"The Manchurian Candidate" stars Laurence Harvey as Raymond Shaw, who returns from the Korean War a hero and a Medal of Honor awardee. Major Marco (Frank Sinatra) remembers Shaw differently, however, in a recurring nightmare as a killer brainwashed by Russian and Chinese brass. Harvey's mother is Angela Lansbury, a calculating Communist Agent and wife of blustering Senator Iselin (James Gregory). If Shaw is an assassin controlled by communists, who is his target, and can Marco stop him?
At first viewing, "The Manchurian Candidate" is a
tense drama. Subsequent viewings transform the
film into a black comedy, with Shaw and his
Senator stepfather the most humorous characters.
Shaw is stolid but bewildered, almost sympathetic
in his contempt for everything, while the
alcoholic, idiotic Senator gives a great
performance as Lansbury's shameless puppet.
"The Manchurian Candidate" is not without minor
flaws. The audience must accept two enormous
coincidences: Shaw overhears a bartender advise a
game of solitaire with Marco arriving as a
witness, and Jocie arriving at the costume party
wearing the Queen of Diamonds. Lansbury is only
three years older than Harvey, who plays her son.
And Janet Leigh's character falls over herself
picking up Sinatra, despite his inability to
light a cigarette, his distance, and his getting
arrested.
These flaws aren't important compared to the
film's strengths. "The Manchurian Candidate"
never compromises in its attack on right-wing
demagoguery, and Shaw's willingness to kill
without remorse is chilling. Lansbury may be the
worst mother in screen history. Sinatra's fight
with Henry Silva is a memorable brawl, complete
with eye gouging and rib kicking. And the dream
sequences with the laconic soldiers and cynical
communists are mesmerizing.
When John F. Kennedy was assassinated a year
after "The Manchurian Candidate" was released,
the film was shelved by Sinatra, and was
unavailable for the next two decades. The film's
cynical, satirical, and comic paranoid attitude
toward politics and assassination had become
unacceptable. Seen today, however, the film's
viewpoints appear as valid and relevant as ever.
The British Academy Awards awarded "The
Manchurian Candidate" Best Film of 1962. Their
American counterparts were not as receptive, but
Lansbury was nominated for Best Actress, and
Ferris Webster was nominated for film editing.
(84/100)
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