User reviews

This is an interesting movie. It's not the best war movie you'll ever see; it's not the most exciting movie you'll ever see and it's not one of Humphrey Bogart's best movies by a long shot. But it's still very interesting in its own way. I was intrigued by it at first because it's the story of a MASH unit in the Korean War - long before MASH the TV series or MASH the movie or MASH the book. To be honest, I really hadn't been aware that a story that focused specifically on a MASH unit had been done before that. I have to say that I enjoyed this much more than I enjoyed "MASH" the movie. This seemed to take a far more serious approach to the subject, and it seemed to stay on topic far better. It makes many of the same points that author Richard Hooker would make in his 1968 book (and that would be the inspiration for the later movie and TV series of the same name) - the pointlessness of war, the heroics of the medical teams and the need for those involved to just find a way - any way - through, whether that meant alcohol or sex (or, I suppose, anything else.) It's different, though, in that it portrays a much more positive picture of the military.

Bogart played Major Webb, second in command of MASH 8666. He's a bit of a lonely figure with a past that doesn't really get explored much, but he's obviously a superb doctor. Into his life comes Lt. Ruth McGara (June Allyson) and they develop an interesting relationship that both sometimes fight against, that sometimes neither takes very seriously and that seems to eventually develop into something real. There wasn't really much passion (or chemistry) between them, but the relationship seemed believable to me in the circumstances, where such relationships probably come and go pretty quickly depending on who gets transferred where and when. It's a cautious relationship understandably, and so perhaps the emotional connection that sometimes seems lacking actually works. It's that relationship that's the plot device that moves this forward.

Interspersed are vignettes of war. The hospital comes under fire on occasion, it's constantly on the move to keep up with wherever the front happens to be, there's some reflection on the impact of the war on Korean civilians, and the most exciting scene of the movie is probably the North Korean prisoner who manages to smuggle a grenade into the hospital. It's not an exciting, action-packed war movie. It seems to simply give a look at the life of those serving in a MASH unit, and it seems to be one of the many "tribute" sort of movies that were made in the era. Although casualties are certainly present throughout, it's also not at all graphic in its depictions, and (even understanding the greater sensitivities the industry at the time had to such things) I found it ridiculous that Webb could perform chest surgery on a young Korean boy which included an open heart massage and yet apparently not get a spot of blood on him while doing it!

It's not great. I would call it interesting, mostly for its look at a MASH unit before M*A*S*H*. (5/10)

"Battle Circus" is interesting to compare to the TV series M*A*S*H. On TV, the camp of the medicos was a little too clean, and the doctors, especially Hawkeye, were always a little too ready with a joke. The one-liners never stopped at the 4077th, and there were few characters, especially in the last few years, who were not ever-ready to spew out endless dreary puns galore. Battle Circus is interesting in that it shows, I imagine, a more sober and realistic view of life in a MASH unit.

Because they are located near the ever shifting front of the Korean conflict, the MASH must constantly move with it. This brings out the greatest strength of this film: a large number of scenes in this movie are dedicated to showing the teamwork and bee-hive like energy of the grunts of the unit, taking tents down, putting tents up, moving the hospital here, then to there, often through or frighteningly near enemy fire, all the while dedicated to keeping their patients alive. The many minutes of film spent on these thankless and glory-less activities increases our appreciation of the realities of the soldiers' daily routine.

Here, there are few luxuries (unlike on the TV MASH, where many of the characters seem to have as many possessions as the Howells did on Gilligan's Island). Conditions in the personal tents of the characters are especially Spartan. Bogie's only possession seems to be a bottle of Scotch. When there is no time to bring everything with them, the soldiers burn whatever they must leave behind. Again, the starkness of existence suggests to this viewer a wonder that not all of the MASH members didn't go insane on a regular basis.

Now I am not a June Allyson fan, and while the romance between Bogie and her is not all that interesting or convincing, it is not a complete waste of film either. I don't believe I have ever seen Humphrey Bogart smile and laugh and be so un-pessimistic in a film before, and this is quite entertaining (Bogie even falls in the mud, losing his dignity, and laughs about it with June Allyson! Yikes!). There is no such thing as useless celluloid when Bogie is on screen. However, these episodes of light-hearted Bogie are surrounded by plenty of periods of brooding and cynical Bogie, so he is not completely out of character.

