Review of The Manchurian Candidate (1962) by Stuart K — 30 Apr 2014
Based upon the 1959 novel by Richard Condon and directed by John Frankenheimer, (Seven Days in May (1964), The Train (1964) and Ronin (1998)), this is a suspenseful thriller which came out when the Cold War was at it's peak, and it opened when the Cuban Missile Crisis was at it's peak, capturing the mood of the times.
It set the template for most paranoid thrillers that would follow suit. It begins in 1952, when a U.S. Platoon are kidnapped during the Korean War, and sent to Manchuria in Communist China, where they're brainwashed.
Staff Sergeant Raymond Shaw (Laurence Harvey) saves their lives, when the platoon are sent home, their captain Bennett Marco (Frank Sinatra) begins having recurring nightmares of the torture he underwent.
Army intelligence begins to investigate, meanwhile Sergeant Shaw's mother Eleanor Iselin (Angela Lansbury) has a secret agenda all of her own, and it involves brainwashing of her own son. While it may look a little dated now, especially as Communism isn't a threat anymore compared to what's out there now, it makes for a good, suspenseful thriller, and along with The Man With The Golden Arm (1955), it showcased Sinatra's range as a serious actor, he should have done more films like this.
This review of The Manchurian Candidate (1962) was written by Stuart K on 30 Apr 2014.
The Manchurian Candidate has generally received very positive reviews.
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