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Un crime dans la tête (1962)

The Manchurian Candidate (original title)
Tous publics | | Drama, Thriller | 23 November 1962 (France)
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)
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Popularity
4,660 ( 86)
Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 5 wins & 6 nominations. See more awards »

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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 Douglas Henderson ... Colonel Milt
Albert Paulsen ... Zilkov
Barry Kelley ... Secretary of Defense
Lloyd Corrigan ... Holborn Gaines
Madame Spivy Madame Spivy ... Female Berezovo
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Storyline

Major Bennett 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 received the Medal of Honor. Marco has a major problem however: he has a recurring nightmare, one where two members of his squad were killed by Shaw. He's put on indefinite sick leave and visits Shaw in New York City. Shaw, for his part. has established himself well, despite the misgivings of his domineering mother, Mrs. Eleanor Shaw Iselin (Dame 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 stepfather, 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 had nightmares similar to his own, he realizes that something happened to all of ... Written by garykmcd/Robert Sieger

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Taglines:

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

Genres:

Drama | Thriller

Certificate:

Tous publics | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

View content advisory »
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Did You Know?

Trivia

The two scientific journal articles that Dr. Yen Lo (Khigh Dhiegh) mentioned in the opening hypnosis sequence were real studies, and their full citations are: Wells, W.R. (1941) "Experiments in the hypnotic production of crime", Journal of Psychology, volume 11, pages 63-102; and Brenman, M. (1942) "Experiments in the hypnotic production of anti-social and self injurious behavior", Psychiatry, volume 5, pages 49-61. See more »

Goofs

While speaking on the Senate floor, Iselin addresses the chair as "Mr. Speaker"; the presiding officer of the US Senate is the "President" (a post officially held by the Vice President), not the "speaker", thus the form of address is "Mr. President". See more »

Quotes

Bennett Marco: Raymond Shaw is the kindest, bravest, warmest, most wonderful human being I've ever known in my life.
See more »

Alternate Versions

The West German version was edited (ca. 4 minutes) to remove every scene with the ladies in the greenhouse. This version was also released on DVD. In 2005 the uncut version (with subtitles for the missing scenes) was shown on Arte. Only in 2020 was the complete version released on Blu-ray/DVD. See more »

Connections

Referenced in Star Trek: La nouvelle génération: The Mind's Eye (1991) See more »

Soundtracks

The Washington Post
(1889) (uncredited)
Music by John Philip Sousa
Played by a band in the first scene after the opening credits
See more »

User Reviews

Excellent Cinema
3 July 2003 | by Hobbes_512See all my reviews

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


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Frequently Asked Questions

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Details

Official Sites:

MGM

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Release Date:

23 November 1962 (France) See more »

Also Known As:

Un crime dans la tête See more »

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Box Office

Budget:

$2,200,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$87,850, 15 February 1988

Gross USA:

$2,757,256

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$2,757,256
See more on IMDbPro »

Company Credits

Production Co:

M.C. Productions See more »
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Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Aspect Ratio:

1.75 : 1
See full technical specs »

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