One of the more outlandish conspiracy theories to have done the rounds is the idea of the brainwashed assassin - the unwitting mind controlled dupe capable of receiving a trigger word from their handler which will instantly transform them from mild-mannered family man into gun-wielding hitman ready to take out whoever they're instructed to. The Manchurian Candidate might be a little too strong on the "red threat" conspiracy in today's context, but given that it was released at the height of the Cuban missile crisis it's unsurprising this subject was in the foreground. Frank Sinatra plays Captain Bennett Marco, one of two soldiers who escapes after being captured during the Korean War. Recurring nightmares lead him to uncover a brainwashing technique used to create killers, but with few willing to believe his story it becomes a race against time to stop an assassination. Remade in 2004 with Denzel Washington taking on the role of Marco, it's an enduring tale which successfully plays on the operations carried out by intelligence agencies, necessarily conspiratorial on account of their secretive nature.
