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Although the public remained relatively calm during the crisis, a quiet sense of panic was nonetheless evident. 24, 1962, its release coincided with the height of the Cuban missile crisis, a time when many Americans feared-quite correctly according to previously secret documents that have since been released-that a nuclear nightmare could occur at any moment. On a broader level, there can hardly have been more dramatic circumstances to accompany the debut of this film.
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Indeed, Raymond’s mother is not merely controlling in the way that assumedly bad mothers are she is literally his “controller” in an elaborate plot that destroys both of them. A throwaway line early in the film turns out to be prophetic and portending monstrous consequences: “It’s a terrible thing to hate your mother,” he says. Raymond, robbed of his free will, turns out to be the victim of his mother’s misguided scheming, having no choice in the matter. Certainly, there are few dramas in American filmmaking that take the seeming delight that this film does in portraying the dark side of motherhood as construed in mid-20 th century America. The absurdity of some plot elements is nonetheless difficult to miss, and since Frankenheimer toys with traditional symbols of the all-American life, a satirical reading of the film is suggested. As the film nears the end, the pace quickens, and viewers have little time to think about the many leaps in logic and the many strokes of luck that would be required for the assassination plot to achieve the outcome the conspirators envision.
FRANK SINATRA THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE MOVIE
John Frankenheimer’s skillful direction glosses over several inconsistencies within the story that extend beyond the dubious possibility of mind control in the way the movie suggests.