A Masterpiece!

There are better movies of two hours length. I loved the actress'performance.

The acting in this movie is really good.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

. . . shot during the third year of the now 75-year-long Korean War. (I've heard of The Hundred Years War, but this Korean Conflict is on track to break that record by the time members of the Millennial Generation become great-grandparents.) BATTLE CIRCUS star Humphrey Bogart's "Major Jed" character says something about War and Futility. Maybe the Korean War being on target to out-live "Bogie" by a century illustrates this point. Therefore, it's another triumph of American Ingenuity that the U.S. decided to make these endless wars more fun, starting with Korea. BATTLE CIRCUS documents how the M*A*S*H units were set up as a three-ring circus version of The Dating Game, with six hot nurses vying for each available surgeon. The losing nurses are shown spending most of their time lighting cigarettes for wounded G.I.s, though they occasionally disarm grenade-wielding P.O.W.s for excitement. Soon the TV follow-up to BATTLE CIRCUS came along. Then TOP GUN, the high stakes video game of the air, hit the big screens. After which BATTLESHIP brought board game authenticity to the high seas. And who can forget AMER1CAN SNIPER (still playing in theaters), showing us how "Legends" are born? Since 1950, in the Carnival of Life, America has replaced Germany as the host of one big BATTLE CIRCUS!

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).

This 1953 movie by MGM was filmed in the U.S. and hit theaters while the Korean War (then called a "police action" or conflict) was still going on. It was a precursor of the 1970 movie, M.A.S.H., and the long- running and highly popular TV series by the same name. It's only natural to compare the two films, and to compare them with the TV series that began 15 years after "Battle Circus." The TV series ran from 1972 through 1983 and was one of my all-time favorites. Some reviewers have commented on the more witty dialog in the later film and series, but I wonder how much of that might have been due to the change in our culture in the almost 20 years since the end of the Korean War. I wasn't aware of this earlier film about a MASH unit recent years. But, viewing it now gives a good perspective on that time and the experiences of the MASH units and personnel. In WW II Europe, my dad was a medic who then became a medical officer. He served in Japan and then stateside during the Korean War. The medical corps officers who were not doctors in those days were the ones in charge of the rest of the work to keep the medical services going – administration, supply, transport, meals, moving and setting up, etc. "Battle Circus" shows what all the support people did, and gives us an excellent picture of the work that went into the mobility of the MASH units. So, for that aspect alone, this film tops the later movie and series in its realism. As to the match of Bogart and Allyson for a romantic touch, I ask, why not? Bogie's character had the rank of major, so he would likely have been an MD who stayed in the service – active or reserves – after WW II. It seems to me in real life that there have been some famous couples with considerable age differences. And during war, might not a young green nurse fall for an older doctor in the service? I think that's just another touch of reality for this film. Sometimes, matches other than the usual Hollywood fare, might be best or more real. I think this one was right on target. When viewing a film, I try to get into the movie before me with no preconceptions, and without a Hollywood-influenced agenda of what the proper match should be for a film romance. That lets me best consider the actors for their performances and how their roles fit in the story. The acting, script, cinematography and scenery chosen for this film were all very good. As one of the very few films that have shown medical care in modern war, "Battle Circus" scores an A for its historical value alone.

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.