The Manchurian Candidate

Plot synopsis:
During the Korean War, the Soviets capture an American platoon and take them to Manchuria in Communist China. After the war, the soldiers return to the United States, and Staff Sergeant Raymond Shaw (Laurence Harvey) is credited with saving their lives in combat. Upon the recommendation of the platoon's commander, Captain Bennett Marco (Frank Sinatra), Shaw is awarded the Medal of Honor for his supposed actions. In addition, when asked to describe him, Marco and the other soldiers automatically respond, "Raymond Shaw is the kindest, bravest, warmest, most wonderful human being I've ever known in my life."Deep down, however, they know that Shaw is a cold, sad, unsociable loner. As Marco puts it: "It isn't as if Raymond is hard to like. He's impossible to like!" Marco who has since been promoted to Major suffers from a recurring nightmare in which a hypnotized Shaw strangles one of his fellow soldiers, and shoots another, killing both before the assembled military brass of communist nations, during a practical demonstration of a brainwashing technique. (Raymond and his platoon have been hypnotized into believing that the Korean military brass are a bunch of harmless old American ladies from a garden club.) Marco wants to investigate, but receives no support from Army Intelligence as he has no proof. However, Marco learns that another soldier from the platoon, Allen Melvin (James Edwards), has had the same nightmare. When Melvin and Marco separately identify some of the men in the dream as leading figures in communist governments, Army Intelligence decides that this is too much of a coincidence and agrees to help Marco investigate.Shaw's mother, Mrs. Eleanor Iselin (Angela Lansbury), is the driving force behind her husband, Shaw's step-father, Senator John Yerkes Iselin (James Gregory), a bombastic demagogue in the style of Joseph McCarthy, who is dismissed by most people as a fool. Shaw hates them both, especially his domineering mother. Senator Iselin's political stature is established when (per his wife's orders) he interrupts a televised press conference given by the Secretary of Defense, accusing him of knowing that some 207 Defense Department employees are "card carrying" Communists. This provokes the expected chaos and shock among journalists and an enraged reaction from the Secretary.However, unknown to everyone including Raymond, the Iselins are actually Communist agents with a plan intended to take them all the way to the White House. His mother is actually the American "operative" for whom Raymond is to effect the operation's final step. Raymond was conditioned in Manchuria to be an unwitting assassin whose actions are triggered by a Queen of Diamonds playing card. When he sees it, he will obey the next suggestion or order given to him by anyone. When given instructions to kill selected targets, he must also kill any witnesses and never remember his actions, making him the perfect assassin. It is revealed that Shaw's heroic action was a false memory implanted in the platoon by the communists in Manchuria, and that they were covertly returned to the American lines when their conditioning was completed. The actions for which Shaw was awarded his Medal of Honor never took place.Raymond briefly finds happiness when he rekindles a youthful romance with Jocelyn Jordan (Leslie Parrish), the daughter of Senator Thomas Jordan (John McGiver), one of his stepfather's political rivals. Raymond had previously courted Jocelyn in order to get at his parents in a Romeo and Juliet-style romance, but they then genuinely fell in love, both she and her father being the nearest thing Raymond has ever had to having friends. Mrs. Iselin broke up the relationship for obvious political reasons, but now facilitates the couple's reunion as part of her scheme to garner the support of Senator Jordan for her husband's own sudden vice presidential bid.Jocelyn, wearing a Queen of Diamonds costume outfit, inadvertently hypnotizes Raymond at a costume party thrown by the Iselins and the couple elopes. Although pleased with the match, Senator Jordan makes it clear to Mrs. Iselin that he will move for her husband's impeachment if he makes any attempt to seek the vice-presidential nomination. Raymond's conditioning is then triggered by his mother and he is sent to assassinate Jordan. Jocelyn happens upon the scene and is also shot dead as a witness to the event. Raymond has no knowledge of his actions and is genuinely grief-stricken when he learns of the murders.In the course of Marco's investigation, he discovers the role of the Queen of Diamonds card in putting Raymond into the hypnotic state for his assignments. Marco meets Raymond and, using a deck composed entirely of such cards, gets the full story and orders Raymond to break the links between the card and to disobey any further subsequent orders from his controllers. Unaware of this, Mrs. Iselin primes her son to assassinate their party's presidential candidate at the nomination convention so that Senator Iselin, as the vice-presidential candidate, will become the presidential candidate by default and give an inflammatory anti-Communist speech (written by the Communists themselves). This will cause mass hysteria that will get Iselin, "the Manchurian candidate", elected and justify such emergency powers that, in Mrs. Iselin's words, "will make martial law seem like anarchy".In a cynically moving scene, Mrs. Iselin asserts that she did not know that it was her son who was to be selected by the Communists, who apparently chose him to be the assassin because they believed it would solidify their own hold and control over her. Furious, she vows that once in power she will "grind them into the dirt". She proceeds to give her "hypnotized" son a decidedly non-maternal kiss.Marco's attempt to free Raymond appears to have failed. Raymond enters the convention hall disguised as a Catholic priest and takes up a position to carry out the assassination as he was instructed, using a rifle with a scope. Marco and his supervisor, Colonel Milt (Douglas Henderson), arrive at the convention to stop him. As the Presidential nominee (Robert Riordan) makes his speech, Raymond instead takes his revenge by shooting his stepfather and mother dead. He then commits suicide in front of Marco while wearing his Medal of Honor.

