John Michael Frankenheimer was an American film and television director known for social dramas and action/suspense films. Among his credits were Birdman of Alcatraz (1962), The Manchurian Candidate (1962), Seven Days in May (1964), The Train (1964), Seconds (1966), Grand Prix (1966), French Connection II (1975), Black Sunday (1977), The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996), and Ronin (1998).
The Manchurian Candidate is a 1962 American neo-noir psychological political thriller film directed and produced by John Frankenheimer. The screenplay is by George Axelrod, based on the 1959 Richard Condon novel The Manchurian Candidate. The film's leading actors are Frank Sinatra, Laurence Harvey, and Angela Lansbury, with co-stars Janet Leigh, Henry Silva, and James Gregory.
Isaac Liev Schreiber is an American actor. He has received numerous accolades including a Tony Award as well as nominations for nine Primetime Emmy Awards and five Golden Globe Awards.
Richard Thomas Condon was an American political novelist. Though his works were satire, they were generally transformed into thrillers or semi-thrillers in other media, such as cinema. All 26 books were written in distinctive Condon style, which combined a fast pace, outrage, and frequent humor while focusing almost obsessively on monetary greed and political corruption. Condon himself once said: "Every book I've ever written has been about abuse of power. I feel very strongly about that. I'd like people to know how deeply their politicians wrong them." Condon's books were occasionally bestsellers, and a number of his books were made into films; he is primarily remembered for his 1959 The Manchurian Candidate and, many years later, a series of four novels about a family of New York gangsters named Prizzi.
Suddenly is a 1954 black and white American noir crime film directed by Lewis Allen with a screenplay written by Richard Sale. The drama stars Frank Sinatra and Sterling Hayden, and features James Gleason and Nancy Gates.
Nowhere Man is an American mystery science fiction thriller television series that aired on UPN on Monday nights from August 28, 1995, to May 20, 1996, starring Bruce Greenwood. The series was created by Lawrence Hertzog. Despite critical acclaim, including TV Guide's label of "This season's coolest hit," the show was cancelled after one season. Reruns later aired in the early 2000s on Family Channel in Canada.
David William Ferrie was an American pilot who was alleged by New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison to have been involved in a conspiracy to assassinate President John F. Kennedy. Garrison also alleged that Ferrie knew Lee Harvey Oswald. Ferrie denied any involvement in a conspiracy and said he never knew Oswald. Decades later, photos emerged establishing that Ferrie had been in the same Civil Air Patrol unit as Oswald in the 1950s, but critics have argued this does not prove that either Ferrie or Oswald was involved in an assassination plot.
The Art of War is a 2000 action spy film directed by Christian Duguay and starring Wesley Snipes, Michael Biehn, Anne Archer and Donald Sutherland. It is the first installment in The Art of War film series, and follows the UN operative who must uncover the conspiracy within the organization after being implicated for the murder of a Chinese UN ambassador. The film's title refers to the ancient Chinese text of the same name by war strategist Sun Tzu. The film was followed by two direct-to-video sequels, The Art of War II: Betrayal and The Art of War III: Retribution. The latter did not feature Snipes.
Plenty is a 1985 American drama film directed by Fred Schepisi and starring Meryl Streep. It was adapted from David Hare's play of the same name.
The Manchurian Candidate is a novel by Richard Condon, first published in 1959. It is a political thriller about the son of a prominent U.S. political family who is brainwashed into being an unwitting assassin for a Communist conspiracy. The novel has twice been adapted into a feature film with the same title: the first was released in 1962 and the second in 2004.
On March 1, 1967, New Orleans District attorney Jim Garrison arrested and charged New Orleans businessman Clay Shaw with conspiring to assassinate President Kennedy, with the help of Lee Harvey Oswald, David Ferrie, and others. On January 29, 1969, Shaw was brought to trial in Orleans Parish Criminal Court on these charges. On March 1, 1969, a jury took less than an hour to find Shaw not guilty. It remains the only trial to be brought for the assassination of President Kennedy.
Rendition is a 2007 American political thriller film directed by Gavin Hood, and starring Reese Witherspoon, Jake Gyllenhaal, Meryl Streep, Peter Sarsgaard, Alan Arkin and Omar Metwally. It centers on the controversial CIA practice of extraordinary rendition and is based on the true story of Khalid El-Masri, who was mistaken for Khalid al-Masri.
Mind control has proven a popular subject in fiction, featuring in books and films such as The Manchurian Candidate and The IPCRESS File, both stories advancing the premise that controllers could hypnotize a person into murdering on command while retaining no memory of the killing. As a narrative device, mind control serves as a convenient means of introducing changes in the behavior of characters, and is used as a device for raising tension and audience uncertainty in the contexts of the Cold War and terrorism. Mind control has often been an important theme in science fiction and fantasy stories. Terry O'Brien comments: "Mind control is such a powerful image that if hypnotism did not exist, then something similar would have to have been invented: the plot device is too useful for any writer to ignore. The fear of mind control is equally as powerful an image."
Doubt is a 2008 American drama film written and directed by John Patrick Shanley, based on his Pulitzer Prize–winning and Tony Award–winning 2004 stage play Doubt: A Parable. Produced by Scott Rudin, the film takes place in a Catholic elementary school named for St. Nicholas. The film stars Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams, and Viola Davis.
Douglas Henderson was an American film and television actor.
Meryl Streep throughout the 2000s appeared in many cinematic and theatrical productions. In 2001, Streep's voice appeared in the science-fiction film A.I. Artificial Intelligence. Streep that same year co-hosted the annual Nobel Peace Prize Concert, as well as appeared in the popular play The Seagull. In 2002, Streep appeared in the films Adaptation. and The Hours. In 2003, Streep appeared unaccredited in the comedy Stuck on You, and starred in the HBO play adaptation Angels in America. In 2004, Streep was awarded the AFI Life Achievement Award, and in that same year, she starred in the films The Manchurian Candidate and Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events. In 2005, Streep starred in the film Prime. Streep began 2006 with the film A Prairie Home Companion, and that same year, she starred in The Devil Wears Prada and the stage production Mother Courage and Her Children. In 2007, Streep appeared in the films Dark Matter, Rendition, Evening, and Lions for Lambs. In 2008, Streep starred in the films Mamma Mia! and Doubt. In 2009, Streep starred in the films Julie & Julia and It's Complicated, as well as loaning her voice to the animated film Fantastic Mr. Fox.
Rob the Mob is a 2014 American romantic crime film directed by Raymond De Felitta and written by Jonathan Fernandez. The film stars Michael Pitt, Nina Arianda, Andy García, Ray Romano, Aida Turturro, Frank Whaley, Michael Rispoli and Joseph R. Gannascoli, and is based on a true story. It was released on March 21, 2014.
