The Manchurian Candidate

The Manchurian Candidate

24/10/1962 2h 6m 7.5/10

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

Top Billed Cast

Angela Lansbury

Angela Lansbury

Mrs. Iselin

Janet Leigh

Janet Leigh

Eugenie Rose Chaney

Henry Silva

Henry Silva

Chunjin

James Gregory

James Gregory

Sen. John Yerkes Iselin

Frank Sinatra

Frank Sinatra

Capt./Maj. Bennett Marco

Laurence Harvey

Laurence Harvey

Raymond Shaw

Reviews

CinemaSerf

CinemaSerf

11/19/2024

8/10

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...

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