Tags: dark, boring, neo noir, murder, psychological, mystery, dramatic, cult, violence, flashback, satire, brainwashing

Review:
Starring Frank Sinatra, Laurence Harvey, Janet Leigh and Oscar-nominee Angela Lansbury, 'The Manchurian Candidate' is an outstanding and unparalleled thriller set in the midst of the Cold War, a tale of politics, family, distress and guilt with flawless direction from Frankenheimer.
John Frankenheimer's surrealistic direction and George Axelrod's adaptation of the 1959 book by the same name offer Laurence Harvey a career defining role.Set in 1950's, A Korean War veteran Raymond Shaw(Harvey) returns home to a medal of honor for rescuing his POW platoon from behind Chinese lines and back to safety.
One of the returning soldiers, (played effectively by Frank Sinatra) however, has recurring dreams of his platoon being brainwashed and Shaw committing acts of murder.He eventually convinces army brass that Shaw is still a puppet of his Communist-Marxist operators.Angela Lansbury, (although barely a few years older than Harvey was at the time) plays his mother in a tour de force role.
In the end, this is Angela's triumph, and I don't understand why she took second billing behind any of the other actors.As much as I love Janet Leigh, she was handed a bizarre and somewhat minor role here which I believe only served as a deliberate distraction in that she never influenced Major Marco (Sinatra) as an agent working on either side.
Granted that Leigh and Tony Curtis, including their sensational divorce, were quite the rage at the time, but Angela deserved top billing here.When I read that Lansbury has only appeared in 54 full length movies to date, it seemed like a number too small only because she leaves such a strong impression in so many of her performances dating back to Nancy, the maid, in "Gaslight" and Sybil in "The Picture of Dorian Grey".
In addition to a towering Lansbury, the excellent portrayals by Frank Sinatra, Laurence Harvey, Janet Leigh, John McIver, Henry Silva, and James Gregory as the annoying buffoon of a step-father contribute to the success of this political thriller.
The filming of the three separate interpretations of the brainwashing sequence alone was a unique and unforgettable cinematic experience.What a dish like Jocelyn Jordan (Leslie Parrish) ever saw in Raymond Shaw is beyond me, and we have surely witnessed Harvey as the dark, brooding character before ("Room at the Top", "Butterfield Eight", etc.), but who else could play this morose character more accurately?As to that newspaper headline "Violent Hurricane Sweeps Midwest", did you folks in the Midwest ever experience a direct hurricane?
Still one of the finest movies of its genre, this original film version of "The Manchurian Candidate" features excellent atmosphere, memorable characters, and a first-rate cast.
John Frankenheimer's direction shows a very good understanding of the material and its potential, and indeed it is a rare example of a top quality movie being made from an average novel, rather than the other way around.Frank Sinatra and Laurence Harvey carry the bulk of the movie, as former members of the same military unit in Korea, who slowly learn the truth about their shared past.
