From Axelrods adaptation of Condons idiosyncratic novel right down to its dialogue, the performances of the entire cast, and the direction of Frankenheimer, the film is a masterclass on how to adapt a novel to the screen faithfully and yet tell a tense and utterly enthralling story at the same. Michael Skinner as Corporal Allen Melvin. All of this combines to make The Manchurian Candidate both an excellent thriller and a fine film.Stephen Saatjian as Gomel/Gaines/Ben Arthur.Nick Mcgee as Psychiatrist/Defense Sec. Academy Award winners Denzel Washington and Meryl Streep, along with Golden Globe and Emmy nominee Liev Schreiber, mesmerize a whole new generation of audiences in Academy Award winner Jonathan Demme's 'The Manchurian Candidate.' As the entire nation watches the presidential campaign hurtle towards Election Day, one soldier races to uncover the conspiracy behind it a conspiracy that seeks.The Manchurian Candidate was released in 1962, after the assassination of President Kennedy the film was pulled from the public and kept in a vault for over 26 years. As Marcos doubts deepen, Shaws political power grows, and, when Marco finds a mysterious implant embedded in his back, the memory of what. He begins to doubt that his fellow squad-mate Sergeant Raymond Shaw, now a vice-presidential candidate, is the hero he remembers him being. The Manchurian Candidate (1962) Cast and Crew details.The Manchurian Candidate (1962) actors, actresses, directors,producers,writers, music directors and. The son of a prominent, right-wing political family has been brainwashed as an unwitting assassin for an international Communist conspiracy. Years after his squad was ambushed during the Gulf War, Major Ben Marco finds himself having terrible nightmares.