Shaw returns from the Korean War to an idolizing and unsuspecting country. Buried deep within the consciousness of Sergeant Raymond Shaw is the mechanism of an assassin, a time bomb ticking toward explosion, controlled by the delicate skill of its Communist masters.
Most importantly, perhaps, it’s very finely crafted, with only a few flat scenes en route to an unforgettable finale.This classic of Cold War paranoia is one of the most dazzling and enduring products of an unforgettable time. While the term “The Manchurian Candidate” might not resonate all that much with younger generations, the film – despite being rooted in a very particular political context – has a degree of metaphoric malleability. This seems almost quaint today: you don’t need extraordinary circumstances to rally Americans into hysteria just a microphone and media coverage. The villains in Frankenheimer’s film go to drastic lengths, planning to exploit a political assassination (executed by the brainwashed Shaw) and, in the subsequent chaos, usher in an authoritarian regime – by “rallying a nation of viewers to hysteria”, as they put it.
If the Kremlin wanted to interfere with an American election these days, they could simply spread online misinformation to do the dirty work for them. But that’s one of the least interesting examples of how the contemporary world differs from the one imagined in the film. If the premise were played out today, Shaw wouldn’t be activated by a playing card – instead, maybe, an app on his phone or an implant in his brain (as was the case in a decent, workmanlike remake released in 2004, with Denzel Washington in Sinatra’s role). Frankenheimer received praise in particular for an out-of-focus shot of Sinatra, with critics suggesting he was using a distorted camera lens to illustrate a disoriented mindset – only for the director to later explain this was unintentional and he was working with the best he had. The film has an uncomfortably edgy aesthetic, infusing what might have been a handsome monochrome look with off-kilter effects – including odd camera angles and blurry elements. “There’s something phony about me, about Raymond Shaw, about the whole Medal of Honor business,” Marco says, embroiled in a mystery without knowing what the mystery even is, let alone how to solve it. Sinatra’s frazzled performance is key to film’s success, skilfully illustrating the protagonist’s ravaged mindset and imbuing the drama with red-hot intensity. Photograph: Cinetext Bildarchiv/United Artists/AllstarĪll this might sound like a preposterous example of McCarthyism on steroids, but it’s executed so well you barely even notice the silliness of it.
‘Red-hot intensity’: Sinatra’s frazzled performance is a key part of the film’s success.
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