Main Cast: Humphrey Bogart, June Allyson, Keenan Wynn, Robert Keith, William Campbell
Release Year: 1953
Country: US
Run Time: 90 minutes
MPAA Rating: NR
Plot
In his only MGM film, Humphrey Bogart plays the commanding officer of a M*A*S*H unit during the Korean War. Bogart runs his operation by the book, though he can take time out now and again for compassion. When nurse June Allyson shows up, Bogie is irritated by her foolhardiness and misplaced idealism. Need we tell you that the two "opposites" eventually fall in love? Keenan Wynn steals the show as the camp's wheeler-dealer, a sort of ancestor for such future insouciant M*A*S*H characters as Hawkeye, Trapper John and B.J. Hunnicutt. According to Hollywood scuttlebutt, Humphrey Bogart liked writer/director Richard Brooks because he could walk all over him. Brooks doesn't appear too servile in his disciplined handling of the film, though one can detect a slight lack of enthusiasm on his part. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
Those who watch Battle Circus anticipating another M*A*S*H – whether the film or the TV series – will be disappointed. Circus shares its setting with the latter cultural touchstone, but that’s about it. Circus is lacking in wit, bite and insight – not just compared to M*A*S*H (a comparison that, while unfair, is also inevitable) but to other films in general. Instead of taking advantage of its unique setting and the potentially rich story and characters that could be developed therein, Circus settles for being a fairly routine war story/romance. Indeed, it’s the romance part of the film which comes to dominate and accounts for much of its weaknesses. There’s simply nothing original at the center of this tale of two opposites learning to attract. It doesn’t help matters that half of the central duo – June Allyson- is miscast and in over her head here, or that the other half Humphrey Bogart is only half trying. It also doesn’t help that the chemistry between the two is completely absent. Modern audiences may also be disturbed by the harassing manner in which Bogart treats Allyson. Circus isn’t a total loss; Richard Brooks brings appropriate tension to a number of scenes and even manages to make the “grenade in the operating room” sequence bristle with life. But overall, Circus is rather tedious. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
Perry Sheehan - Lt. Lawrence; Patricia Tiernan - Lt. Rose Ashland; Adele Longmire - Lt. Jane Franklin; Jonathan Cott - Adjutant; Ann Morrison - Lt. Edith Edwards; Helene Winston - Lt. Graciano; Sarah Selby - Capt. Dobbs; Danny Chang - Korean Child; Philip Ahn - Korean Prisoner; Steve Forrest - Sergeant; Jeff Richards - Lieutenant; Dick Simmons - Capt. Norson
According to Brooks (in an interview filmed for the 1988 Bacall on Bogart documentary), the film was originally called MASH, a title rejected by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer because the studio thought people would think the film had something to do with potatoes. Brooks also noted that Bogart agreed to do the film because the script's humor, set in a story showing the tragedy of war, would make the film seem more realistic to an audience.
The title of the film refers to the speed and ease with which a MASH unit, with its assemblage of tents, can, like a circus, pick up stakes and move to where the action is.
