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.
Frank Sinatra
Capt./Maj. Bennett Marco
Laurence Harvey
Raymond Shaw
Angela Lansbury
Mrs. Iselin
Janet Leigh
Eugenie Rose Chaney
James Gregory
Sen. John Yerkes Iselin
Henry Silva
Chunjin
Leslie Parrish
Jocelyn Jordan
John McGiver
Sen. Thomas Jordan
Khigh Dhiegh
Dr. Yen Lo
James Edwards
Cpl. Allen Melvin
Douglas Henderson
Col. Milt
Albert Paulsen
Zilkov
Barry Kelley
Secretary of Defense
Lloyd Corrigan
Holborn Gaines
Madame Spivy
Female Berezovo
Bess Flowers
Gomel's Lady Counterpart (uncredited)
Leoda Richards
Woman at Press Confrence (uncredited)
Reggie Nalder
Gomel (uncredited)
Colin Kenny
Senator (uncredited)
Bert Stevens
Officer
Arthur Tovey
Second Reporter
Paul Frees
Narrator (voice)
Whit Bissell
Medical Officer
James Yagi
Chinese Officer (uncredited)
Tom Lowell
Pvt. Bobby Lembeck (uncredited)
Joe Adams
Psychiatrist
Merritt Bohn
Jilly
Robert Riordan
Benjamin K. Arthur
Raoul Freeman
Reporter (uncredited)
Rudy Germane
Delegate (uncredited)
Herschel Graham
Delegate (uncredited)
Stuart Hall
Reporter (uncredited)
Director
John Frankenheimer
Novel
Richard Condon
Screenplay
George Axelrod
November 19, 2024
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...
Status:
Released
Original Language:
English
Budget:
$2,200,000.00
Revenue:
$7,700,000.00