- Film Review
- Reviewed By David Parkinson
-
5 out of 5
The quality of this acerbic study of life in a Korean War field hospital has been too often overlooked because of the popularity of the TV series it spawned. It takes a while to get used to Donald Sutherland in the role of Hawkeye that Alan Alda later made his own; similarly, you keep expecting Loretta Swit and not Sally Kellerman to appear whenever "Hot Lips" is mentioned. But the glorious wit of Ring Lardner Jr's Oscar-winning script soon has you under its spell. Director Robert Altman and Kellerman were both rewarded with Oscar nominations, only to lose out to Franklin J Schaffner and Helen Hayes, while the film lost in the best picture category to Second World War biopic Patton.
Plot Summary
American battlefield surgeons embark on a campaign of drinking, womanising and practical jokes in an attempt to alleviate the horror of the Korean War. Satirical comedy drama directed by Robert Altman, which spawned a long-running TV series. Starring Donald Sutherland, Elliott Gould, Tom Skerritt, Sally Kellerman and Robert Duvall.
Cast and crew
Cast
- Hawkeye Pierce
- Donald Sutherland
- Trapper John McIntyre
- Elliott Gould
- Duke Forrest
- Tom Skerritt
- Major "Hot Lips" Houlihan
- Sally Kellerman
- Major Frank Burns
- Robert Duvall
- Lieutenant Dish
- Jo Ann Pflug
- Dago Red
- René Auberjonois
- Colonel Henry Blake
- Roger Bowen
- Radar O'Reilly
- Gary Burghoff
- Sergeant Major Vollmer
- David Arkin
- Spearchucker
- Fred Williamson
- Me Lay
- Michael Murphy (1)
- Ho-Jon
- Kim Atwood
- Corporal Judson
- Timothy Brown
- Lieutenant Leslie
- Indus Arthur
- Painless Pole
- John Schuck
- Pfc Seidman
- Ken Prymus
- Captain Scorch
- Dawne Damon
- Ugly John
- Carl Gottlieb
- Captain Knocko
- Tamara Horrocks
- General Hammond
- G Wood
- Sergeant Gorman
- Bobby Troup
- Private Boone
- Bud Cort
Crew
- Director
- Robert Altman
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