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The Manchurian Candidate
The Manchurian Candidate

7.5

The Manchurian Candidate

PG-13·1962·126m

Summary

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.

Crew

Director

John Frankenheimer

Novel

Richard Condon

Screenplay

George Axelrod

Reviews

Geronimo1967

Geronimo1967

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...

Media

Status:

Released

Original Language:

English

Budget:

$2,200,000.00

Revenue:

$7,700,000.00

Keywords

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