08 Aug The Manchurian Candidate
The Manchurian Candidate, Cold War movie starring Frank Sinatra, Laurence Harvey, Angela Lansbury and Janet Leigh
(1962) Right after the end of the Korean War a veteran, Captain Marco played by Frank Sinatra, begins to have nightmares that he and the other members of his platoon had been brainwashed. As it turns out, they were, it is a huge nightmare, and Captain Marco seems to be the only person who can save the United States from a Cold War catastrophe.
Okay, not World War II but I’m expanding a little into movies about the Korean War and the Cold War. It’s interesting to see how one just blends right into the next.
Janet Leigh is Frank’s new girl. There had to be one. She meets him on a train, recognizes that he’s losing it and that’s all it takes. Next thing we know they’re married.
Laurence Harvey plays the sergeant who was awarded the Medal of Honor for heroism. When he comes home to be appropriately honored we meet the mother he despises, played by Angela Lansbury. She is the conniving power behind her husband, a U.S. Senator who is modeled after Joseph McCarthy, and that’s all I’m going to say.
I thought I knew how it was going to end but I was off. It was better than I imagined.
Here’s what was so interesting to watch. Almost no security at a national convention when the party’s candidate is being nominated? The intelligence organization lets Frank Sinatra (all right, Captain Marco) go after an assassin all by himself?
I was curious about Laurence Harvey. According to Wikipedia, he was born in 1928, the youngest of the three sons of a Jewish Lithuanian family. When h e was five years old his family emigrated to South American which was a good thing because by the time World War II was over there were hardly any Jewish families left in Lithuania. Rumored to be gay, Harvey was married three times. He died from stomach cancer at the age of 45 but left a long legacy of movie and television films beginning in 1948. He was co-presenter of the Academy Awards in 1973.
And of course, Miss Angela, is 87 years old now. Has she ever taken a vacation? She started with an Academy Award for Gaslight in 1944 and has hardly stopped since. If for no other reason, watch The Manchurian Candidate to see her.
Everyone’s acting was excellent. Even the brainwashers.
The Manchurian Candidate (Special Edition) at amazon.com
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