Robert Altman's M*A*S*H Movie (1970)

Although set during the Korean War (1950-53), director Robert Altman's hit movie M*A*S*H, starring Donald Sutherland, Elliott Gould and Tom Skerritt, was clearly aimed at the increasingly unpopular war in Southeast Asia.

M*A*S*H Novel

M*A*S*H was based on the 1968 novel of the same name by Richard Hooker, a pseudonym for Dr. H. Richard Hornberger (1924-1997), a Maine surgeon who had served with the 8055th MASH (Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) during the Korean War. Hornberger had worked on his novel for some 12 years, weathering a spate of rejections before finally finding success with William Morrow & Company.

"My father didn't write an anti-war book," Hornberger's son William told The New York Times in 1997, dispelling a popular myth. "It was a humorous account of his work, with serious parts thrown in about the awful kind of work it was, and how difficult and challenging it was."

M*A*S*H Filmed in California

M*A*S*H was budgeted at $3.5 million, with Ring Lardner Jr. writing the screenplay and Robert Altman directing. Much of Lardner's script, however, would be altered by Altman, or simply ignored by the actors who improvised their own lines.

M*A*S*H was filmed from April 14 to June 11, 1969. Malibu Creek State Park in Calabasas, California, served as the setting for the fictional 4077th MASH. Griffith Park in Los Angeles was the locale for the climactic football game.

M*A*S*H Movie

The film begins with Captain Hawkeye Pierce (Sutherland) commandeering a jeep and transporting Captain Duke Forrest (Tom Skerritt) and himself to the 4077th. Here they meet their new commanding officer, Lt. Colonel Henry Blake (Roger Bowen), along with other personnel, including Major Frank Burns (Robert Duvall), Father "Dago Red" Mulcahy (Rene Auberjonois), Lt. "Dish" (Jo Ann Pflug), Captain Walt "The Painless Pole" Waldowski (John Schuck) and Corporal Walter "Radar" O'Reilly (Gary Burghoff).

Amidst the blood and gore, the MASHers engage in a bevy of gags and hijinks. Now joined by another surgeon, Captain "Trapper John" McIntyre (Gould), the doctors who call their living quarters "The Swamp" take particular delight in tormenting the new head nurse, Major "Hot Lips" O'Houlihan (Kellerman).

Following a trip to Tokyo to operate on a congressman's son, Hawkeye and Trapper start a football team. In the big game against General Charlie Hammond's outfit, the boys bring out their secret weapon in the second half, a pro player-turned-neurosurgeon named "Spearchucker" Jones (Fred Williamson).

Release, Box Office, Awards

Given his battles with 20th Century-Fox, director Robert Altman later said that M*A*S*H "wasn't released, it escaped." In any case, M*A*S*H made its debut in New York City on January 25, 1970.

A box-office hit, M*A*S*H earned five Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director. Its lone Oscar would come for Best Screenplay (Lardner), whose script, ironically, was hardly used.

M*A*S*H later spawned the popular television series (CBS, 1972-83).

"Frank, were you on this religious kick at home, or did you crack up over here?" Hawkeye queries of Major Burns.

Bawdy, gory, irreverent, tasteless, M*A*S*H somehow managed to win the hearts and temporarily misplaced minds of moviegoers in 1970. Its theme song, "Suicide Is Painless," said it all.

Tom Skerritt (left), Donald Sutherland, M*A*S*H

Scene from M*A*S*H

Operating at the 4077th, Elliott Gould (center)

The Pros from Dover, Sutherland, Gould, M*A*S*H

Oscar nominee Sally Kellerman as Hot Lips, M*A*S*H

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