The Manchurian Candidate (1962)

Director:

John Frankenheimer

Writers:

Richard Condon (novel)
George Axelrod (screenplay)

Release Date:

24 October 1962 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

When you've seen it all, you'll swear there's never been anything like it!

Plot:

A former Korean War POW is brainwashed by Communists into becoming a political assassin. But another former prisoner may know how to save him.

Plot Keywords:

Korean War | Nightmare | Army | Korea | Medal Of Honor

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 6 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Frank Sinatra	...	Maj. Bennett Marco
Laurence Harvey	...	Raymond Shaw
Janet Leigh	...	Eugenie Rose Chaney
Angela Lansbury	...	Mrs. Iselin
Henry Silva	...	Chunjin
James Gregory	...	Sen. John Yerkes Iselin
Leslie Parrish	...	Jocelyn Jordan
John McGiver	...	Sen. Thomas Jordan
Khigh Dhiegh	...	Dr. Yen Lo
James Edwards	...	Cpl. Allen Melvin
Douglas Henderson	...	Col. Milt
Albert Paulsen	...	Zilkov
Barry Kelley	...	Secretary of Defense
Lloyd Corrigan	...	Holborn Gaines
Madame Spivy	...	Female Berezovo

Runtime:

126 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System) | Dolby SR | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Finland:(Banned) (1964) (cut) | Finland:(Banned) (1964) (uncut) | Finland:K-16 (1989) (uncut) | UK:A (1962) (cut) | West Germany:16 (f) | South Korea:15 | Australia:M | Norway:15 (re-rating) | Norway:16 (original rating) | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:Approved (original rating) | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

67 Riverside Drive, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

M.C. Productions

Trivia:

Prior to the commissioning of the book as a movie, Arthur Krim, then President of United Artists and Finance Chairman of the Democratic Party, is known to have felt uneasy about its subject matter. President John F. Kennedy, as a favor to his friend Frank Sinatra, called Krim to let him know that he had no objection to a film version being made.

Goofs:

Continuity: Rosie lights a cigarette and gives it to Marco on the train. He smokes it, then stamps it out, then is seen smoking it again, then finishes grinding it out. The long shots don't match the closeups.

Quotes:

Raymond Shaw: You couldn't have stopped them, the army couldn't have stopped them. So I had to.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Live and Let Die (1973)

Soundtrack:

The Star-Spangled Banner

Politics Aside, A Riveting Film

The first time I saw this film, about 10 years ago, I thought it was really fascinating. One year later, I still enjoyed but was a bit perplexed: was this the usual Liberal Hollywood taking shots at right-wingers or is this actually the reverse with the left-wingers, the Communists really being shown as the "bad guys?" After a third and final viewing a few years later, I felt it was both but the leaned toward Liberal, which is par for the course. The general plot had left wingers brainwashing an influential American family into looking like extreme right wingers and gaining access to the White House through political influence and assassination. Most of the movie featured a Joe McCarthy-ish senator (James Gregory) and his conniving wife (Angela Lansbury) as the villains. They were portrayed as right wingers, of course, but were really just dupes of the Communists (left wing)! Got that??!

Suffice to say the movie had messages from both the Right and Left but politics aside, the film boasts an involving story that keeps your interest for most of the two hours and six minutes, and had some very interesting characters who are fascinating to watch. That includes the supporting roles. It didn't hurt to have John Frankenheimer direct, either. His films usually were outstanding.

I thought Lansbury and Laurence Harvey had the best parts of the film. The only really stupid and/or annoying character in the movie was played by Janet Leigh. Her romance scenes with Frank Sinatra added nothing to this riveting film. Eliminated, it would have made for a tighter, even better movie. Also, Sinatra found out too easily where Harvey was hiding in Madison Square Garden. Nobody could figure it out that fast! Nonetheless, the ending was a bit surprising and I won't spoil it for anyone who has not seen this.

The movie has endured the test of time and, from what I hear, would have been best left on its own instead of watering down the name of this film with an insipid re-make. This is "The Manchurian Candidate" version you want to see.