THE SNIPER (1952)

Edward Miller (Arthur Franz), abused by his mother, hates women, and takes it out on women by stalking and killing them with a folding sniper rifle he keeps in a briefcase. Pretty soon he's terrorizing San Francisco--when he's not terrorizing himself with guilt.The cops, led by Lt. Frank Kafka (Adolphe Menjou) are baffled, but they get help from a police psychiatrist (Richard Kiley), who susses out the killer's motives, impressing Kafka enough to stop the usual dragnets and focus on the killer's mental makeup. This gets a bit preachy at times, but it's still a taut film noir, with generally crisp dialog and outstanding photography on San Francisco streets and excellent deep-focus shots on the interiors. Menjou, usually an effete type, is very good as a hard-boiled detective open to listening to new ideas. (Menjou, a rabid anti-communist, when asked why he agreed to work with communist director Edward Dymytryk, replied: "I'm a whore.") Marie Windsor, my Favorite Femme Fatale of the Fabulous Fifties, stands out again but, briefly, alas--she's the first victim. Very good.