History YMMV / TheManchurianCandidate

* NarrowedItDownToTheGuyIRecognize: [[spoiler: Averted with Janet Leigh who was a big star at the time and Angela Lansbury was basically unknown so TheReveal is quite startling.]]

** Creator/AngelaLansbury's performance in the original. LadyMacbeth is less evil. Creator/MerylStreep made chilling work with the character too.

** In the 1962 movie, the {{yellowface}} on Chunjin, and especially on archetypal YellowPeril villain Yen Lo, would be much less likely to fly today.

* ValuesDissonance: In the 1962 movie, the {{yellowface}} on Chunjin, and especially on archetypal YellowPeril villain Yen Lo, would be much less likely to fly today.
* ValuesResonance: Though ''The Manchurian Candidate'' [[https://www.umdjanus.com/single-post/2019/05/05/the-manchurian-candidate-politics-of-gender-and-sexuality-in-1960s-cold-war-cinema has]] [[https://blogs.longwood.edu/politicsandfilm/issues-based__trashed/the-manchurian-candidate/ been]] [[https://swampflix.com/2021/01/29/the-manchurian-candidate-1962/ accused]] of demonizing "masculinized" women and "feminized" men as a threat to the country, the story also notably averts DoubleStandardRapeFemaleOnMale by acknowledging that women can be sexually predatory (even if [[ParentalIncest Mrs. Iselin's rape of her son]] is toned down to IncestSubtext in the [[TheFilmOfTheBook cinematic adaptations]]).

** Contrary to popular belief, the titular Manchurian Candidate ''isn't'' the guy who gets brainwashed to perform an assassination[[note]]except in the case of the 2004 version[[/note]], but rather a political candidate whose career will be assisted by the assassination. Nowadays, most people will refer to a "Manchurian candidate" as being someone who does anything that is asked of them, or as a catch-all term for ManchurianAgents in general.

** Contrary to popular belief, the titular Manchurian Candidate ''isn't'' the guy who gets brainwashed to perform an assassination[[note]]except in the case of the 2004 version[[/note]], but rather a political candidate whose career will be assisted by the assassination. Nowadays, most people will refer to a "Manchurian candidate" as being someone who does anything that is asked of them.

* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: Mrs. John Iselin, big time. However, at least in the 1962 film, much of this is revealed to be a carefully constructed facade. For example, during her visit to Raymond's office, she is seen arrogantly bossing Chunjin around like a typical Karen, callously not even pretending to get his name right ("Chu Chin Chow - or whatever your name is - the steaks are to be broiled for exactly 11 minutes on each side, in a preheated grill, at 400 degrees"). However, in her final monologue to Raymond, she pronounces his name perfectly and makes it clear that they coordinated with each other closely on the assassination plot ("Chunjin will give you a two-piece sniper's rifle that fits nicely into a special bag").

** A longstanding [[PopCultureUrbanLegends urban legend]] claims that Creator/FrankSinatra bought the rights for the movie in order to bury it, feeling guilt over the movie's supposedly inspiring assassination of UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy. This rumor appears to combine several facts: MGM/UA ''did'' block the movie from television screenings for a brief time out of respect for the late President,[[note]]It would not air on television until 1965 as a result[[/note]] Sinatra writing to ABC to complain about a television screening of his 1954 movie ''Film/{{Suddenly}}'', also about an assassination attempt, soon after Kennedy's death,[[note]]''Suddenly'' is subject to a similar rumor that Sinatra tried to suppress the film after Kennedy's assassination. In reality, that movie simply entered the public domain after 1982 and fell into obscurity; Sinatra hardly needed to have suppressed a film few people remembered.[[/note]] and Sinatra obtained the rights in 1972, apparently to recoup money lost to the studio during a salary dispute. Sinatra, his daughters Nancy and Tina, and others denied that there was any attempt to "suppress" the movie, and Sinatra even claimed that he wasn't ''aware'' that he owned the rights to ''Candidate'', implying that the deal was his agent's doing. Further, ''Candidate'' received several television screenings during the period it was supposedly "suppressed," though it wasn't until the rights reverted to MGM/UA in 1987 that the movie received a theatrical re-release, and afterward became widely available to the public.

