THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE
CREDITS THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE
Title: “The Manchurian Candidate”
An MC production.
Distributed by United Artists
Produced by John Frankenheimer and George Axelrod
Executive Produced by Howard W. Koch
Screenplay George Axelrod (based on the novel by Richard Condon)
Distribution
Frank Sinatra-Bennett Marco
Lawrence Harvey-Raymond Shaw
Janet Leigh-Rosie
Angela Lansbury-Eleanor Shaw
Henry Silva-Chunjin
James Gregory-Senator John Iselin
ORIGINS
The film is based on the book of the same name written by Richard Condon and published in 1959.
ARGUMENT
During the Korean War, some American soldiers are captured by the Chinese army and subjected to brainwashing that turns Raymond Shaw into a relentless murderer at the service of the communists, who with the signal of the queen of diamonds make him obey orders without warning. that you can later remember anything.
Returning to civilian life, Shaw, the son of a vice presidential candidate, is considered a war hero, but his partner Bennett Marco (Frank Sinatra), promoted to major in the army intelligence service, suffers nightmares in which He sees that Shaw actually killed two soldiers on his patrol. Marco discovers that Shaw’s mother (Angela Lansbury) is an infiltrated agent of the communists in charge of getting her son to kill the presidential candidate and clear the way for her husband to take control of the government.
PRODUCTION
After passing through other hands that released it due to its controversial nature, the film reached John Frankenheimer, who sought the collaboration of George Axelrod to co-produce and script it; In the director’s words, Axelrod created one of the best adaptations ever made.
The big movie studios were reluctant to finance it and the couple John and George found in Sinatra a perfect ally as an independent producer. Frank was a great fan of the book and needed to embark on a more ambitious film project, one that would polish off the prestige earned with films like “Suddenly” or “The Man With The Golden Arm.” Sinatra would tell the press that the role of Bennett Marco was the most exciting of his career.
When offering distribution of the film to United Artists, the team was met with direct rejection from president Arthur Krim, who also threatened to dissuade any studio from supporting the project. About to be named the Democratic Party’s top economic official, Krim thought that the political argument could be damaging and embarrassing for Kennedy, especially given the negotiations that were being held at that time with the Soviet Union to limit nuclear weapons testing.
Wasting no time, Frank visited JFK, with whom he was a good friend. The nation’s president was a good friend of Sinatra and shared his enthusiasm for the book and belief in the film’s potential. At Sinatra’s request, Kennedy called Arthur Krim to express his support for the production.
Filming was completed in just 39 days and went surprisingly smoothly. Sinatra was collaborative and cheerful, without resorting to his usual complaints to rehearse.
Frankenheimer and the team created a sophisticated and original work, which if it captivates and awes today, in its time it must have been a real shock.
RECEPTION
In mid-June 1962 United Artists organized a preview in London, where Sinatra was recording the album “Great Songs From Great Britain.” The public reception was very favorable.
The official premiere took place in the United States on September 27, 1962 and both critics and the public regained confidence in Sinatra as a leading figure in the film business after the artistic decline that the films with the members of the Rat had entailed. Pack.
The most sensitive sectors were scandalized by the crude exposure of very delicate topics within the framework of high politics, and even United Artists, despite JFK’s support, did not invest much effort in distributing and promoting the film, which made it Sinatra broke his ties with the studio.
She was nominated for two Oscars (Best Supporting Actress for Angela Lansbury and best editing for Ferris Webster); Lansbury received the Golden Globe for best supporting actress.
In 1994, “The Manchurian Candidate” was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress.
MISCELLANEOUS (CONTAINS SPOILERS)
•For the scene in which Shaw immerses himself in a trance in the lake in Central Park, Lawrence Harvey decided to do without his double despite the freezing temperatures. These types of scenes are usually the work of a stuntman with a wetsuit under his clothes. Harvey, who also didn’t want the wetsuit, nailed the scene in the first take, much to Frankenheimer’s delight. The actor was then quickly transferred to the Sherry Netherlands Hotel to warm up and dry his outfit.
•Most of the final murder scene was filmed at Madison Square Garden over four days, with hundreds of extras present. The scenes that did not require the crowd were filmed at the Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles.
•During a fight scene between Sinatra and Henry Silva, Frank hit a table, breaking it and, in the process, also broke his little finger, although the artist finished the scene without complaining.
•The film was taken out of circulation for no less than 25 years, due to the lack of support from the studio, the similarities of the plot with the assassination of JFK and various legal intricacies regarding the exploitation rights of the work.
The re-release took place in March 1987 and was once again unanimously applauded.
THE 2004 RE-MAKE
In 2004, director Jonathan Demme directed a new version, starring Denzel Washington, Meryl Streep and Liev Schreiber and produced by Tina Sinatra. This rereading considerably changes the main aspects of the original film: the presidential candidate is Raymond Shaw himself, the enemy is a multinational company and the character of Rosie (played by Janet Leigh), anecdotal in 1962, becomes fundamental to the plot. What was repeated was the controversy over the controversial story that was told.
Article written by Mahnuel Muñoz. https://www.facebook.com/mahnuelmunozoficial
Access the Complete Filmography of Frank Sinatra in the following link of Sinatra Radio 24h https://sinatraradio24h.com/category/filmography/
We remind you that you can also listen to Sinatra Radio 24 hours on your mobile phone by downloading our free applications for Android in the Play Store https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=sinatra.radio24h for iPhone in the Apple Store https://apps.apple.com/app/sinatra-radio-24h/id6599859344
