I really only knew this Cold War-era psychological thriller from the peripherals of my pop culture awareness, with the closest association I DID have being Tony Scott’s fascinating cinematic failure of 2005, Domino, which was a HIGHLY fictionalized account of the true-life bounty hunting exploits of Manchurian co-star Laurence Harvey’s badass (and unfortunately deceased before her time) daughter, Domino Harvey. In that flick, discussions about and scenes from THIS movie pop up several times, which did admittedly intrigue me. However, it the subsequent years since I’d seen Domino, it never occurred to me to seek it out.
Having said that, I’ll also say that I HAVE seen the 2004 remake starring Denzel Washington, directed by Jonathan Demme (The Silence of the Lambs), during it’s initial theatrical release, though I’ll admit that it didn’t leave much of an impression at the time and may now be eligible for one of my Revisit reviews sometime in the near future.
So, after stumbling across a $5 DVD copy at the local Village of Value, I figured it was time that I gave this one a fair day in court.
In my ignorance, I also didn’t realize that this was an early John Frankenheimer flick, who’s superb 1998 espionage flick Ronin is one of my favorites in the genre. So, my interest crept up a notch.
The Manchurian Candidate opens during the Korean War, in 1952. A group of US infantry on patrol, including ‘Cpt. Ben Marco’ (Frank Sinatra) and ‘Sergeant Raymond Shaw’ (Laurence Harvey) are ambushed by Communist forces and kidnapped. Upon returning to the world, under the cover of a story of a heroic but harrowing mission that resulted in the loss of a couple men, they hope the worst is behind them. As they try to adjust back into American society, several of them, including ‘Capt. Marco’, begin experiencing nightmares detailing the deep and, as demonstrated, deadly brainwashing the beleaguered squad may or may not have endured while in captivity. ‘Shaw’, in particular, is badly affected and, unbeknownst to him, is being used covertly as a weapon by his ruthless Republican-operative mother, ‘Eleanor Shaw’ (Angela Lansbury), up to and including murder / assassination. A tragic cat n mouse game between the two leads ensues.
It was a rainy afternoon and I was bored, having completed all my usual indoor domestic bullshit, especially as a rather determined atmospheric river had decided to do it’s thing over my hood for the last few days, threatening to flood the park I call home and keeping me and the dogs cooped up. Seeing this one sitting there in my ‘To Watch / Review’ pile, I was immediately hit with a case of the Why the Fuck Not’s.
I fired up a coffee, then fired up a joint and grabbed for the pen and paper. As a pleasant buzz settled in and the rain and wind pounded the outside of my Man-Cave on Wheels, up came that remote.
PLAY
Scribbles then happened…
-Oh snap! Commie ambush! Korea. ’52. The sequence is super short and ALMOST came across as comical, given how easily this US Army squad gets Judo-chopped and abducted so quickly. Not exactly a glowing endorsement of the US military at the time, which is a little surprising, given the geo-political climate of the time-period.
-Kidnapped Yanks. Ok then. As established in the previous scribble.
-Holy shit! Lansbury already too much! Evil rich mommy. Everyone most likely associates Angela Lansbury with her classic character ‘Jessica Fletcher’, from the hit TV series Murder She Wrote (1984 – 1996), but here she is the polar opposite of that plucky and charming writer / sleuth, being a ruthless Republican hag with a horrifying agenda. She’s a scary force to be reckoned with here.
-Some impressive and creative camerawork. John Frankenheimer had a seriously long-lived career in Hollywood and in this early feature, his visual style and talent were plain to see.
-Creepy brainwash dream. One of the most memorable sequences is the first extended dream sequence we see detailing a cleverly edited demonstration of deep hypnotism on the captured Yanks by a group of Russian and Chinese scientists and military personnel. Very inventively shot and edited, effortlessly moving through reality and illusion.
-Very cool documentary feel. One thing Frankenheimer has long employed for his films are strategically placed moments of hand-held camerawork, giving a certain immediacy to the events playing out.
-Sinatra’s not bad actually. Good, long dialogue scene with Janet Leigh. Jamie Leigh Curtis’ mom turns up as a potential ‘interest’ for Sinatra’s ‘Capt. Marco’ and the two share an impressive and natural-feeling exchange that plays out predominantly in one take.