They produce some chilling moments, as well as making the plot concept - which in itself is pretty far- fetched - seem more believable.With the passage of time and the dissolution of Cold War tensions, it's now possible to watch this without any political baggage, and to allow the excellent production to stand on its own high quality, rather than on any contemporary sentiments..
It's not the most memorable moment of "The Manchurian Candidate" but it is too delightfully and subversively goofy to be ignored: an inebriated Senator John Iselin (James Gregory), disguised as Abraham Lincoln, is dancing the limbo, George Washington would rap in a Simpsons' episode but that was three decades later, here we're in 1962 and the film's statement about politics isn't just ahead of its time but also plays like a stinging retort to all the patriotic, flag-brandishing and crowd-pleasing Capra messes that anaesthetized the masses.
Having never seen this before, I found myself riveted to the story, and absolutely great performances by Sinatra, Laurence Harvey, Janet Leigh, Angela Lansbury, Henry Silva, John McGiver, James Gregory, and Leslie Parrish.Coincidently, I had just recently finished reading some previously published works about the cold war, in particular the Chambers-Hiss court cases.It might be accident, but I wouldn't doubt it might have been intended by Frankenheimer to choose Harvey, who resembled Hiss, in appearance and McGiver who resembled Chambers appearance.
To know that the human mind can be manipulated so easily is indeed a scary thing.The Manchurian Candidate is a thriller so intense it can almost be considered a horror film.If,in fact,things such as those depicted here really did occur,I imagine it did step on some pretty sensitive toes.Bravo to all of those involved in front of the camera and behind it.In particular,Angela Lansbury,whose versatility as an actress is proved here as she plays against the nice lady type roles that we know her for.Among all the film's from the era of the 1960's that I have viewed,I would definitely place this in my top 5.One of the best thrillers ever..
A platoon of U.S. soldiers is kidnapped and brainwashed during the Korean War. One of them, Raymond Shaw (Laurence Harvey), is trained to be an assassin once he returns to the U.S. Another (Frank Sinatra) tries to unravel the mystery of what happened during the war due to his nightmares.The screenplay by George Axelrod (based on the book by Richard Condon) seems busy at first but it concludes perfectly in three successive scenes at the end - all of them perfectly executed and edge-of-your-seat thrilling.The first is between Harvey and Sinatra.
It is a perfect wrap-up of all that happened during their war imprisonment.The second is between Harvey and Angela Lansbury who portrays his mother, an anti-Communist viper whose extreme ambitions are forced onto her husband (Raymond's stepfather), a dupe of a U.S. Senator.
The fact that it proved tragically prescient of the JFK assassination the next year only adds a topical edge to proceedings when what seemed at the time fantastical and possibly far-fetched on the screen manifested itself into grim reality a year or so later on the streets of Dallas.Said brainwashing scene, where we see exactly to what extent the Communist enemy have control over Lawrence Harvey's character, is brilliantly written, edited and filmed, the deaths of the two unsuspecting troop members, as devastating to watch as they are seemingly casual to commit.
Even more transfixing later on is Raymond's double-slaying of his new father-in-law, where a spilling milk carton stands in for the bloodletting of Thomas Jordan and immediately afterwards the unthinking slaughter of the latter's daughter Traci, his own wife, as he stands over the prostrate father, caught in the horrific act of delivering the kill shot to the head.Yes, coincidence plays a big part in proceedings, like Raymond's love for the daughter of his detested mother's political nemesis Jordan or Traci's wearing of the trigger-point queen of hearts dress to a fancy dress ball but these are easily excused especially with the back story echoing the rise of the McCarthy communist witch-hunt.
Sinatra as the main starring name holds the film together with a commanding performance and Harvey is brilliant as the distant but disturbed Raymond and of course, Angela Lansbury is unforgettably cast against type as the devious and devilish would-be power behind the throne as Raymond's mother and Johnny's wife.
Set against the cold war paranoia of the sixties and McCarthyism, "The Manchurian Candidate" does an excellent job of recreating the intense suspense and tension of the time.The acting in this film is superb.
And of course, Angela Lansbury in her role as Raymond's malicious and plotting mother is excellent.Some stand-out scenes in the film were the nightmare sequences that brilliantly interlaced dream and reality, the all-queen solitaire game with Marco and Raymond, and the supremely tense climax at the political convention.
