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Overview for The Manchurian Candidate (1962)

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Overview
Brief Synopsis
A Korean War hero doesn't realize he's been programmed to kill by the enemy.
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Synopsis

During the Korean War, members of a U. S. Army patrol are captured and taken to Manchuria by Chinese Communists who brainwash them into believing that Raymond Shaw, a mother-dominated sergeant, has led a successful action against the Communists. Back in the United States, Raymond is awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor on the strength of his comrades' testimony. Actually he is now a puppet of the Communists; at the sight of a Queen of Diamonds, his mind is triggered into obeying any instruction, retaining no knowledge of his subsequent actions. Meanwhile, another member of the patrol, Bennett Marco, begins having nightmares in which he vaguely recalls what happened in Korea. Suspicious, he starts an investigation and discovers Raymond's strange reaction to the playing card. Unknown to Raymond, the key Communist behind the U. S. operation is his mother, a politically ambitious woman who plans to have her son shoot the presidential nominee during a rally at Madison Square Garden, thus paving the way for her husband, Senator Iselin, the vice-presidential nominee, to take control of the government. As part of the Communist master plan, she uses the cards to force Raymond into killing both his wife, Jocie, and his father-in-law, Senator Jordan, a crusading liberal and his mother's chief political enemy. On the night of the rally, Marco confronts Raymond with a handful of the cards and tries to convince him that he no longer has control of his own mind, but Raymond follows his mother's instructions and takes a rifle to a deserted projection booth. At the last moment, however, the hypnotic spell breaks and he kills his mother and stepfather and then takes his own life.

Cast & Crew
Frank Sinatra
as Bennett Marco
Laurence Harvey
as Raymond Shaw
Janet Leigh
as Rosie
Angela Lansbury
as Raymond's mother
Henry Silva
as Chunjin
James Gregory
as Sen. John Iselin
Leslie Parrish
as Jocie Jordon
John McGiver
as Sen. Thomas Jordon
Khigh Dhiegh
as Yen Lo
James Edwards
as Corporal Melvin
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Release Date
Jan 1962

Color/BW
Black and White

Sound
Mono

Production Dates
not available


Duration (in mins)
126

Premiere Information
New York opening: 24 Oct 1962
not available


Distribution Company
United Artists

Production Company
M. C. Productions


Country
United States
Feb 27, 10:30AM
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The Manchurian Candidate [DVD] (1962)
Available on DVD.
$14.99 Only $12.74
Jackie
Rare and honest film to come out of Hollywood
Most political films out of Hollywood portray the political right as the enemy (Seven Days In May) but this is ...  More>>
stephen
Great Movie
An outstanding film.....made and released at a grim time in our history. Maybe more true than we may want to believe.  More>>
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