BLASTING THROUGH THE URBAN FILM NOIR THRILLER 'THE SNIPER'

The Sniper with Arthur Franz Year: 1952 Rates: ***1/2

Most of this film, centering on THE SNIPER sniping female targets, is wonderfully executed...

Particularly while centered on the gunman himself, roaming from one hit to the next to the next, led by various dames bringing out the outright dame-hating nasty in him...

Channeling real life serial killers, Arthur Franz's titular loner leaves behind subtle clues for the police; the latter used only sparingly during the first half; after which we mostly just hear about the killings from head cop Adolphe Menjou teamed with psychologist Richard Kiley, dissecting each remaining murder through pulpy discourse...

Well enough acted dialogue that does, however, eventually interrupt the addictive, ultra-violent flow that might've been too much for audiences back then, making THE SNIPER a Film Noir bordering on Exploitation. And so, when the picture works, it works just fine, with a disturbing Arthur Franz excellent in the lead alongside Edward Dmytryk's taut direction — they both work together like a killer and his gun. 

Robin Raymond heckles in THE SNIPER dunk tank carnival sequence