The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
 The
Manchurian Candidate looks at a group of decorated Korean War
veterans who all have recurring nightmares about their involvement
in that conflict, all imagining that they’ve experienced some
bizarre events that leave them permanently scarred.
It transpires that the Communists got their hands on our boys
and used them as guinea pigs to show the power of hypnotism.
As such, all of the men operate under false memories about
their actions in the war, and one of them has been programmed to
be an assassin.
Frank Sinatra excels with some surprising high-tension acting
as the main protagonist, Major Bennett Marco, who is struggling to
come to grips with his demons and find out the truth about his
indoctrination. The other main character is Sergeant Raymond Shaw
(Harvey).
Though the movie’s opening scenes show the platoon’s
general dislike for Shaw, their cumulative memory of him is that
of a hero and a virtual saint. Marco works to expose the facts.
Shaw’s position is made additionally intriguing because of
his heritage. His mother (Lansbury) has remarried Senator Johnny
Iselin (James Gregory), a sleazy moron who aspires to be another
Joe McCarthy.
 Mrs.
Iselin is the brains of the operation, and she keeps the
red-baiting dope on a short leash.
She also tries hard to maintain a tight grip over Raymond,
though the reasons for her need for firm control don’t emerge
until late in the movie as the assassin gets his important
assignment.
This riveting political espionage thriller (adapted from a
novel by Richard Condon) was brilliantly handled by director John
Frankenheimer, although the sensitive content ensured the movie
was banned for many years.
The names of the soldiers in the platoon (Melvin, Lembeck,
Silvers and Hiken) come from the actors who played the platoon on Sgt
Bilko (Allan Melvin, Harvey Lembeck and Phil Silvers) plus Nat
Hiken, the creator of the classic TV show.
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