The Manchurian Candidate

1962
PG-13
2h 6m

IMDb RATING

7.9/10

81K

YOUR RATING

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Conspiracy Thriller Political Thriller Psychological Thriller Spy Tragedy Drama Thriller

An American POW in the Korean War is brainwashed as an unwitting assassin for an international Communist conspiracy.An American POW in the Korean War is brainwashed as an unwitting assassin for an international Communist conspiracy.An American POW in the Korean War is brainwashed as an unwitting assassin for an international Communist conspiracy.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.9/10

81K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Nominated for 2 Oscars
- 6 wins & 9 nominations total

Trivia
Frank Sinatra broke the little finger of his right hand on the desk in the fight sequence with Henry Silva. Due to on-going filming commitments, he could not rest or bandage his hand properly, causing the injury to heal incorrectly. It caused him chronic discomfort for the rest of his life.

Goofs
In the opening sequence, set in 1952, the bar in Korea has a US flag with 50 stars. In 1952, the US included only 48 states, and the flag had only 48 stars. In 1959, Alaska became the 49th state on January 3rd, so the flag was redesigned with 49 stars, effective July 4th, 1959. When Hawaii became the 50th state on August 21st, the 50-star flag was authorized, effective July 4th, 1960.

Quotes
Bennett Marco: Raymond Shaw is the kindest, bravest, warmest, most wonderful human being I've ever known in my life.

Crazy credits
The closing credits specify, "Released thru United Artists". This uses an informal spelling of the standard "through".

Alternate versions
The West German version was edited (ca. 4 minutes) to remove every scene with the ladies in the greenhouse. This version was also released on DVD. In 2005 the uncut version (with subtitles for the missing scenes) was shown on Arte. Only in 2020 was the complete version released on Blu-ray/DVD.

Connections
Edited into EBN: Commercial Entertainment Product (1992)

Soundtracks
The Washington Post
(1889) (uncredited)
Music by John Philip Sousa
Played by a band in the first scene after the opening credits

User reviews396

Review

Featured review

9/10

One of the best thrillers ever made.

To know that the human mind can be manipulated so easily is indeed a scary thing.The Manchurian Candidate is a thriller so intense it can almost be considered a horror film.If,in fact,things such as those depicted here really did occur,I imagine it did step on some pretty sensitive toes.Bravo to all of those involved in front of the camera and behind it.In particular,Angela Lansbury,whose versatility as an actress is proved here as she plays against the nice lady type roles that we know her for.Among all the film's from the era of the 1960's that I have viewed,I would definitely place this in my top 5.One of the best thrillers ever.