San Francisco.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
04/06/23
Full Review
deke p
Well I meant to give it 3 1/2 stars but it's difficult being precise on the cell phone. Sniper terrorizes old San Francisco. Interesting scenery. Interesting story. Soft on criminals though
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
03/30/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Movies about psychopaths must be handled with intelligence and this one smart. Director Edward Dmytryk and lead actor Arthur Franz deliver.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
02/13/23
Full Review
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