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: In the 1962 film, Rosie (the LoveInterest) meets Marco on the train and they have a [[BigLippedAlligatorMoment singularly bizarre conversation]]. (See an in-depth analysis of this scene, with a transcript of the crazy conversation, [[https://web.archive.org/web/20200203170522/http://letsnottalkaboutmovies.blogspot.com/2008/08/dont-make-scene-manchurian-candidate.html here]].) Later she bails him out of jail and through a shorter but just as weird conversation we learn that she's left her fiancee for him despite only meeting him once. Then she has no impact on the rest of the movie at all other than to [[MsFanservice fill out some dresses]] very nicely. The very odd nature of Rosie and Marco's meeting and the general uselessness of her character have led some (including Creator/RogerEbert; see his review [[http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20031207/REVIEWS08/40802006/1023 here]]) to theorize that she's a DeepCoverAgent sent by the Chinese to keep an eye on Marco--although this raises the question of why Rosie did nothing to stop Marco as he unraveled the conspiracy around Raymond. Others guess that she's actually an American agent investigating the conspiracy, as [[spoiler: Jonathan Demme did with the character in the 2004 remake.]] In the novel, Rosie's ex-fiancee (the one she returns a ring to so she can be with Marco) happens to work as a government agent, and he's the one who helps Marco investigate Raymond (the army, primarily Col. Milt, are the ones who fulfill this function in the 1962 film).

** A longstanding [[PopCultureUrbanLegends urban legend]] claims that Creator/FrankSinatra bought the rights for the movie in order to bury it, feeling guilt over the movie's supposedly inspiring the assassination of John F. Kennedy. This rumor appears to combine several facts: MGM/UA ''did'' block the movie from television screenings for a brief time out of respect for the late President,[[note]]It would not air on television until 1965 as a result[[/note]] Sinatra writing to ABC to complain about a television screening of his 1954 movie ''Film/{{Suddenly}}'', also about an assassination attempt, soon after Kennedy's death,[[note]]''Suddenly'' is subject to a similar rumor that Sinatra tried to suppress the film after Kennedy's assassination. In reality, that movie simply entered public domain after 1970 and fell into obscurity; Sinatra hardly needed to have suppressed a film few people remembered.[[/note]] and Sinatra obtained the rights in 1972, apparently to recoup money lost to the studio during a salary dispute. Sinatra, his daughters Nancy and Tina and others denied that there was any attempt to "suppress" the movie, and Sinatra even claimed that he wasn't ''aware'' that he owned the rights to ''Candidate'', implying that the deal was his agent's doing. Further, ''Candidate'' received several television screenings during the period it was supposedly "suppressed," though it wasn't until the rights reverted to MGM/UA in 1987 that the movie received a theatrical re-release, and afterwards became widely available to the public.

** The original film has the flashbacks to Raymond and Jocie's prior relationship. The subplot itself is tragic and heartwarming but the montage of Raymond, Jocie, and the Senator laughing so uproariously so throughly saccharine.

* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: Mrs. John Iselin, big time. However, at least in the 1962 film, much of this is revealed to be a carefully constructed facade. For example, during her visit to Raymond's office, she is seen arrogantly bossing Chunjin around like a typical karen, callously not even pretending to get his name right ("Chu Chin Chow - or whatever your name is - the steaks are to be broiled for exactly 11 minutes on each side, in a preheated grill, at 400 degrees"). However, in her final monologue to Raymond, she pronounces his name perfectly and makes it clear that they coordinated with each other closely on the assassination plot ("Chunjin will give you a two-piece sniper's rifle that fits nicely into a special bag").

** A longstanding [[PopCultureUrbanLegends urban legend]] claims that Creator/FrankSinatra bought the rights for the movie in order to bury it, feeling guilt over the movie's supposedly inspiring the assassination of John F. Kennedy. This rumor appears to combine several facts: MGM/UA ''did'' block the movie from television screenings for a brief time out of respect for the late President,[[note]]It would not air on television until 1965 as a result[[/note]] Sinatra writing to ABC to complain about a television screening of his 1954 movie ''Suddenly'', also about an assassination attempt, soon after Kennedy's death,[[note]]''Suddenly'' is subject to a similar rumor that Sinatra tried to suppress the film after Kennedy's assassination. In reality, that movie simply entered public domain after 1970 and fell into obscurity; Sinatra hardly needed to have suppressed a film few people remembered.[[/note]] and Sinatra obtained the rights in 1972, apparently to recoup money lost to the studio during a salary dispute. Sinatra, his daughters Nancy and Tina and others denied that there was any attempt to "suppress" the movie, and Sinatra even claimed that he wasn't ''aware'' that he owned the rights to ''Candidate'', implying that the deal was his agent's doing. Further, ''Candidate'' received several television screenings during the period it was supposedly "suppressed," though it wasn't until the rights reverted to MGM/UA in 1987 that the movie received a theatrical re-release, and afterwards became widely available to the public.

