The Manchurian Candidate

The film The Manchurian Candidate is a conspiracy thriller based on Richard Condon's novel of the same name. The original film was released in 1962; a remake was released in 2004.

The original film's central conceit is that the son of prominent, right-wing political family has been brainwashed by Communists to act as an assassin. While the remake keeps the brainwashing storyline, the Communists are replaced by a mysterious corporate oligarchy manipulating a centrist Democrat as opposed to a right-wing politician.

Unsubstantiated rumors persist that the original film's star Frank Sinatra had the film pulled from circulation following the Kennedy assassination in 1963. The film was not publicly rereleased until 1988 when disputes between MGM and Sinatra's attorneys, who controlled the rights to the film, were settled.

Original Fast Facts

1. Release date: October 24, 1962
2. Director: John Frankenheimer
3. Starring: Frank Sinatra, Laurence Harvey, Janet Leigh and Angela Lansbury
4. Run time: 126 min

Remake Fast Facts

1. Release date: July 30, 2004
2. Director: Jonathan Demme
3. Starring: Denzel Washington, Meryl Streep, Liev Schreiber and Jon Voight
4. Run time: 129 min

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