The Manchurian Candidate

John Frankenheimer's The Manchurian Candidate is a film about political extremism. It was born out of the McCarthy period in the USA when the Far Right jostled with the Far Left, leaving a comparative political vacuum in the middle.

The principal character in the drania (scripted by George Axelrod) is Sergeant Raymond Shaw (Laurence Harvey). Captured by the Communists in the Korean War, he undergoes a horrific brainwashing experience. He returns to the USA (as a War Hero) programmed to kill. He is a mere pawn in a game of power politics, his master eventually becoming his megalomaniacal mother (Angela Lansbury). Shaws only chance of salvation lies with his army buddy Marco (Frank Sinatra), who undertakes a difficult search to find out what's going on.

This is an exciting, nightmarish film that elicits strong responses from viewers. It's highly charged, replete with complex double imagery. It's imaginative, bold and very powerful. Laurence Harvey, an actor of markedly limited ability, very much convinces as a zombie. Sinatra is very impressive in an understated role and Lansbury is terrific as a terrifying matriach.

Review by Stephen Townsend
Taken from EUFS Programme 1993-94