As a thriller, the film works remarkably well, and it is quite easily the best political thriller I've seen to date.Keeping me from giving the movie a perfect ten are one or two little nagging problems.
Totally out of character (at least as I've ever known her) was Angela Lansbury as the completely evil mother of Raymond (Laurence Harvey) and wife of the bumbling and incompetent Senator Iselin (James Gregory.) In a field of great performances, Lansbury really does steal the show, particularly because this is so unlike the type of character you expect to find her playing.
And what's all that got to do with war hero Raymond Shaw (Laurence Harvey), his mother (Angela Lansbury) and some political murders?Like Alfred Hitchcock, Frankenheimer manages to create tension with everyday stuff (a solitaire game has never looked so unsettling), depicting a bizarre yet utterly realistic conspiracy (the nightmare sequence and the shocking climax are breathtaking and impossible to forget).
The incredible script, Angela Lansbury's Dearest Mommy, the effective use of black & white film for a movie about issues that were anything but black & white--I could go on and on.I know that most people rave about Ms. Lansbury above all the other cast members, but--for me--Frank Sinatra wins the prize hands down.
This theory never materializes, but this may be purposeful, to add mystique to an already remarkable movie.Angela Lansbury is quite dislikable as Shaw's mother, Lawrence Harvey is a perfect brainwashed zombie as Sgt. Raymond Shaw, James Gregory plays a drunken puppet well as Senator Iselin, and Frank Sinatra surprises with a complex role as Major Marco.
Everybody who served with SSgt. Raymond Shaw in Korea says that he was "the kindest, bravest, warmest, most wonderful human being I've ever known in my life," but about that statement doesn't ring true to those men, particularly to Maj. Bennett Marco, who keeps having a recurring nightmare related to Raymond and the other men in his unit.Simply put, "The Manchurian Candidate" is not like any movie before or since, and is still as relevent and chilling today as it was in 1962 when the film was released.
Got that??!Suffice to say the movie had messages from both the Right and Left but politics aside, the film boasts an involving story that keeps your interest for most of the two hours and six minutes, and had some very interesting characters who are fascinating to watch.
But she alone is enough to make us cringe all throughout this film."The Manchurian Candidate" is a magnificent political thriller, yet it is so emotional and the characters so interesting, so varried and so well acted by everyone in the movie, it is simply one of the best films of all time.
I found the characters to be distant and unrelatable, however this works in favor of Angela Lansbury's character because that's exactly how she is supposed to be.The plot is contrived, and reeks not only with Cold War paranoia of communists abroad, but the "subversive" right wing hard-liners at home set out to put all of Hollywood in forced labor camps as "Sen. John Iselin" and his "Iselinism" is a painfully obvious attack on Joe McCarthy.Outside of the premise, there was little interesting or endearing about this movie.
***spoilers are almost inevitable, but i'll do my best to keep them at a minimum*** While Liev Schrieber is one of my favorite actors (consider Ray Donovan, for example), the task of remaking The Manchurian Candidate, a novella from Richard Condon about the paranoia that held a vicious grip on the U.S. during the McCarthy UnAmerican Activities Committee probes, it is best left respected, in honor of the work of the original brave actors who risked their careers in a movie that was actually banned, in parts of the world, for almost 20 years, that no remake should be attempted.The Schrieber/Close remake can only be considered as a well acted reminiscence of the original, but, the fact remains, there is no substitute for the original and absolutely no need for a remake.If anyone doubts that Frank Sinatra was an excellent actor, then make this your first stop.
Given his thespian success and that of both Frank Sinatra and Janet Leigh, they must, all three have been shocked at the ban on the movie, that lasted for a decade (Harvey was already dead before the ban was lifted), which, again, speaks against attempting a remake, given that the ban is, itself, a distinct qualification that can not be carried out of one age of perception to another.I have a particular affection for the original version because the author of the story, Richard Condon, a U.S American living in Ireland, had the option as an Irish resident artist to take advantage of Ireland's income tax exemption for artists--an artist's bonus that Bono and the rest of U2 heartily used to their advantage--but Condon chose to declare his income to the U.S. Treasury, in order to keep his citizenship intact.
