MASH (1970)

The staff of a Korean War field hospital use humor and high jinks to keep their sanity in the face of the horror of war.

Director:

Robert Altman

Writers:

Richard Hooker (from the novel by), Ring Lardner Jr. (screenplay)

Stars:

Donald Sutherland, Elliott Gould, Tom Skerritt

Won 1 Oscar. Another 13 wins & 23 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Donald Sutherland	...	Hawkeye Pierce
Elliott Gould	...	Trapper John McIntyre
Tom Skerritt	...	Duke Forrest
Sally Kellerman	...	Maj. Margaret 'Hot Lips' O'Houlihan
Robert Duvall	...	Maj. Frank Burns
Roger Bowen	...	Lt. Col. Henry Blake
Rene Auberjonois	...	Father John Mulcahy
David Arkin	...	Sgt. Major Vollmer
Jo Ann Pflug	...	Lt. 'Dish'
Gary Burghoff	...	Cpl. 'Radar' O'Reilly
Fred Williamson	...	Dr. Oliver 'Spearchucker' Jones
Michael Murphy	...	'Me Lai' Marston
Indus Arthur	...	Lt. Leslie
Ken Prymus	...	PFC. Seidman
Bobby Troup	...	Sgt. Gorman

Storyline

The personnel at the 4077 MASH unit deal with the horrors of the Korean War and the stresses faced in surgery by whatever means. The tone at the MASH is established by recent arrivals, surgeons Captains 'Hawkeye' Pierce, 'Duke' Forrest, and 'Trapper' John McIntyre - the latter who Hawkeye knows he's met somewhere, but Trapper who won't divulge where - whose antics can be best described as non-regulation, and in the negative words of one of their fellow MASH-ers: unmilitary. The unit's commanding officer, Colonel Henry Blake, doesn't care about this behavior as long as it doesn't affect him, and as long as they do their job and do it well, which they do. Their behavior does extremely bother fellow surgeon, Major Frank Burns, and recently arrived head nurse, Major Margaret Houlihan, who obtains the nickname 'Hot Lips' based on information they glean about her through underhanded means. Beyond their battles with Frank and Hot Lips, Hawkeye, Duke and/or Trapper help unit dentist Painless ...

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Plot Keywords:

surgeon | mobile army surgical hospital | korean war | nurse | military | 

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Taglines:

M*A*S*H Gives A D*A*M*N.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sexual content

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Japanese Korean

Release Date:

March 1970 (USA)

Also Known As:

M*A*S*H

Filming Locations:

Griffith Park - 4730 Crystal Springs Drive, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$3,500,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$81,600,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Aspen Productions (I), Ingo Preminger Productions, Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

116 min 112 min (PG)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to George Litto, when studio executives first saw the film, they handed Altman "ten pages of notes for cuts and changes they wanted made", then producer Ingo Preminger arranged a test screening in San Francisco. By the time Hawkeye was stealing the Jeep, the audience was openly applauding the film, and executive Richard D. Zanuck allegedly said "Tell Bob to forget about my notes."

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Goofs

Hawkeye gives amphetamines to Ho John so that he will fail his draft board physical. However, Ho John displays the characteristics of depressant abuse; he basically just stands there in a listless stupor. Amphetamine abuse should do the opposite; he should be nervous, excitable, and talkative. Correction: While most people on amphetamines react differently, those who have ADD or ADHD do have the appearance of being on depressants because of the chemical reaction in their bodies which is why children unfortunately are given amphetamines as a treatment for such a diagnosis. It has even been know to cause them to fall asleep and make them feel as if they are in a fog.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Lt. Col. Henry Braymore Blake: Radar.
Cpl. Walter 'Radar' O'Reilly: Yes, sir. I'll get ahold of Major Burns...
Lt. Col. Henry Braymore Blake: I want you to get a hold of Major Burns...
Cpl. Walter 'Radar' O'Reilly: ...Tell him to hold a couple day surgeons over into the night shift.
Lt. Col. Henry Braymore Blake: Tell him we're going to have hold a couple of surgeons over from the day shift out of the night shift.
Cpl. Walter 'Radar' O'Reilly: I'll put in a call to General Hammond in Seoul...
Lt. Col. Henry Braymore Blake: Get General Hammond down there in Seoul, tell him to send us those new surgeons right away.
Cpl. Walter 'Radar' O'Reilly: ...I hope he sends us those two new surgeons. We're sure gonna need'em.
[Leaves]
[...]

