THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE
(1962)With Frank Sinatra, Lawrence Harvey, Angela Lansbury, Janet Leigh, James Gregory, Leslie Parrish, John McGiver, Henry Silva
Directed by John Frankenheimer
Black and White
Reviewed by JL
The greatest political thriller ever made, THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE is
a surreal Cold War nightmare on celluloid. Its central
premise (a
Korean war veteran is brainwashed and hypnotically programmed to commit
political assassination) becomes absurd the longer one thinks about it
(and the more one knows about the limitations of hypnosis), but it was
a premise manifested by the fears of its time, seemingly credible in
context, and wholly engrossing. It has been said that
director
John Frankenheimer (whose mostly undistinguished career was marked a
few very good films and this one masterpiece) didn't fully grasp the
depth of satire and acerbic humor in the script; ironically, by playing
things straight, the satire became more cutting and trenchant.
Lawrence Harvey delivers a
strong and moving
performance as the tragic Raymond Shaw, and Frank Sinatra was never
better than as Major Bennett Marco, the man who uncovers the
unimaginable truth of it all. But the picture belongs to
Angela
Lansbury, whose evil and incestuous Mrs. Iselin is regarded by some as
the greatest screen villainess of all time. 
- JL
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Copyright © 2008 John V. Brennan, John Larrabee