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    Home»Movies»Movies by Decade»Movies - 1960s
    Movies - 1960s Movies - M 3 Mins Read

    Manchurian Candidate, The (1962)

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    The Manchurian Candidate looks at a group of decorated Korean War veterans who all have recurring nightmares about their involvement in that conflict, all imagining that they’ve experienced some bizarre events that leave them permanently scarred.

    manchurian_03

    It transpires that the Communists got their hands on our boys and used them as guinea pigs to show the power of hypnotism.

    As such, all of the men operate under false memories about their actions in the war, and one of them has been programmed to be an assassin.

    Frank Sinatra excels with some surprising high-tension acting as the main protagonist, Major Bennett Marco, who is struggling to come to grips with his demons and find out the truth about his indoctrination. The other main character is Sergeant Raymond Shaw (Laurence Harvey).

    manchuriancandidate8

    Though the movie’s opening scenes show the platoon’s general dislike for Shaw, their cumulative memory of him is that of a hero and a virtual saint. Marco works to expose the facts.

    Shaw’s position is made additionally intriguing because of his heritage. His mother (Angela Lansbury) has remarried Senator Johnny Iselin (James Gregory), a sleazy moron who aspires to be another Joe McCarthy.

    Mrs Iselin is the brains of the operation, and she keeps the Red-baiting dope on a short leash. She also tries hard to maintain a tight grip over Raymond, though the reasons for her need for firm control don’t emerge until late in the movie as the assassin gets his important assignment.

    manchurian_922This riveting political espionage thriller (adapted from a novel by Richard Condon) was brilliantly handled by director John Frankenheimer, although the sensitive content ensured the movie was banned for many years.

    The names of the soldiers in the platoon (Melvin, Lembeck, Silvers and Hiken) come from the actors who played Sgt Bilko’s platoon on The Phil Silvers Show (Allan Melvin, Harvey Lembeck and Phil Silvers) plus Nat Hiken, the creator of the classic TV show.

    Bennett Marco
    Frank Sinatra
    Raymond Shaw
    Laurence Harvey
    Eugénie Rose ‘Rosie’ Cheyney
    Janet Leigh
    Eleanor Shaw Iselin
    Angela Lansbury
    Chunjin
    Henry Silva
    Senator John Yerkes Iselin
    James Gregory
    Jocie Jordon
    Leslie Parrish
    Senator Thomas Jordon
    John McGiver
    Yen Lo
    Khigh Dhiegh
    Corporal Al Melvin
    James Edwards
    Zilkov
    Albert Paulsen
    Holborn Gaines
    Lloyd Corrigan
    Mrs Melvin
    Mimi Dillard
    Gossfeld
    John Laurence
    Bobby Lembeck
    Tom Lowell
    Ed Navole
    Richard Lapore
    Berezovo
    Nick Bolin
    Silvers
    Nicky Blair
    Little
    William Thourlby
    Freeman
    Irving Steinberg
    Haiken
    John Francis
    Benjamin K. Arthur
    Robert Riordon
    Gomel
    Reggie Nalder
    Miss Gertrude
    Miyoshi Jingu

    Director
    John Frankenheimer

    Video

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