The Manchurian Candidate

John Frankenheimer (director)
Richard Condon (novel)
George Axelrod (screenwriter)
Frank Sinatra, Laurence Harvey, Janet Leigh, Angela Lansbury (starring)

Beverly Hills, CA: M.C. Productions / United Artists, 1962. Two vintage studio still photographs from the 1962 film.

Based on Richard Condon's 1959 novel. A film that managed the unlikely feat of being both timely and well ahead of its time, combining several ambitious themes, including thought control, political assassination, multinational conspiracy, Oedipal issues, and Cold War paranoia. Still riveting today, and along with "Seconds" (1966), helped cast Frankenheimer as the master of the paranoid, unsettling thriller. Contrary to popular belief, the film was not pulled from circulation following the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy, but did disappear in 1972 when rights reverted to Frank Sinatra, who subsequently neglected to pursue continued distribution. This lapse continued until the 1988, when Sinatra re-released the film to theaters in conjunction with MGM and United Arists.

Set in Korea and Washington, DC, shot on location in New York, California. Nominated for two Academy Awards.

8 x 10 inches. Very Good plus.


[Book #143142]