The Sniper - 1952

He watched her walk down the street, then he pulled the trigger!

Very little in my opinion is known of this film although apparently it is listed as being nominated for an Oscar of Best Motion Picture Story, which can't be bad. Edward Dymytrck is another new director to me but that doesn't mean I would not have given this film a chance. However the plot had such a lot wrong with it that I feel compelled to rate it low. One reviewer remarked that the film was great because it allowed us to view San Francisco like it was over fifty years ago. So what! I do not see how viewing a part of America means that this is a good film. Edward Miller is a man who alternatively romances and then murders women because he feels they have done him some dreadful wrong. We later find out that his mother was cruel to him which sheds some light on the situation but still doesn't really help matters, for all he seems to do is hang around street corners and wait for women to go past that he can shoot. If I was looking at this movie in a social or political way I would probably agree that the type of man capable of doing this is not make-believe, just mentally ill and so the story is fairly true to tale. However I am not and looking at from a pure enjoyment level I cannot find much in this movie to quench my thirst for a crime - based trip down memory lane.

Rating 2.5/5