The Manchurian Candidate

PG-13

10/24/19622h 6m

Theatrical Release (US)

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

Overview:

Near the end of the Korean War, a platoon of U.S. soldiers is captured by communists and brainwashed. Following the war, the platoon is returned home, and Sergeant Raymond Shaw is lauded as a hero by the rest of his platoon. However, the platoon commander, Captain Bennett Marco, finds himself plagued by strange nightmares and soon races to uncover a terrible plot.

Director:

John Frankenheimer

Status:

Released

Language:

English

Buget:

$2,200,000.00

Revenue:

$7,700,000.00

Key words:

cold war
korean war (1950-53)
stepparents
conspiracy
brainwashed assassin
brainwashing
black and white
election
presidential candidate
sleeper agent
queen of diamonds
korea

Cast

Frank Sinatra

~ as ~

Capt./Maj. Bennett Marco

Laurence Harvey

~ as ~

Raymond Shaw

Angela Lansbury

~ as ~

Mrs. Iselin

Janet Leigh

~ as ~

Eugenie Rose Chaney

James Gregory

~ as ~

Sen. John Yerkes Iselin

Henry Silva

~ as ~

Chunjin

Leslie Parrish

~ as ~

Jocelyn Jordan

John McGiver

~ as ~

Sen. Thomas Jordan

Khigh Dhiegh

~ as ~

Dr. Yen Lo

James Edwards

~ as ~

Cpl. Allen Melvin

View full cast & crew

Reviews (1)

CinemaSerf
Written 1 year(s) ago
8
An outstandingly (and Golden Globe winning) vile performance from Angela Lansbury - well and truly putting her silly old maid roles to one side, makes a magnificent contribution to one of the most thought-provoking thrillers ever to come out of 1960s Hollywood. Frank Sinatra and Laurence Harvey return from the Korean War - the latter to great acclaim, winning the Medal of Honour. Both suffer from terrible nightmares and when Sinatra discovers that other survivors from their unit are also suffering; and that somehow Harvey is the fulcrum of it all we descend into an abyss of manipulation, brain "dry-cleaning", mind-control and red-bashing that is really quite unsettling - and entirely plausible. Janet Leigh, James Gregory and a truly malevolent Khigh Dhiegh as "Dr. Yen Lo" all gel well to create a masterpiece of tension and threat with the tightly shot direction; subtle use of light and music and a truly gripping dialogue contributing to a truly menacing adaptation of Richard Condon's visionary novel. A must see...