"Battle Circus" was an ambitious effort by Director Richard Brooks to portray the day to day operations of a mobile MASH unit in Korea. It was filmed during the Korean War and pre-dates the more popular M*A*S*H by some 17 years. Unfortunately, the two leads were hopelessly miscast.
Humphrey Bogart plays Major Jed Webbe an overage man on the prowl and June Allyson a nurse who is going to win the war single handedly. Bogart and Allyson have little chemistry together and their love scenes are hard to watch. Bogart is way too old to play a "Hawkeye" type doctor and Allyson was more at home in those MGM frothy type musicals.
The film follow a typical period of activity within a MASH unit showing the loads of wounded being brought in and treated by an overworked team of surgeons and nurses. They are forced to tear down and move to new locations frequently as the war closes in on them. Those sequences are good. The helicopter bringing the wounded was used in the opening of the TV series.
Also in the cast are Keenan Wynn as the crusty Sergeant who is in charge of all of the moves between locations, Robert Keith as the Commanding Officer Lt. Col. Walters and William Campbell as Capt. Rusty Rustford, the helicopter pilot.
This was Bogey's only film for "A" studio MGM. He should have stuck to the trench coat and folded down fedora.
Humphrey Bogart plays Major Jed Webbe an overage man on the prowl and June Allyson a nurse who is going to win the war single handedly. Bogart and Allyson have little chemistry together and their love scenes are hard to watch. Bogart is way too old to play a "Hawkeye" type doctor and Allyson was more at home in those MGM frothy type musicals.
The film follow a typical period of activity within a MASH unit showing the loads of wounded being brought in and treated by an overworked team of surgeons and nurses. They are forced to tear down and move to new locations frequently as the war closes in on them. Those sequences are good. The helicopter bringing the wounded was used in the opening of the TV series.
Also in the cast are Keenan Wynn as the crusty Sergeant who is in charge of all of the moves between locations, Robert Keith as the Commanding Officer Lt. Col. Walters and William Campbell as Capt. Rusty Rustford, the helicopter pilot.
This was Bogey's only film for "A" studio MGM. He should have stuck to the trench coat and folded down fedora.