Sunday 12 December 2021

The Manchurian Candidate (1962 John Frankenheimer)

Brilliant thriller, written by George Axelrod, closely adapted from Richard Condon's novel, which includes the brainwashing sequence which Frankenheimer so brilliantly brings to life:

Not normally a fan of Laurence Harvey but he is perfect for the brainwashed assassin, and Angela Lansbury is fabulous as his manipulative mother.

Lots of very interesting filming and editing going on, care of Lionel Linden (camera) and Ferris Webster (cutting; his last fifteen films were all for Clint Eastwood; since 1939).

The same kind of thing Jim Clark had been doing in The Innocents a year earlier

With Frank Sinatra, Janet Leigh, Leslie Parrish, John McGiver, Henry Silva (karate chopping servant), James Gregory (Lansbury's husband), Khigh Dhiegh, James Edwards, Douglas Henderson.

Janet Leigh meets a clearly mentally disturbed soldier on a train and falls in love with him immediately; Leslie Parrish helps Harvey with a snake bite and he proposes to her immediately. Admittedly, she has taken her top off within sixty seconds, but I think actually the proposal is more to piss off his mother!


Music by David Amram. A United Artists release. Frankenheimer's best film (although admittedly haven't seen The Train or Ronin).

Did notice Sinatra is out of focus in key un-brainwashing scene.

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