-Pretty sure that dude is NOT ‘oriental’. This is in reaction to very Caucasian actor Henry Silva (Code of Silence) turning up as a CHINESE operative in league with Lansbury’s ‘Eleanor Shaw’. Blatant ‘yellow-face’ like this would absolutely NOT fly in this day and age (and nor should it), and it’s always cynically amusing to stumble across, those cute little reminders of the casual racism of yester-year.
-Good long drunken chat scene. Harvey + Sinatra. Impressive. I think you get the point.
-Harvey does creepy well. Laurence Harvey does, in fact, do ‘creepy’ well.
-Wow! Eerily timely – US politician as Russian asset. Sounds familiar somehow. I will not sully this writing with open mention of the orange pedophile rapist criminal narcissist piece of shit who’s-currently-working-on-destroying-our-world-from-the-White House’s name…but I think you know who I mean.
*And if you just happen to be one of those dumb-fuck American rubes who actually fell for it and voted for that grifting scumbag, at any time in the last decade, from the bottom of my very Canadian heart…FUCK YOU and everyone just like you, you ignorant assholes. Sincerely.
*steps down from soap box*
-Why does Laurence Harvey’s character seem British? Now I know Laurence Harvey WAS British, and it somehow came through, despite him not using his natural accent. There was a stilted ‘Britishness’ about him. Just calling it as I see it.
-Holy shit! Lansbury is evil! Murder she fuckin wrote, indeed! Yep, the scene where she has a psychological go at her own, brainwashed son capped off the ‘Angela Lansbury is Evil’ debate.
-Pure Republican evil. Some things don’t change. No need to expand on this one.
-1962…why B/W? I found this stylistic choice a bit odd, since colour films had been around for years leading up to this one’s production. But, Frankenheimer and Co. must’ve had a reason.
-Good use of hand-held. Again, the sense of tension and immediacy that came with the more documentary-style approach went a long way to pull me into what was happening, especially in the 3rd Act.
-Sniper scene lead-up reminds of The Last Boy Scout climax. Influence? I love another of Tony’s Scott’s other Box Office failures and that’s 1991’s awesome The Last Boy Scout, who’s own ticking clock / hidden sniper ending felt as though this film’s version could’ve been an influence.
-Odd, abrupt ending. It was.
-Not sure, overall. And several days after having actually watched it, I’m STILL not sure how I feel about it. Some good…some not so good.
-Larger brainwash plot wasted. This critique came to me a bit later, when I realized that the larger, more interesting plot, the one I’d originally been invested in, involving the truth about what happened to the entire infantry squad and how it was still taking its toll on them through the recurring dreams and crushing PTSD, had been squandered in service of only Laurence Harvey’s Communist-tool plotline. Now I do know this is based on a book, so in all likelihood, that’s how the source material plays out, but just as a movie taken on its own, something felt wasted with the sole focus that dominates the flick’s last half.
All in all, I can definitely give The Manchurian Candidate credit for being rather ahead of its time, in both subject and execution, while also being EXACTLY a product of those Joseph McCarthy-infected days, that looming Red-threat period during which Americans had gaslit themselves into seeing evil pinko Russkies / Chinamen around every corner. I will also confess that there’s something eerily relevant to the times I find myself existing in, at the time of this writing, with the awful and inexcusable fascistic tendencies of those American Republican pieces of shit having been brought to the vocal forefront under the direction and allowance of a blatantly corrupt and down-right evil US president who, in ALL likelihood, IS actually a Russian asset, a literal ‘Manchurian Candidate’, if you will.
It also showed that some things, especially in contemporary American politics, simply never change, especially where the nefarious and underhanded machinations of the Republican party are concerned.
From a technical stand-point, there’s a lot of very inventive and effective camerawork on display, and Frankenheimer and Co. do a decent job keeping the 2 hour and 6-minute run-time moving, with the many slower moments in the slow-burn build-up still holding my attention through the often-naturalistic performances and dialogue of the leads.
Having said all that, while it is a solid and well-crafted thriller, I’m not sure everyone will gravitate toward it. The average movie-goer could probably take it or leave it, but if you’re a Frankenheimer fan, or are curious about the acting chops of legendary crooner Frank Sinatra, or want to see Angela Lansbury play an absolute bitch villain, or have any appreciation for the period of time this film is a product of / depicts, then I can easily recommend you give the original 1962 The Manchurian Candidate a look.
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