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The Manchurian Candidate

Rating

Director

John Frankenheimer

Screenplay

George Axelrod (Novel: Richard Condon)

Length

2h 6m

Starring

Laurence Harvey, Frank Sinatra, Janet Leigh, Angela Lansbury, Henry Silva, James Gregory, Leslie Parrish, John McGiver, Khigh Dhiegh, James Edwards, Douglas Henderson, Albert Paulsen

MPAA Rating

PG-13

Basic Plot

While in Korea, a young serviceman is brainwashed into serving the Communists.

Review

The cold war may be over, but it hasn’t always been red roses.

The film opens on an American military squadron in South Korea. Among the members of the group are two of the leading characters, Bennett Marco (Frank Sinatra), Raymond Shaw (Laurence Harvey).

They are captured and brainwashed. The main focus seems to be Raymond Shaw, who is to return to society as a war hero. From there he will live as he normally would until a leftover hypnotic suggestion is triggered, at which point he will become a cool, methodical assassin.

Indeed, everything goes as planned. Shaw is whisked away on a private jet owned by his mother and stepfather, Senator and Mrs. John Iselin. The others return to their own lives.

It’s not long before members of the battalion, including Marco, have haunting dreams about what happened in Korea. They are so disturbing that Marco begins investigating the situation, including why Shaw was so deserving of being called a war hero. After all, everyone likes him, but could swear they hated his guts.

During his investigation, Marco meets a woman, Rosie (Janet Leigh), who appears nothing more than the interminable love interest who doesn’t further the story. However, she could be the tip of a much larger iceberg that is only alluded to. Perhaps she is Marco’s U.S. controller.

Harvey is neurotic, but nothing flashy. Sinatra is even less auspicious, but not bad.

The true marvel of this film is Lansbury who is absolutely brilliant and perfectly disturbing. She is the one of the most deliciously evil character in film history, ranking right up there with Mrs. Danvers (Judith Anderson) in “Rebecca.”

John Frankenheimer’s ultra-disturbing film about brainwashing during the era of anti-Communism is one of the most brilliant motion pictures ever made. It captures the spirit of an era of paranoia, where anyone could be anything and not even know it.

“Manchurian” is one of the finest political intrigues in film history. It’s raw power and serpentine plot devices are terrific.

Review Written

November 12, 1998