** A longstanding [[PopCultureUrbanLegends urban legend]] claims that Creator/FrankSinatra bought the rights for the movie in order to bury it, feeling guilt over the movie's supposedly inspiring the assassination of John F. Kennedy. This appears to be a garbled combination of several facts: MGM/UA ''did'' block the movie from television screenings for a brief time after Kennedy's assassination out of respect for the late President,[[note]]It would not air on television until 1965 as a result[[/note]] and Sinatra obtained the rights in 1972, apparently to recoup money lost to the studio during a salary dispute. Sinatra, his daughter Tina and others denied that there was any attempt to "suppress" the movie, and Sinatra even claimed that he wasn't ''aware'' that he owned the rights to ''Candidate'', implying that the deal was his agent's doing. Further, ''Candidate'' received several television screenings during the period it was supposedly "suppressed," though it wasn't until the rights reverted to MGM/UA in 1987 that the movie received a theatrical re-release, and afterwards became widely available to the public.

** A longstanding [[PopCultureUrbanLegends urban legend]] claims that Creator/FrankSinatra bought the rights for the movie in order to bury it, feeling guilt over the movie's supposedly inspiring the assassination of John F. Kennedy. This appears to be a garbled combination of several facts: MGM/UA ''did'' block the movie from television screenings for a brief time after Kennedy's assassination out of respect for the late President,[[note]]It would not air on television until 1965 as a result[[/note]] and Sinatra or his agent purchased the rights in 1972, apparently to recoup money lost to the studio during a salary dispute. Sinatra, his daughter Tina and others denied that there was any attempt to "suppress" the movie, and Sinatra even claimed that he wasn't ''aware'' that he owned the rights to the movie, implying that the deal was his agent's doing. [[note]]Indeed, Sinatra often expressed pride in ''Candidate'', and even supported the idea of remaking it when it was first suggested in the mid-'90s.[[/note]] Even so, the movie received several television screenings during the period it was supposedly "suppressed," though it wasn't until the rights reverted to MGM/UA in 1987 that the movie received a theatrical re-release, and became widely available to the public.

** A longstanding [[PopCultureUrbanLegends urban legend]] claims that Creator/FrankSinatra bought the rights for the movie in order to bury it, feeling guilt over the movie's supposedly inspiring the assassination of John F. Kennedy. This appears to be a garbled combination of several facts: MGM/UA ''did'' block the movie from television screenings for a brief time after Kennedy's assassination out of respect for the late President,[[note]]It would not air on television until 1965 as a result[[/note]] and Sinatra or his agent purchased the rights in 1972, apparently to recoup money lost to the studio during the original salary dispute. Sinatra, his daughter and others involved in the deal denied that there was any attempt to "suppress" the movie, and Sinatra even claimed that he wasn't ''aware'' that he owned the rights to the movie, implying that it was his agent's doing. [[note]]Indeed, Sinatra often expressed pride in ''Candidate'', and even supported the idea of remaking it when it was first suggested in the mid-'90s.[[/note]] Even so, the movie received several television screenings during the period it was supposedly "suppressed," though it wasn't until the rights reverted to MGM/UA in 1987 that the movie received a theatrical re-release, and became widely available to the public.

** A longstanding [[PopCultureUrbanLegends urban legend]] claims that Creator/FrankSinatra bought the rights for the movie in order to bury it, feeling guilt over the movie's supposedly inspiring the assassination of John F. Kennedy. This appears to be a garbled combination of several tidbits: MGM/UA ''did'' withdraw the movie from television screenings for a brief time after Kennedy's assassination out of respect for the President,[[note]]It would not air on television until 1965 as a result[[/note]] and Sinatra bought the rights to the film in the 1970s, hoping to recoup what he saw as an unfair salary from the studio. But there's no evidence that Sinatra ever suppressed the movie; it's more likely that, since ''Candidate'' [[VindicatedByHistory wasn't universally considered a classic]] at the time, Sinatra and his lawyers didn't think it would be profitable to make it readily available. Even so, the movie received several television screenings and at least one limited theatrical rerelease during the period it was supposedly "suppressed," though it wasn't until the rights reverted to MGM/UA in 1987 that the movie became widely available.