Movie – The Manchurian Candidate

The Manchurian Candidate (1962) – A U.S. soldier captured during the Korean War returns home with a secret mission inside his brainwashed mind.

Directed by: John Frankenheimer  Starring: Frank Sinatra, Janet Leigh, Laurence Harvey, Angela Lansbury

Released at the height of the Cuban Missile Crisis this movie was very controversial in some circles.  Before the studio (United Artists) would approve the movie Sinatra had to call in a favor from President Kennedy to advocate for it.  When it was released world wide there were a lot of countries that did extensive editing of the story line.

I have read the book (review) and have much the same reaction to this movie version.  Beginning is interesting, the end is great.  The middle?   Bit of a yawn.  Especially the brainwashing scenes (which is relatively early on) which just seem incredibly dated and awkward.  Because director Frankenheimer likes using first takes the movie alternately feels very “real”, as in unrehearsed, and feels clumsy.  Meanwhile Angela Lansbury’s character is astonishing.  My image of her is largely shaped by the “Murder She Wrote” period of her career.  Her Oscar nomination for this role is not surprising at all.  Sinatra is quite good as well.  Harvey is just odd.  His English accent is unexplained but very obvious.  His performance stuck out like a sore thumb.  By far the strangest part of the movie is the Sinatra/Leigh romance, especially the train scene.  There’s still a lot of discussion about just what was happening there.

It’s only in the final third of the movie that everything comes together and this movie takes off.  If the first half was as good as the second it would have scored the extra half star rating.

I was rather surprised to realize that I’ve never seen either movie versions of this movie in full.  I’ve seen parts of both but this is the first time I’ve watched one beginning to end.

Why I Liked It:  The last hour of the movie is some spectacular suspense.

Why You Will Like It: Great performances by Sinatra and Lansbury and a story that is still very up to date.

Rating – *** 1/2 Almost Recommended