JOHNNY EISELIN (as played by James Gregory in "The Manchurian Candidate" (1962)..,..a feckless dunce, groomed as a Joseph McCarthy wanna-be by his Machiavellian Medusa wife (Angela Lansbury), who's actually a Red Chinese agent. She secures him a spot on the ticket as Vice President, but she schemes to have Eiselin's frontrunner capped by her brainwashed son, Raymond Shaw (Laurence Harvey), allowing her idiot husband to seize the day and ascend to the top spot and ultimately, the Oval Office. Best/Worst Moment: Lansbury allows Gregory to use a Heinz Ketchup bottle to remind him of the number of communists he's supposed to loudly proclain are infecting the U.S.government.....57.
RAYMOND SHAW (as played by Liev Shreiber in the remade "Manchurian Candidate" (2004) The remake discards the dopey Eiselin character, preferring to turn poor brainwashed Raymond Shaw himself into the Veep candidate, promoted by his evil mom (Meryl Streep, channeling in a little bit 'o Hilary). Monstrous Mom now does all this on behalf of Manchurian Global, a Halliburton type conglom run by a bunch of soulless Suits who scarily resemble Trump administration cabinet appointees. Best/Worst Moment: Any scene with Schrieber, who freely applies his soothing voice and thousand yard stare to great effect....you just know this guy's brain has been through the spin cycle more than a few times.....
GREG STILLSON (as played by Martin Sheen in "The Dead Zone" (1983) Once in office, this populist man-of-the-people thug shouts "Hallelujah!" as he enthusiastically kicks off a nuclear war......or so he does in the vivid premonitions of tortured psychic Johnny Smith (Christopher Walken) Best/Worst Moment: I wouldn't dare spoil it for anyone who hasn't read the Stephen King book or seen the film, but Walken's reckless attempt to prevent a Stillson Armageddon leads to a dark-humored climax that proves nothing eliminates villains better than a public relations meltdown.......
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