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Crazy Credits

The announcer on the camp P.A. throughout the film several times announces the movie that will be shown in the mess tent that evening, with a description and list of stars in it. Near the end of the film, in the last scene, the P.A. announcer says "Attention. Tonight's movie has been MASH. Follow the zany antics of our combat surgeons as they cut and stitch their way along the front lines, operating as bombs and bullets burst around them, snatching laughs and love between amputations and penicillin. Follow Hawkeye, Trapper, Duke, Dago Red, Painless, Radar, Hot Lips, Dish, and staff sergeant Vollmer, as they put our boys back together again. Starring ..." and then lists the actors.

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Alternate Versions

Re-released on DVD and VHS unedited and with an MPAA rating of "R" in January 2002.

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Connections

Spin-off W*A*L*T*E*R (1984)

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Soundtracks

My Blue Heaven
(1927) (uncredited)
Music by Walter Donaldson
Lyrics by George Whiting
Sung in Japanese over the loudspeaker

User Reviews

An enjoyable, episodic comedy but not the classic many claim it to be

And then there was Korea. In an understaffed and overstretched medical camp Lt Col Blake puts an order in for more surgeons. Dispatched to him in a stolen army jeep are Captain's Hawkeye Pierce and Duke Forrest who immediately start chasing the nursing staff and annoying their tent mate Major Burns. When chest cutter Trapper John McIntyre joins them in the camp it starts a working practice that ignores authority and tries to find as much fun as possible in the middle of their bloody war.

I had watched the TV show for a long time before I finally got to watch the movie - I prefer the cynical comedy of the film although I have always loved the more sitcom style approach of the series. Many critics have hailed this as an anti-war film that exposes the brutal effects of war; to some extent I suppose that is true but it is far from being a part of the main narrative - even to call it a theme would be generous! It does have some scenes of blood and gore but it is far from having anything substantial to say about the cruelty of war.

Instead I always find this film to be a very episodic, freewheeling comedy, some bits of which work and some others don't. On the whole it is pretty funny and uses the sort of sporadic dialogue and action to move it forward. At times it is based on imaginative banter between Trapper and Hawkeye and at others it is out and out slapstick such as the chaotic game of American football at the end of the film. The downside of this is that sections of it just don't work - Painless Paul's dilemma is pretty uninspiring at least - however, on the whole it is energetic and very funny. Altman's use of overlapping dialogue and his usual use of overlapping scenes as opposed to a traditional narrative flow is good here but it would have been better if it had been toned down somewhat.

The cast is what really carries the film - the plot is weak and they have no characters other than what they create themselves and, although the dialogue is good, I couldn't help the feeling that the cast did as much as the writers. As such the lead two of Sutherland and Gould stand out as great comedians with great witty touches, their characters are the largest and their lines are the funniest. Skerritt starts out as equal to them but quickly becomes a third wheel despite still giving a good performance. The support cast are all a good mix of characters whether they be played by actors such as Duvall and Kellerman or less well known faces such as Burghoff or Bowen.

Overall, I am still unable to see what those who call this a `brutal anti-war film' see but that doesn't mean I can't enjoy it as a comedy. As such though, it is very episodic and really lacks a solid narrative flow meaning that any 10 minute period could be good or bad. Aside from this lack of substance it is a funny, enjoyable comedy but it doesn't deserve the classic reputation that it has obtained.