Robert Keith's colonel with the high-pitched voice complements Bogie's doctor very nicely in their scenes together. Keenan Wynn is also a terrific surprise; I usually find his raspy voice and abrasive characters unpleasant, but here he plays perhaps the most likable character (a can-do sergeant) in the whole film. His affection for a wounded Korean boy has the potential to be hokey, but he pulls it off very nicely.

One more MASH comparison. Bogie's character, like Hawkeye Pierce, is a woman-chaser and a man who wants no more authority than necessary, as well as a first rate surgeon. But unlike Hawkeye, who is afraid of guns, Humphrey Bogart is as willing to pick up a rifle and fire at the enemy as he is top pick up a scalpel. A real man's man.

Don't expect Gone With the Wind, and you will find this a quite interesting and quirky little war film.

While certainly NOT Maltese Falcon or To Have and Have Not, Battle Circus surprised me.

The Film has a bad reputation for being on the lesser end of Bogart films, with the chemistry between Allyson and Bogart about as exciting as that of Liver and mashed potatoes... I didn't agree with this once I watched it... Sure, it had cheesy dialogue and the sort, but the relationship between Allyson and Bogie could only be described as "quirky". It was not a dull movie, plenty of great lines (and a surprising amount of alluding to sex...) and a fun atmosphere. The film could have been better, yes, but seeing Allyson and Bogart in a War film together was good enough for me. I won't even go into the storyline; that's unimportant, what is important was I enjoyed it. That's good enough for me.

Battle Circus (1953)

** (out of 4)

MGM drama about a MASH unit in Korea and a doctor (Humphrey Bogart) who falls for a new nurse (June Allyson). This is a pretty strange film that didn't quite work with me and I think a lot of that is due to the rather poor screenplay that never knows what it's trying to be. It starts off as a war drama then moves into a romantic comedy and then at the end tries to turn into something else. The moods of the film are constantly changing to the point where you don't know what or how you're suppose to be feeling. Bogart was an interesting choice for the role here because he's having to put on the charm from scene one until the end. Many have found his performance bad here but I thought he handled it pretty well. The sweet talk stuff doesn't sound right coming from someone like Bogart but that's why I found it charming. Allyson isn't nearly as strong in her role but she's adorable enough. Bogart and her do a nice job together, although I had a hard time believing he'd actually fall so hard for her. I've read several comments that have attacked the film and Bogart's character because he's pretty much sexually harassing the woman throughout the movie. Even when she wants nothing to do with him he still uses his power as a doctor to touch her and so on. I personally didn't take this stuff that serious as I don't think it was meant to be seen as any sort of harassment. In the end, the film doesn't work and turns out to be one of the legendary star's lesser films.

It's amazing that this movie is overlooked as an earlier version of Mash, yeah it's not wild and crazy but all the elements are there: especially the operating room scenes that are gruesome.The film has loose feel and lack of a real plot other than Bogie trying to get into June Allison and everyone trying to cope with the realities of war.Bogie seems out of character as a surgeon that doesn't care about anything but it's worth watching if only to compare it to Mash the movie. One has to wonder if Robert Altman saw this film before he made his version,which he had to, it's about a mobile army surgery unit in the Korean war, and their day to day trials and tribulations.

Battle Circus (1953)

An awkward movie with really uneven acting and some routine (or worse) dialog. Even the battle actions scenes, which have along history of success in Hollywood, are sometimes clumsy. You have to accept all this up front to get anywhere further here and appreciate the sincere shreds of insight into a little known aspect of war, and of the Korean War in particular at the time—the mobile hospitals that followed the front line fighting.

Of course MASH the movie and then MASH the t.v. show took the idea and made it everyday material (with a not-so-hidden commentary on the Vietnam war). "Battle Circus" is unusual in coming right as the "Korean Conflict" was ending (the war ended in 1953), and a decade before Vietnam grew into an actual war for the U.S. And so it is very interesting—if you are a student of war, and war movies, that is. It's a bit of a slog as a drama, however, even watching the kinds of vehicles in use or the hardships of weather and war. The methods of setting up these hospitals so quickly is quite accurate and the army cooperated with some of the filming.

