Let's start with a longer citation from the very beginning of the story - just because I haven't got too much to tell about this rather simple thriller from 1952.
"High among police problems is that of the sex criminal, responsible last year alone for offenses which victimized 31.175 women. Adequate and understanding laws do not exist. Law enforcement is helpless. Here, in terms of one case, is the story of a man whose enemy was womankind."
This offical-like depressive statement leads in Edward Dmytryck's film about a helpless man who starts to shoot women with his sniper gun. I could say that's all, because the story is so banal and actually doesn't happen anything more. Maybe one thing needs to be mentioned, his motivation which connects to the quotation above: he has built up hatred against women piece by piece, from which the story doesn't show too much. Mr. Miller is a deeply frustrated, misantrophe person already in a beginning who knows that he needs help (see other suffering, self-blaming serial killers like Spike Lee's almost perfect Summer of Sam (1999) or Fincher's perfect Zodiac (2007). The latter one's "zodiac" created puzzles in order to help the police to catch him - while Miller desperately honest with his letter: "Find me and stop me. I'm going to do it again."). Tragically his warning shouts don't reach his psychiatrist but turn into real gunshots. And he is unbelievable, I mean deadly accurate...
If you want to spend a simple but valuable 87 minutes I can recommend it, but I would say maybe it's better to watch - even if you've seen already - Dmytryck's timeless noir classic (again), Murder, My Sweet from 1944. The Sniper is nothing else as a straight thriller made sensitive for temporary social problems (the last frame's teardrop undoubtedly opens the individual tragedy to collective social dimension) of its age.
7/10
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