Arthur Franz

Arthur Scofield Franz was born in Perth Amboy, NJ, to Dorothy and Gustav Franz, German immigrants. He was a reliable character actor in many 1940s and 1950s "B" pictures, often cast as a friendly small-town businessman or professional (as in _The Doctor and the Girl (1949)_ (qv)) or the lead's sympathetic friend (as in 1953's _Invaders from Mars (1953)_ (qv)). He wasn't confined to just "B" pictures, however. He had good parts in such major productions as _Sands of Iwo Jima (1949)_ (qv) and _Alvarez Kelly (1966)_ (qv) and acquitted himself well. However, the film he's probably best remembered for is 'Edward Dmytryk' (qv)'s solid little "B" thriller _The Sniper (1952)_ (qv), in which he turned in an outstanding performance as a mentally unstable ex-soldier in San Francisco who, after being rejected by a woman he was interested in, snaps and terrorizes the city by taking out his old army rifle and stalking and picking off women.::[email protected]