We not only lost Robert Duvall this past week, but we also lost the great character actor Bud Cort less than a week before. Perhaps I will get around to binge watching a bunch of Cort's films as well. I thought this would be an opportune time to re-visit what I wrote about one of my favourite movies that just happens to feature both Duvall and Cort. It was only my second "Film of the Week" sermon and was originally posted on Facebook on 18 February, 2024.
This week's film choice is one of my all-time favourites. I first saw it when I was in my early 20s. Originally released in 1970, it was adapted two years later into one of television's most beloved programs.
Set during the Korean War (and released at the height of the Vietnam War), it's the story of three Army surgeons on the front lines and how they cope with the horrors of war--usually with an inappropriate sense of humour (my favourite kind).
I get the impression that a lot of people--especially my age and younger--don't realize that it was a movie before it was a TV series. Having been raised on the series, I had a hard time picturing anyone but Alan Alda in the lead role of Captain Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pierce. After seeing the movie, I now have a hard time picturing anyone but Donald Sutherland in that role.
Ring Lardner, Jr., was part of the infamous "Hollywood Ten"--a group of screenwriters who were blacklisted for refusing to cooperate with the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) which was investigating alleged Communist activities in Hollywood during the 1950s. With this film, Lardner became the last of the Hollywood Ten to come off the blacklist, winning the film's sole Oscar in the process.
Starring a cast of (at the time) virtually unknown actors such as Donald Sutherland, Elliott Gould, Tom Skerritt, Sally Kellerman, Robert Duvall, and Rene Auberjonois. Lardner wrote the screenplay based on the semi-autobiographical novel by Richard Hooker. Produced by Ingo Preminger and directed by Robert Altman, from 1970, I highly recommend M*A*S*H.
As a side note, I'll just add that as someone who myself uses an inappropriate sense of humour as a coping mechanism I found the funniest scene is actually only in the book. ("Goddamn Army!")
Until next week, stay safe, be good to your neighbours, and please remember that if at first you don't succeed, then skydiving definitely isn't for you.
Yours in peace, love, and rock and roll!
The Reverend Will the Thrill
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