The Manchurian Candidate (1962)

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

Director:

John Frankenheimer

Writers:

Richard Condon (based on a novel by), George Axelrod (screenplay),

Stars:

Frank Sinatra, Laurence Harvey, Janet Leigh

Top 250 #201 | Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 6 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

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

Storyline

Major Ben Marco is an intelligence officer in the U.S. Army. He served valiantly as a captain in the Korean war and his Sergeant, Raymond Shaw, even won the Medal of Honor. Marco has a major problem however: he has a recurring nightmare, one where two members of his squad are killed by Shaw. He's put on indefinite sick leave and visits Shaw in New York. Shaw for his part has established himself well, despite the misgivings of his domineering mother, Mrs. Eleanor Shaw Iselin. She is a red-baiter, accusing anyone who disagrees with her right-wing reactionary views of being a Communist. Raymond hates her, not only for how she's treated him but equally because of his step-father, the ineffectual U.S. Senator John Iselin, who is intent on seeking higher office. When Marco learns that others in his Korean War unit have nightmares similar to his own, he realizes that something happened to all of them in Korea and that Raymond Shaw is the focal point.

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Plot Keywords:

nightmare | korean war | army | korea | medal of honor | 

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Taglines:

Once unbelievable. Now unthinkable. The chilling classic returns [rerelease]

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Romance | Sci-Fi | Thriller | War

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Official Sites:

MGM

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 October 1962 (USA)

Also Known As:

Botschafter der Angst

Filming Locations:

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

Box Office

Budget:

$2,200,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

M.C. Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

126 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System) Dolby SR Dolby Digital

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Frank Sinatra wanted Lucille Ball for the role of Mrs. Iselin which was played by Angela Lansbury.

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Goofs

Marco's dress uniform coat has two discrepancies: he wears no ribbon for the National Defense Service Medal, to which every Korean War veteran was entitled; and even though he has been assigned to Washington, D.C., for some time, he continues to wear his previous 24th Infantry Division patch on his left shoulder instead of the Military District of Washington patch.

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Quotes

Dr. Yen Lo: Attractive plant you have here.
Zilkov: Thank you, doctor. It's actually a rest home for wealthy alcoholics. We were able to purchase it three years ago. Except for this floor and the floor above it, which is sealed off for security purposes, the rest functions quite normally. In fact it's one of the few Soviet operations in America that actually showed a profit at the end of the last fiscal year.
Dr. Yen Lo: Profit? Fiscal year? Tsk! Tsk! Tsk! Beware, my dear Zilkov. The virus of capitalism is highly infectious. ...

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Connections

Referenced in Heroes Unmasked: Generations (2008)

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Soundtracks

"The Twelve Days of Christmas"
(uncredited)
Traditional
Played on a radio

User Reviews

Excellent Cinema

I went into "The Manchurian Candidate" without knowing too much about the movie itself. I knew about its critical acclaim, but I was unfamiliar with the plot. Regardless, when I rented and watched the film, I had high expectations. I was not disappointed either.

The plot revolves around the strange case of Raymond Shaw, a sergeant who wins the Congressional Medal of Honor for his bravery in the cold war. Two of the men in his company, however, have strange nightmares that suggest Raymond is not as deserving of the award as he seems. One of these men, Major Bennet Marco, led on by these recurring nightmares, unravels a sinister Communist plot. Set against the cold war paranoia of the sixties and McCarthyism, "The Manchurian Candidate" does an excellent job of recreating the intense suspense and tension of the time.

The acting in this film is superb. A great script is heightened by excellent acting in this movie. It's hard not to like Frank Sinatra in his role as Marco, who is the protagonist. Laurence Harvey as Raymond does a good job showing us a character that is wholly unlikable and snobby, yet pathetic and sad at the same time. And of course, Angela Lansbury in her role as Raymond's malicious and plotting mother is excellent.

Some stand-out scenes in the film were the nightmare sequences that brilliantly interlaced dream and reality, the all-queen solitaire game with Marco and Raymond, and the supremely tense climax at the political convention. The cinematography in the movie was very well done as action, romance, and tension all mixed together smoothly. All the scenes managed to keep my attention and kept me wondering what was going to happen next. As a thriller, the film works remarkably well, and it is quite easily the best political thriller I've seen to date.

Keeping me from giving the movie a perfect ten are one or two little nagging problems. I wasn't a big fan of the music for the movie, and it even disrupted the mood for me at one point in the film. It was okay, just not great. Also, the whole plot is sort of unlikely. I wont go into it here, but I don't think that the Communist plan for world domination would fall into the hands of one relatively uncontrolled person, no matter how well trained his mind was. That's just my opinion, however.

The movie is sort of long, and isn't exactly action packed, but it is very interesting, insightful, and even chilling. I had a great time watching it, and I definitely recommend it if you are interested at all in seeing a gripping Cold War era political thriller. Besides, the cultural relevance of the film alone is enough to see it.

9/10