"[30], In a rave review, John Mahoney of The Hollywood Reporter called the film "the finest American comedy since Some Like It Hot," and "the Mister Roberts of the Korean War," as well as "The Graduate of 1970. According to actor and writer Malachy McCourt (the younger brother of Angela’s Ashes author Frank McCourt), he was the original choice for the part, because Altman wanted a “real Irish priest.” Producer Ingo Preminger didn’t agree, so the part ultimately went to Rene Auberjonois. Roger Ebert, in the Chicago Sun-Times, gave the film four (out of four) stars, writing, There is something about war that inspires practical jokes and the heroes . As a result, the final film features very little of Lardner’s dialogue, to the point that Lardner apparently told Elliott Gould, “There’s not a word that I wrote on screen.”. With help from Radar, the Swampmen sneak a microphone into a tent where the couple are making love and broadcast their passion over the camp's PA system, embarrassing them badly. In addition, screenwriters Ravetch and Frank, Jr. were so upset by the changes made to their script that they insisted that their onscreen credit read "James P. Bonner," a pseudonym the team had used on the 1969 film House of Cards. [16] Altman: "I had practice working for people who don't care about quality, and I learned how to sneak it in. Robert Altman's feature film M*A*S*H became a surprise hit in 1970, motivating CBS to adapt it for the small screen. Columbia Records issued a soundtrack album for the film in 1970 (all songs by Johnny Mandel unless otherwise noted): M*A*S*H received its first home video release in 1977 on both VHS and Betamax. Painless, described variously as "the best-equipped dentist in the Army" and "the dental Don Juan of Detroit", becomes depressed over an incident of impotence and announces his intent to commit suicide, believing that he has turned homosexual. "[29] The film also holds a score of 80 out of 100 on Metacritic, based on 8 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews. Then, at 24, she married screenwriter Hugo Butler and gave up film acting for radio work and writing. Walter Bernstein (August 20, 1919 – January 23, 2021) was an American So Altman had to think of distractions to get her to pause before falling to the ground. M*A*S*H was a huge success for Fox—so much so that it spawned a TV series based on the film, which ran for more than a decade. Altman fought for, and won, a number of things while making M*A*S*H, but apparently the casting of Father Mulcahy wasn’t one of them. Following their return to camp, Blake and General Hammond organize a game of football between the 4077th and the 325th Evac Hospital and wager several thousand dollars on its outcome. Screenwriter John D. F. Black also refused to have his credit onscreen. According to Altman, M*A*S*H was the first R-rated film to ever use the word “f*ck,” but apparently it wasn’t his idea. Thomas is an Academy Award ®-nominated screenwriter as well as a producer, director, and author.She produced and co-wrote the film EL NORTE, which was nominated for an Academy Award ® for Best Original Screenplay, was elected to the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress, and made countless ten-best lists. And it is the flat-out, poker-faced hatred in "M*A*S*H" that makes it work. The film went on to receive five Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, and won for Best Adapted Screenplay. . Proft was determined to make the transition to feature films. Shorts must not exceed 25 pages. M.A.S.H., one of America's funniest bloody films, is also one of its bloodiest funny films. Gould ultimately expressed interest in the Trapper John role, and Altman gave it to him. “I mean, I’ve never seen one of those episodes all the way through—never seen one. Other characters already stationed at the camp include bumbling commanding officer Henry Blake, his hyper-competent chief clerk Radar O'Reilly, dentist Walter "Painless Pole" Waldowski, the incompetent and pompous surgeon Frank Burns, and the contemplative Chaplain Father Mulcahy. Edmund Hall North (March 12, 1911 – August 28, 1990), was an American screenwriter who shared an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay with Francis Ford Coppola in 1970 for their script for Patton. It made its director, Robert Altman, a legend. Film by Pvt the two bond over their respect for regulations and a... That television series M * a * S * H '' that makes it work when I the! Army resources S * H '' that makes it work and start secret! 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