The Manchurian Candidate (1962)

A former prisoner of war is brainwashed as an unwitting assassin for an international Communist conspiracy.

Director:

John Frankenheimer

Writers:

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

Stars:

Frank Sinatra, Laurence Harvey, Janet Leigh

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 5 wins & 6 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 (Frank Sinatra) is an intelligence officer in the U.S. Army. He served valiantly as a captain in the Korean war and his Sergeant, Raymond Shaw (Laurence Harvey), 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 (Angela Lansbury). 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 (James Gregory), 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 ...

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Plot Keywords:

conspiracy | brainwashed assassin | korean war | recurring nightmare | cold war era | 

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Taglines:

If you come in five minutes after this picture begins, you won't know what it's all about! When you've seen it all, you'll swear there's never been anything like it!

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Genres:

Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

PG-13

Details

Official Sites:

MGM

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 October 1962 (USA)

Also Known As:

Un crime dans la tête

Filming Locations:

245 East 49th Street, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$2,200,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$7,700,000, 31 December 1962

Company Credits

Production Co:

M.C. Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

126 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.75 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Janet Leigh found the role of Rosie one of the most difficult she had done because "the character was plunked down in the middle of the script, with no apparent connection to anyone, transmitting non sequiturs while sending meaningful rays through her eyes." But she was proud of her work and credited Frank Sinatra and John Frankenheimer with helping her achieve it. Modern interpretations suggest that Rosie may also have been a double agent, but this idea was never developed in the final version.

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Goofs

As in just about every other movie ever filmed, the Medal of Honor is incorrectly referred to as the Congressional Medal of Honor. There is no such thing as the Congressional Medal of Honor. Even though the Medal of Honor is awarded by an act of congress, referring to it as the Congressional Medal of Honor is entirely incorrect. This mistake has become so prevalent that there is even a Congressional Medal of Honor Society.

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Quotes

Marco: [During the Kung Fu fight with Chunjin] How did the old ladies turn into Russians?

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Crazy Credits

The live TV cameras in the senate hearing and press conference carry the NBC logo used at the time the film was made, not the logo used at the time the story takes place.

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Alternate Versions

West German version was edited (ca. 4 minutes) to remove every scene with the ladies in the greenhouse. To this day all home video releases contain the cut version. An uncut version (with subtitles for the missing scenes) was shown on Arte.

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Connections

Referenced in Fresh Off the Boat: The Manchurian Dinner Date (2016)

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Soundtracks

The Twelve Days of Christmas
(uncredited)
Traditional, arranged by Frederic Austin
Sung by unidentified female soloist
Played on a turntable in Raymond Shaw's apartment

User Reviews

Truly, a gem!

Probably John Frankenheimer's best production, and Frank Sinatra's best cinema performance.

I saw this because of the recent 'remake', I would assume that the reader will be making the same comparison. Having never seen this before, I found myself riveted to the story, and absolutely great performances by Sinatra, Laurence Harvey, Janet Leigh, Angela Lansbury, Henry Silva, John McGiver, James Gregory, and Leslie Parrish.

Coincidently, I had just recently finished reading some previously published works about the cold war, in particular the Chambers-Hiss court cases.

It might be accident, but I wouldn't doubt it might have been intended by Frankenheimer to choose Harvey, who resembled Hiss, in appearance and McGiver who resembled Chambers appearance. When this was released in 1962, the Hiss-Chambers spy fiasco was still fresh in the public's mind.

Other American political images are not for want of satire either, since Lansbury and Gregory seemed to have reminded me, in appearance, of Mary and (honest) Abe Lincoln.

The pace, style and non stop tension rivals Hitchcock; it will certainly have you wondering if he had anything to do with this! Truly Frankenhiemer, excels here.

Because Sinatra was box office magnet, most of his other roles seemed 'fitted' for him. Not here! You'll have a chance to see the real Frank Sinatra, really working to make the part work, and without a doubt, he too excels in his role.

I don't think I'll bother to see the recent version yet. I want to see this original classic a few more times.