The first time in my life that I heard the term “fascist rally” was during my first viewing of The Manchurian Candidate, sometime in the early ’70s. I seem to recall it being shown at the Leo S. Bing theatre at the L.A. County Museum of Art, which was quite a score by Ron Haver as John Frankenheimer‘s 1962 thriller had been commercially withdrawn for some years at that point.

The term was used hy John McGiver, portraying the ultra-liberal Senator Thomas Jordan. He was speaking to James Gregory, who was playing Senator John Yerkes Iselin, a reactionary conservative who was modelled on the real-life Senator Joseph McCarthy.

The scene happens at a loud, raucous party at Iselin’s vacation home…a party to celebrate the engagement of Laurence Harvey‘s Raymond Shaw and Jordan’s daughter, Jocelyn (played by Leslie Parrish).

Iselin: “Tom! Tom, boy! So great you could come!”
Jordan: “I am here at this fascist rally because my daughter has assured me that it was important to her that I come. There is no other reason.”
Iselin: “Good old Tom!”