MASH [M*A*S*H] ***** (1970, Donald Sutherland, Elliott Gould, Tom Skerritt, Sally Kellerman, Robert Duvall) – Classic Movie Review 531

Director Robert Altman’s 1970 exhilarating satirical black comedy MASH [M*A*S*H] boasts hilarious dialogue, memorable characters and perfectly cast actors. There are hysterical turns and career-best playing by Donald Sutherland (Hawkeye), Elliott Gould (Trapper John) and Tom Skerritt (Duke Forrest) as Korean War army surgeons, recent arrivals at the 4077 MASH unit, who enjoy jokes, Martinis, golf and nurses while saving lives in their makeshift operating tent.

Robert Duvall’s the repressed officer, Major Frank Burns, who obsessively fancies the sexy but very proper Major Margaret ‘Hotlips’ Houlihan (Sally Kellerman), the recently arrived head nurse. The wayward behaviour of the three new talented young surgeons doesn’t bother the unit’s commanding officer, Colonel Henry Blake (Roger Bowen), but it does upset Major Burns and Major Houlihan.

MASH could be viewed as a kind of up-market American Carry On Doctor. It is obsessed with the same basic subjects — bodies and sex — but it is done with a great deal of style, intelligence and wit. And, unlike Carry Ons that are just there for easy laughs, behind it all in MASH there’s a serious subject – outrage at the devastation caused by the fighting – and a sharply focused point-of-view – a liberal anti-war stance at a time the Vietnam conflict was raging.

As for its treatment of women, gays and racial minorities, well that really leaves a lot to be desired. And in this sense its liberal credentials and those of Altman have fallen. Though groundbreaking, it is still very much a film of its time.

Despite the popularity of the later TV series (1972-83), Altman’s film more than holds its own, with magnetic, exuberant performances that aren’t diminished by any number of TV viewings. Ring Lardner Jr’s witty, wacky and clever script (based on the novel by Richard Hooker) won him an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay, while it was also nominated for Best Director (Altman), Best Supporting Actress (Kellerman), Best Picture (producer Ingo Preminger) and Best Film Editing (Danford B Greene).

It won the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture – Musical/Comedy. M.A.S.H. stands for Mobile Army Surgical Hospital.

It was far from a smooth shoot, in fact it was filmed in an atmosphere of chaos. Sutherland and Gould both thought Altman was a madman because of his shooting style and tried to have him fired as the director. The studio wanted all of the surgery scenes taken out because they were too violent. Altman doggedly worked his way around this and MASH ended up being a groundbreaking movie. With all the improvised, overlapping dialogue, the film apparently has few lines left from Lardner Jr’s original screenplay.

Also in the cast are Robert Duvall, Jo Ann Pflug, René Auberjonois, Gary Burghoff, Ned Wilcoxon, John Schuck, Bud Cort, Roger Bowen, David Arkin, Fred Williamson, Michael Murphy, Indus Arthur, Ken Prymus, Bobby Troup, Kim Atwood, Tim Brown, Dawne Damon, Carl Gottlieb, Tamara Horrocks, G Wood, Danny Goldman, Corey Fischer and Cathleen Cordell.

Rene Auberjonois (1940 – 2019).

R I P Rene Auberjonois (1940 – 2019): Father John Mulcahy in MASH (1970).

R I P Johnny Mandel, the composer of the iconic M*A*S*H theme song ‘Suicide is Painless’ and Best Original Song Oscar winner for the song ‘The Shadow of Your Smile’ from The Sandpiper (1965) [shared with Paul Francis Webster (lyrics)]. He died on 29 June 2020, aged 94.

R I P Sally Kellerman, who died from heart failure at a care home in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, on 24 February 2022, age 84. She was suffering from dementia. For ever ‘Hotlips’ Houlihan.

© Derek Winnert 2013 Classic Movie Review 531

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