There is also Humphrey Bogart. When an actor reaches his kind of fame, even his lesser movies take on meaning. He has a central role as a leading officer in the group, and of course he has near-misses and a few near-kisses with the women—nurses—who are the center of activities. He's portrayed as a womanizing, practical man, not especially nice but eventually very admirable—like many of his characters, in fact.

Some of the scenes are quite serious and strong, taken by themselves. But they get beaten down by the stiff romance that is forced on Bogart and his counterpart, June Allyson. She has to play a naive, smart, well-meaning "girl next door" and while that might be the truth sometimes, it makes for a kind of false set-up, and she's a lightweight presence.

So the movie stumbles along in a weird zone. The decision of Altman making MASH to turn it truly comic was essential (the humor here is rare and flat, like falling in the mud). So tune out in the love scenes and get absorbed in the genuine intensity of the best of the staged war scenes and the hospital dynamics. The title, by the way, is suggested very early when Allyson cheerfully says that moving the tents every few days is just like a real circus on the move.

Maybe if MGM had realized that a generation later, a comedy classic would be launched about a MASH unit in Korea, they might have opted for a more lighthearted treatment of the subject here.

One of the other reviewers is of the opinion that Humphrey Bogart is acting like a sexist pig in this film. He certainly is, probably just as much a one as Hawkeye Pierce. The problem here is June Allyson who just ain't no Hotlips Hoolihan. She's terribly miscast here, what was needed was someone who could have fielded Bogey's passes with a smart wisecrack in the right place. Gee, Lauren Bacall would have been good casting here.

The supporting cast is pretty good though with Robert Keith as the commander of the MASH unit and Keenan Wynn as the top sergeant in the place. MASH the television series always turned deadly serious in the operating room and the same here. Nice action sequences as well.

Philip Ahn has a small bit as a frightened North Korean prisoner who gets a hold of a live grenade in the operating room. Interesting because it's one of the few times that very capable oriental actor actually played a Korean which was his ancestry.

Humphrey Bogart just doesn't gel with June Allyson though. She would rather have had Van Johnson and of course Bogey would have had Betty if he had his druthers. So would have I.

I always hated MASH - it is a film full of unpleasant people and a very nasty line in misogyny. It was interesting then to see this much earlier film featuring a MASH unit during the Korean war. The soldiers depicted here are much more believable, at least in terms of having a command structure and enough discipline to function in a theatre of war.

Unfortunately, over fifty per cent of the movie concentrates on the romance between Humphrey Bogart and June Allyson. I'm sure it reflects the time it was made but Bogart's character would be on a charge for sexual harassment in the modern age and he comes over as rather creepy in this role though this clearly wasn't intended.

There are a couple of set pieces that are first rate and stand comparison with much better-known war movies but the ongoing romance just undermines the drama of the piece.

Definitely worth a look for the MASH elements though clearly somewhat sanitised for audiences of the day.

"Battle Circus" is another vehicle written and directed by Richard Brooks, with less satisfying results… Very likely the major fault was in teaming Bogart with June Allyson, an actress of extremely limited range whose perpetually simpering attitude and breathy whining of lines must surely have kept Bogart's nerves on edge…

The idea of the film was a sound one, a semi-documentary approach at portraying the day-by-day activities of a mobile field hospital behind the front lines during the Korean War…

The film fell apart, however, when an almost juvenile love plot interceded… One laughable scene found Allyson disarming a partially crazed prisoner who was threatening to blow everyone up with a hand grenade, thereby proving her courage under fire to a rather uninterested Bogart, who finally falls in love with her

The black and white photography, camera angles and editing of Battle Circus are top rate adding verisimilitude to an unusual story about medics during the Korean War.

The dialog between Bogie and June is hard-boiled and cheesy and quite wonderful. It is entertaining to see a big-hearted 1950's female character (Allyson) deflecting an in-your-face, unapologetic wolf (Bogart) without need of feminist presumption, sexual harassment law and political correctness cops.

