Danse Macabre 9: THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE by A. Gonzalez

from the desk of the Witchfinder General, Potomac City, United States of Amerikkka

This classic film was first made in 1962 or 1963, I can't be certain of the date without checking IMDB. While I don't remember actually having seen it myself, others have reported to me that it is a very important and timely film. I can honestly state that I believe I have seen it, and my recollection corresponds reliably with reports I have gotten from colleagues and staff members who have assured me that they have seen the film. Each and every one of these colleagues and staff members have proven themselves to be exemplary public servants and inveterate cineistes, and I have depended on them to fill me in on the parts I may have missed, due to having to catch a cat nap, or going to get a Coke, or going to drain the Coke, if you know what I mean. Film criticism, I have found, can be thirsty work.

The plot of the film centers around lead Laurence Harvey, who has just returned from a lengthy internment in a Southeast Asian POW camp, run, it turns out, by the Red Chinese. This prisoner of war camp, having none of the amenities of Western, not to mention American internment camps, returns Harvey to his family and loved ones, but his release, we learn, has nothing to do with international good will. No, we learn that Harvey's mother, chillingly played by Angela Lansbury in a role that eerily anticipates Hillary Clinton (at least that was Dana Perino's take on the character, and Dana has heretofore proven herself to be spot on in these matters), has been working in tandem with the Chinese to brainwash her son and program him to assassinate a patriotic American presidential candidate and replace him with a Communist plant, which we all know is code for "Democrat".

Frank Sinatra plays Harvey's best friend, a fellow P.O.W. who tries to save his friend and the country from the evil Oriental/Angela/Hillary plot. A subplot involving Frank and love interest Deborah Kerr, climaxed by a torrid love scene on the beach, as the surf washes over them, is tastefully done, though tame by today's standards, and reminds us what a hottie a prim and proper "librarian" type can be in the right vehicle.

The hideous Hillary will haunt your dreams for months after you've seen this classic political thriller. All my thumbs are up for this one.

...transcribed by Jim Earp

Bienvenue! Добро пожаловать! Willkommen!

...to the ninth issue of Danse Macabre, your online destination for coloratura letters, thought-provoking essays, fun photography, and little-known portals to worthy sites across the web. We’re also Nevada’s first online literary magazine, whether the 'literatti' of Southern Nevada take notice or not. Our hope is to help expand the literary matrix between the composer and the electronic media you’re enjoying now. Whether unpublished, still in school, retired, professional, or acclaimed, we welcome ink energy from across the spectrum. As for themes, motifs, or subject matter, look no further than our title – Danse Macabre – or our premiere inspiration (Camille Saint-Saens’ tone poem of the same name) for all you need to know about what gets our attention. In this issue, we present AFI's much-ballyhooed Top 100 Greatest Films list (as well as our collective riposte to this), a thoughtful look at the definitional aspects of cinema noir by Southern California essayist & sonneteer, RDM Cerello; thoughts on Britain's Hammer Films as well as poetry by myself; and a timely review parody from Jim Earp (with additional critical dialogue from Joyce Corbett of the Ethnic Textile Council, Columbia College's Arlene Greene, and UNLV's own popular culture matriarch, Felicia Florine Campbell). There are a lot of literary sites out here in the web (always look in our Archive for Links to sites we know you’ll enjoy visiting), some quite sophisticated, others, well, a little rudimentary. And don’t let’s forget all the many print journals churned out by our esteemed English departments (even though most of them are as provincial and, um, forgettable as their sponsoring programs are six-of-one, half-a-dozen-of-the-other in the academic millscape). At Danse Macabre, the proof’s in the pudding. We’re proud of our ongoing cast of contributing spirits, the scope of our milieu, and the bottom-line literary quality of our output. We’re one hundred percent committed to preserving, representing, and expanding the online landscape of letters, of visuals and voices, and the coloratura in all. And we’re always open to your thoughts, and ink energy, too. In these decidedly interesting times, you never know where the next cool piece of writing might come from…Adam Henry Carriere , Publisher, Danse Macabre

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