Adapted from a 1959 cold war novel of the same name written by Richard Condon, “The Manchurian Candidate” tells the tale of a secret Russian brainwashing technique and its plans to plant “puppets” in different parts of the American infrastructure. In the midst of the Korean War a platoon of US soldiers is captured by the Russians and taken to Manchuria, China. After a few days, the whole platoon minus two soldiers returns to the US lines claiming that Staff Sergeant Raymond Show is responsible for rescuing them all. Shaw gets rewarded a medal of honor on the recommendation of Captain Bennett Marco. Upon his return from the war, Marco is tormented by a reoccurring nightmare in which Shaw kills the two missing platoon members in front of high Russian military officials demonstrating their radical new brainwashing techniques. When he learns that another platoon member is having the same nightmares, Marco begins to investigate Shaw. Shaw’s mother is married to a loudmouth politician pegged for the vice president spot in the oncoming election. She is also a covert communist operative planning to kill the presidential candidate so her husband could assume his spot. Shaw is supposed to be the killer, triggered by the sight of a queen of hearts card. Can Marco convince the officials that Shaw was brainwashed by the communists and prevent a disaster from happening?
Joan Rivers still in coma