With their distinct, defining and appealing faces and voices, both leads make the film's romance seem some what logical within the logic of 1950's Hollywood. It sure is fun watching them.

And so too is a terrific Keenan Wynn and the mechanics and team work required to set up MASH units in a war zone. In the film, the tented hospitals were set up, taken down and hauled off and set up again by men and women who were clearly experienced in the service.

The surgery tents and medical sequences in Battle Circus are sanitized compared to what one sees on television these days and what was depicted in the TV series M.A.S.H! Back then, the entertainment world respected the privacy of someone's innards particularly when their guts were spilling out of a body ripped by shrapnel.

Despite the title there is little action in this Korean War Drama. The focus is on the mobile army surgical hospitals that provided nearly front-line emergency medical attention to wounded soldiers. Our feature depicts the trials and tribulations of MASH unit #66, where surgeon Humphrey Bogart (Major Jed Webbe) and nurse June Allyson (Lt. Ruth McGara) are stationed. There are nice depictions of the difficulties in supply, transport, and component set-up. Those MASH units were really quite mobile after all, as they had to constantly shift their positions along the battle front. And those medical personal showed amazing courage in their efforts to save lives. Now Webbe, who is a woman-chaser, and Ruth are not supposed to fraternize too much, but of course they do. They fall in love. Bogie does show his war-weariness (age) in some scenes. Within a year, he would be stricken with the terrible cancer that would eventually take his life (1957). Anyway the performances are fine all around, and the film is decent. After all, there are not too many films wasted with Bogie in the cast. Although not a graphic portrayal, this movie is overall a more realistic and serious treatment of the subject than the future, popular, and satirical MASH feature (1970) and the TV series (1972-1983).

It's hard to believe that Richard Brooks (he of "In Cold Blood" and "The Professionals") directed this. Having coincidentally seen another Korean War film, "One Minute to Zero," immediately before this one, I can vouch for the fact that "Battle Circus" is a major improvement. However, that in itself is no great recommendation. Humphrey Bogart is his usual excellent self, professional and expert in his handling of the role of a MASH unit doctor. And June Allyson is endearing and fine in her role as the nurse who loves him. But despite the fact that plenty of screen romances have survived a greater age difference between couples than the 18 years that separates Bogart and Allyson, Bogart just comes off as uncomfortably old to be pulling the kind of shenanigans he tries with Allyson here. Never mind that in real life Bogart's fairy-tale romance with Lauren Bacall was between two people 25 years apart in age -- this is the movies, and at 53, Bogart seems slightly creepy, forcing his attentions on a young nurse and getting somewhat pissy when she dares to ask if he has a wife. Nonetheless the performances are good and occasionally overcome a difficult script (difficult not in complexity but in mediocrity). Robert Keith, who seems to have managed a long Hollywood career without ever varying his performances one whit, does what he always does as Bogart's commanding officer. Keenan Wynn is substantial and believable as the tough sergeant who keeps things running. But outside of a couple of intense moments (such as the one where a terrified North Korean soldier -- Philip Ahn -- threatens to blow up the operating room), the movie hovers like a helicopter over the no-man's land between drama and soap opera, unable quite to make up its mind where to set down.

This appears to be more a demonstration of how MASH units work than in actually putting together a movie. Bogart is the only one who gives this film any life even though he seems to feel his time is being wasted, which it is. June Allyson is cute, but with a script this lame even cute can't go very far. Keenan Wynn as an army grunt spends his time raising and lowering tents and smuggling booze but his handlebar mustache is the most interesting thing about his role. It starts out with Bogart in a MASH unit clearly trying to hide his alcohol abuse which gets him in trouble, and then along comes June Allyson as a new nurse. He moves in on her in a way that would get him kicked out of today's army and then the movie gets more and more pointless with a completely predictable ending.

What nobody has mentioned is that this movie shows how a mobile surgical unit actually functions, in loving detail, which MASH never did. Makes for an interesting watch. It does for a MASH unit what Air Force did for a bomber -- shows how everybody cooperates to make the thing work. One of Brooks' better films actually. His films are usually more preachy than this.

