Making Oedipus the assassin.

The Premise

An American infantry patrol unit containing an unpopular Sergeant Raymond Shaw (Lawrence Harvey) and a dutiful Major Ben Marco (Frank Sinatra) is captured while on patrol in Korea in 1952. Held hostage against their knowledge and hypnotized into believing that Shaw is a hero, the unit returns to base and subsequently to America where Shaw is awarded the Congressional Medal of Honour, to the delight and benefit of his step-father, Congressman Johnny Iseling, and his domineering mother (Angela Lansbury).

Soon enough we uncover that this military operation may have been the start of something bigger, with the brooding, angry and morose Raymond having been created to be the perfect assassin for a job not yet fully revealed.

Fortunately, troubled by nightmares that he cannot explain, Major Marco begins an investigation into the sordid affair. This leads him to believe that whatever is happening may have communist backing. Eventually, the Army catches on and Marco is ordered to monitor Shaw until further notice. It is this sequence in which Lawrence Harvey is spectacular, lamenting to Ben about his curious relationship with his mother and his heartbreak over losing his true love, Jocelyn Jordan, on account of his mother's prying.

Only time will tell if Marco can discover the secret to control Raymond before he completes the never fully uncovered objectives of the Communist Party and his American operator....

The Good

If you want to talk about truly avant-garde films than this film would be 'Exhibit A' on anyone's list. Released in 1962, it unabashedly attacked the ludicrous communist witch hunt orchestrated by McCarthy. It was also one of the first major films to deal with the issue of presidential assassinations, but unfortunately did so a mere twelve months before the slaying of John F. Kennedy. In addition, it was the first film to predict the importance of television media as the major weapon in a political campaign. Finally, it brought the idea of product placements to the fore (perhaps unintentionally) with spots reserved in the script for Heinz 57 and Pepsi-Cola.

This film also helps one to appreciate that the world lost one of the great actors in Lawrence Harvey much before his time (1973). He is simply unbelievable as the emotionally complex Raymond Shaw.

The Bad

About partway through the movie, the Chinese traitor that helped hand the unit over to their abductors resurfaces to serve as Raymond Shaw's valet. He is subsequently attacked by Major Marco and neither appears again in the film nor seemingly contacts the conspirators to inform them that their assassin might be under the influence of their enemies. This plot hole is never addressed. 

The Ugly