SNIPER (1952), THE
Special Features: Oct. 14 screening features intro by Film Noir Foundation founder Eddie Muller, host of TCM's NOIR ALLEY
San Francisco is the backdrop for one of the first movies about a modern serial killer. Decades before such stories became commonplace, husband-and-wife writers Edward and Edna Anhalt researched dozens of actual cases to create this psychological exposé of a murderous misfit who wants to be caught but finds it too easy to slip into the margins of a bustling post-World War II metropolis. Arthur Franz gives an edgy and empathetic performance as the psychically scarred sniper, whose murderous trail leads viewers on a fascinating tour of midcentury San Francisco — from Pacific Heights through the back alleys of North Beach to the once-industrial China Basin. Burnett Guffey's camerawork, moving between shadowy '40s noir and '50s docu-realism, enhances Edward Dmytryk's crisp and compelling direction. (Note courtesy of Noir City.) DIR Edward Dmytryk; SCR Harry Brown, from a story by Edna Anhalt and Edward Anhalt; PROD Stanley Kramer. U.S., 1952, b&w, 88 min. NOT RATED
No AFI Member passes accepted.
Run Time: 88 Minutes
Opening Date: Friday, October 14, 2022
Genre: Film noir