Major Fred C. Dobbs (11 Mar. 1973)

Frank applies for a transfer out of the 4077, and Hawkeye and Trapper can't resist broadcasting his goodbye to Margaret through the camp P.A. The prospect of gold in the region gives Frank second thoughts.

Director:

Don Weis

Writers:

Sid Dorfman, Larry Gelbart (developed for television by),

Stars:

Alan Alda, Wayne Rogers, McLean Stevenson

Cast

Episode cast overview:
Alan Alda	...	Captain Benjamin Franklin Pierce
Wayne Rogers	...	Captain John McIntyre
McLean Stevenson	...	Lt. Colonel Henry Blake
Loretta Swit	...	Major Margaret Houlihan
Larry Linville	...	Major Franklin Marion Burns
Gary Burghoff	...	Corporal Walter Eugene O'Reilly
Harvey J. Goldenberg	...	Kaplan
Odessa Cleveland	...	Lt. Ginger Bayliss

Storyline

Frank applies for a transfer out of the 4077, and Hawkeye and Trapper can't resist broadcasting his goodbye to Margaret through the camp P.A. The prospect of gold in the region gives Frank second thoughts.

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Plot Keywords:

gold

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | War

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 March 1973 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Stage 9, 20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

20th Century Fox Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

25 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Per the title, Fred C. Dobbs was the treasure-hungry character played by Humphrey Bogart in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre.

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Goofs

Frank Burns claims to have a 30 foot yacht, yet he also claims to live in Fort Wayne, Indiana (in other episodes) which is a land locked city with no body of water large enough nearby (Lake Michigan & Lake Erie about 2.5 hours drive away) to put a yacht in the water.

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Quotes

Lt. Col. Henry Blake: [still with numb tongue and lips from a dentist appointment] It'sh absholutely inexshcusable! You two guysh should be sentenced to life in front of a firing shquad!

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Connections

References Greed (1924)

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Soundtracks

"Hi-Lili, Hi-Lo"
(uncredited)
Music by Bronislau Kaper
Lyrics by Helen Deutsch
Played on the camp loudspeaker when Trapper and Hawkeye are consoling Ginger

User Reviews

A Gold Jeep....... A Gold Jeep?!

Do I need to say anymore? This is probably one of the worst episodes in M*A*S*H's run. It's stupid, much like many of the first season's episodes, like "Requiem for a Lightweight", "I Hate a Mystery", "Edwina", and "Germ Warfare." I know it's only the first season and they're still starting out, but they still need to try, and these episodes are proof that they were not. "Sometimes You Hear the Bullet", sorry but that didn't do anything for me. I just don't feel that bad for Hawkeye or his friend. Should I? Because I don't. But that's another story.

"Major Fred C. Dobbs", there's no character by that name in this episode, it's just an obscure reference to Treasure of the Sierra Madre, which this episode has nothing to do with. Basically: Frank Burns acts like a jerk, Hawkeye and Trapper plaster a hook to his arm. Finally tiring of their childish pranks, Frank whines to Henry and wants a transfer. Hot Lips requests one too after they broadcast her and Frank's sweet nothings over the camp's speakers. Movie callback, anyone? So because Hawkeye and Trapper can't stand extra work, they figure to save their lazy butts by stopping Margaret from leaving, and she'll stay only if Frank won't leave. They use some of Radar's fools gold to fool Frank into thinking the land is rich with gold. He discovers this late one night in a scene not unlike one out of a horror movie. Bad cinematography I guess. Frank wants his transfer thrown out, as does Margaret. The hoax is revealed, as well as the entire area painted gold, right down to the golden Jeep Trapper and Hawkeye drive by in.

This episode was bad. It's not even funny. Sid Dorfman obviously wasn't even trying when he wrote the script, nor was Don Weis when directing it. It's not clever, it's just bad. They paint a Jeep gold. What else is there to say? That's the dumbest thing ever. M*A*S*H is a great show, but crappy episodes like this one and others listed above should be avoided because they're an insult to integrity. I will say this: McLean Stevenson was the only bright light in this story. His performance shows he was the only one who was actually trying, and he was the only one generating any laughs. McLean saved this one from being a total A-bomb, or F-bomb I should say.