The Manchurian Candidate (1962 film)

The Manchurian Candidate
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJohn Frankenheimer
Screenplay byGeorge Axelrod
Based onThe Manchurian Candidate
1959 novel
by Richard Condon
Produced by
  • George Axelrod
  • John Frankenheimer
Starring
Narrated byPaul Frees[1]
CinematographyLionel Lindon
Edited byFerris Webster
Music byDavid Amram
Color processBlack and white
Production
company
M.C. Productions
Distributed byUnited Artists
Release date
  • October 24, 1962 (1962-10-24)
Running time
126 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$2.2 million[2]
Box office$7.7 million[3] or $3.3 million (US/Canada)[4]
The film's trailer

The Manchurian Candidate is a 1962 American neo-noir psychological political thriller film directed and produced by John Frankenheimer. The screenplay is by George Axelrod, based on the 1959 Richard Condon novel The Manchurian Candidate. The film's leading actors are Frank Sinatra, Laurence Harvey, and Angela Lansbury, with co-stars Janet Leigh, Henry Silva, and James Gregory.[5]

The plot centers on Korean War veteran Raymond Shaw, part of a prominent political family. Shaw is brainwashed by communists after his Army platoon is captured. He returns to civilian life in the United States, where he becomes an unwitting assassin in an international communist conspiracy. The group, which includes representatives of the People’s Republic of China and the Soviet Union, plans to assassinate the presidential nominee of an American political party, with the death leading to the overthrow of the U.S. government.

The film was released in the United States on October 24, 1962, at the height of U.S.–Soviet hostility during the Cuban Missile Crisis. It was widely acclaimed by Western critics and was nominated for two Academy Awards: Best Supporting Actress (Angela Lansbury) and Best Editing. It was selected in 1994 for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[6][7]

  1. ^ Jordan, Darran (2015). Green Lantern History: An Unauthorised Guide to the DC Comic Book Series Green Lantern. Sydney, Australia: Eclectica Press. ISBN 978-1-326-13987-2. Archived from the original on April 3, 2017. Retrieved April 2, 2017.
  2. ^ "The Manchurian Candidate Still Shocks After All These Years". Archived from the original on 2018-03-19. Retrieved March 18, 2018.
  3. ^ Box Office Information for The Manchurian Candidate. Archived January 27, 2011, at the Wayback Machine The Numbers. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
  4. ^ "Big Rental Pictures of 1962". Variety. 9 Jan 1963. p. 13. Please note these are rentals and not gross figures
  5. ^ Macek, Carl; McGarry, Eileen (1996). Silver, Alain; Ward, Elizabeth (eds.). Film Noir: An Encyclopedic Reference to the American Style. New York City, Woodstock, NY & London: Overlook Press. pp. 183–84.
  6. ^ "25 Films Added to National Registry (Published 1994)". The New York Times. November 15, 1994. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on March 8, 2021. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
  7. ^ "Complete National Film Registry Listing". Library of Congress. Retrieved November 15, 2022.