Between exceptionally gory hospital shifts and countless rounds of martinis, wisecracking surgeons Hawkeye Pierce and Trapper John McIntyre make it their business to undercut the smug, moralistic pretensions of Bible-thumper Maj. Frank Burns and Army true-believer Maj. "Hot Lips" Houlihan. Abetted by such other hedonists as Duke Forrest and Painless Pole, as well as such (relative) innocents as Radar O'Reilly, Hawkeye and Trapper John drive Burns and Houlihan crazy while engaging in such additional blasphemies as taking a medical trip to Japan to play golf, staging a mock Last Supper to cure Painless's momentary erectile dysfunction, and using any means necessary to win an inter-MASH football game.
Cast: Elliott Gould, Sally Kellerman
Crew: Robert Altman (Director), Harold E Stine (Director of Photography), Johnny Mandel (Music Director)
Release Dates: 01 Mar 1970 (United States)
Did you know? The film's famous theme song was intended to be the "stupidest song ever written". Robert Altman said he found it too difficult to write "dumb enough", and instead gave the task to his fourteen-year-old son Mike, who allegedly wrote the lyrics in five minutes. Read More
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as Trapper John McIntyre
as Maj. Margaret 'Hot Lips' O'Houlihan
as Pvt. Boone
as Ugly John
as Capt. Bandini
as Capt. Murrhardt
as Sgt. Major Vollmer
as Capt. Storch
as Hawkeye Pierce
as Dr. Oliver 'Spearchucker' Jones
as Brig. Gen. Hammond
as Cpl. 'Radar' O'Reilly
as Lt. Leslie
as Lt. 'Dish'
as Capt. 'Painless' Waldowski
as PFC. Seidman
as 'Me Lai' Marston
as Father John Mulcahy
as Maj. Frank Burns
as Lt. Col. Henry Blake
as Capt. Knocko
as Cpl. Judson
as Duke Forrest
Production
Producer
Production Company
Associate Producer
Unit Production Manager
Distribution
Distributor
Camera and Electrical
Director of Photography
Still Photographer
Assistant Cameraman
Music
Music Director
Art
Art Director
Prop Master
Set Decorator
Editorial
Editor
Special Effects
Special Effects Technician
Stunts
Stunt Director
Film Type:
Feature
Language:
English
Colour Info:
Color
Frame Rate:
24 fps
Aspect Ratio:
2.35:1
Stereoscopy:
No
Trivia:
Mike Altman, the fourteen-year-old son of director Robert Altman, wrote the lyrics to the theme song "Suicide is Painless". Because of its inclusion in the subsequent television series, he continued to get residuals throughout its run and syndication. His father was paid $75,000 for directing, but his son eventually made about $2 million in song royalties.
The film's famous theme song was intended to be the "stupidest song ever written". Robert Altman said he found it too difficult to write "dumb enough", and instead gave the task to his fourteen-year-old son Mike, who allegedly wrote the lyrics in five minutes.
According to Tom Skerritt, the dialogue was about 80% improvised. In order to create a different kind of atmosphere, Robert Altman cast some of the parts from improvisational clubs who had no previous movie experience.
The surgery scenes were almost dropped due to their graphic nature. However, two women who were visiting the set told the producers that the operating scenes should be kept in because they were what made the movie.
The film's famous theme song was intended to be the "stupidest song ever written". Robert Altman said he found it too difficult to write "dumb enough", and instead gave the task to his fourteen-year-old son Mike, who allegedly wrote the lyrics in five minutes.
According to Tom Skerritt, the dialogue was about 80% improvised. In order to create a different kind of atmosphere, Robert Altman cast some of the parts from improvisational clubs who had no previous movie experience.
The surgery scenes were almost dropped due to their graphic nature. However, two women who were visiting the set told the producers that the operating scenes should be kept in because they were what made the movie.