I know there are many people that are loyal to the original version, and I'm sure it was a very good film during the time period in which it was released.Fortunately, the story is different enough in the remake that it is worth seeing, even you have seen this one..
All of them deliver fine performances in this tragic tale of deceit and corruption.John Frankenheimer does a brilliant job of directing and makes sure there is not a single dull moment, gets some of the best acting done from his cast, shoots some of the most memorable sequences ever filmed in cinema and takes the movie to a very satisfying conclusion.This unique film deserves to be seen over and over again and holds tremendous repeat value.
It's not over-done and doesn't take any focus away from the story of Raymond Shaw (Laurence Harvey) and Bennett Marco (Frank Sinatra) which is why I love it.I've heard that the film is slow-paced so I went in expecting that, but it was the complete opposite.
No doubt the filmmakers picked an utterly fascinating topic which could have been taken in so many directions as to lose focus of the plot but rather chose to focus on the Oedipal relationship between the unwilling killer and his conniving mother.The film does lag however in the scene where Sinatra and Janet Leigh first meet, and I still can't understand why she was included in the story.10 of 10..
Harvey is chilling as the brainwashed Shaw, while Lansbury delivers a knockout performance as his mother that earned her an Oscar nomination.The real genius of the film, however, lies in the directing, cinematography and editing.
John Frankenheimer's jazzy, hip screen adaptation of Richard Condon's bestselling novel, The Manchurian Candidate is one of the strangest and most mercurial movies ever made in Hollywood – a rare film that truly is so ahead of its times.
An American soldier Capt./Maj. Ben Marco(Frank Sinatra)suspects that he and his platoon were captured and "dry cleaned" by Communist Chinese during the Korean War. One of his friends SSgt. Raymond Shaw(Laurence Harvey)has actually been programed by the Communists to be an operational assassin.
****SPOILERS**** Towards the end of the movie "The Manchurian Candidate" Raymond Shaw, Laurence Harvey, puts the Congressional Medal of Honor, the highest honor that the United States can bestow to it's fighting men and women, around his neck.
Mrs. Iselin maniacally plans to use the full force of the US military to destroy those two Communist powers, for what they did to Raymond and how they treated her, in a Third World War. The "Manchurian Candidate" starts out with a bad dream and ends with an awakened and walking nightmare with a double-assassination and suicide at the Presidential Nominating Convention at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Frank Sinatra, Maj. Bennett Marco, gives one of the best acting performances of his career as a troubled Korean War Vet. who's nightmares of what happened to him and his comrades as prisoners of the Communists Chinese in Manchuria becomes real, all too real.The one thing that Raymond Shaw ever wanted in his life is to be both loved and lovable.
The movie "Manchurian Candidate" grabs you right from the opening credits and never lets go and even when it's over you just can't, like Maj. Marco and Raymond Shaw and every one else in that US Army unit in Korea, get it out of your mind..
What's cool is that we don't see this candidate until the hit man needs to see the target.Lawrence Harvey does a great acting job playing the hit man, Raymond Shaw.This film was released when Kennedy was president.
I also have to admit that the interpretation of Frank Sinatra who played as Major Bennett Marco was very good and equally good was also the interpretation of Laurence Harvey who played as Raymond Shaw.Finally I have to say that "The Manchurian Candidate" is a great movie to watch because it represents the truth behind a war in general and make us understand many things about it.
With 'The Manchurian Candidate' director Frankenheimer backs up his status as the master of the political thriller and delivered a cinematic masterpiece with subversively explosive power.Lt. Raymond Shaw (Harvey) is not a person you would like.
You are never quite sure how you are supposed to take the film from scene to scene, and the result is a mounting sense of unease.In terms of the cast, Angela Lansbury's performance as Shaw's mother Mrs. Iselin is justly famous, and it will come as great shock to those who tend to think of her in terms of her television work.
But in truth the entire cast is extremely good, all the way from the star players to the bit parts.This is easily Frank Sinatra's best film performance, and although Laurence Harvey received poor reviews in 1962, it is today impossible to imagine any other way to play the role.
When we find out it's too late to save the film, too many things have already gone wrong.Angela Lansbury gives an excellent performance as the villainous Mrs. Iselin and Frank Sinatra handles the Marco role with aplomb.