The big flaw is June Allyson, who is, IMO, miscast in every movie she made, but never more so than here. Bogart is as professional as always, and Keenan Wynn gives one of his best performances. Philip Ahn, who I'm familiar with because of his work in silly B pictures and serials, does well in a serious though brief part here.

Snoozer of a war picture about an Army surgeon (Humphrey Bogart) and a wide-eyed young nurse (June Allyson) falling in love on the battlefront. Notable (I suppose) for focusing on a MASH unit years before the film and TV series made that more widely known. But really it's not a very good picture. For a war movie, it's pretty dull and for a romance, it's nauseating. Bogart and Allyson have no chemistry. I've never been a big June Allyson fan to begin with, so that didn't help matters any. Poor Bogie, in his fifties at this point, plays a character that's supposed to be some kind of Romeo with the ladies. This movie has some of the most cringeworthy work I've ever seen from him. I had to look away at times because it was so awkward. It's actually kind of painful to watch the love scenes. Anyway, it's not something I would recommend unless you are a Bogart or Allyson completist. Best thing about it is the supporting work from Keenan Wynn and Robert Keith.

I pulled this one down off the shelf the other day to watch it for about the half a dozenth time. I couldn't get through it. The love story is not very realistic. Can somebody answer this one for me? Why is a US fighter jet firing on their own soldiers? The scene with the Korean threatening to blow up the hospital with a hand grenade and the one where they save the little boy's life were worth seeing the movie... once.

This is indeed a strange movie. Apart from MASH, I can't think of another film that deals with Korean War mobile hospitals. This COULD have been interesting, but it wasn't. Most of it is because the war is really secondary. The primary focus of the film is the horny character played by Bogart in his never-ending quest to get inside June Allyson's underwear! And he is SO unconvincing in this role and her character is such an idiot!! Mostly because Bogey frankly looked too old to be playing a young horn-dog and the dialog they gave him was unbelievably corny and filled with sleazy double-entendres! And, because he is the lead, you KNOW that regardless of how unappealing his character is and how much he SHOULD be taken up on sexual harassment charges, he'll get the girl by the end of the picture. As for June Alysson, she plays a complete dummy, as each time Bogey makes totally inappropriate advances on her, she blames herself for his pig-like behaviors!!

The only positives in the film were the performance by Keenan Wynn as well as the behind the scenes portions (such as showing the MASH unit packing and moving). Unfortunately, these positives are hugely outweighed by the negatives. So, unless you are a MAJOR Bogart fan, avoid this picture.

A MASH unit is the source of this drama's minimal story and, well, drama. Allyson is her usual one note self, Bogart is present in body but perhaps not in spirit.... it really feels like everyone just walked through this one. That said, this one passes the time all right, but could never qualify for classic.

A bit more script attention, or interest, would have helped, I suppose. This feels like a movie that was made simply to have been made, as if "well, we gotta make war movies, and we gotta put Bogey in some movies, so let's put Bogie in this war movie." Not much to look at here, but not much to be bothered or offended by either. Bogey and Allyson are not convincing as a pair.

The Korean war had already found its way on to American movie screens when BATTLE CIRCUS came along. And some of those other films, like FIXED BAYONETS! and THE STEEL HELMET, are infinitely better. But this slick MGM production has its merits and should be watched, if anything for the script and direction by Richard Brooks.

Less convincing, though, is the casting of June Allyson and Humphrey Bogart in the lead roles. Does anyone really think they have much chemistry? I will concede there is a slightly romantic scene where they run through the rain and fall in the mud. But eventually, that gets gooey (in more ways than one). And how does this make us relate to these characters and the deeply personal bond they have managed to forge given the circumstances of their immediate situation?

What helps us temporarily forget the more inane aspects of their relationship are the key action sequences depicted in the story. And those moments convey a great deal of tension and are very well staged. The movie also gets points for knowing that the 'M' in M*A*S*H stands for mobile. We see the main characters uproot and move around to administer to the injured and dying like they would be required to do in such a dangerous environment.