Battle Circus

Battle Circus (1953)

M-G-M's great drama of desire under fire!

A young Army nurse, Lt Ruth McGara, newly assigned to the 8666th MASH during the Korean War, attracts the sexual attention of the unit's commander Dr. Jed Webbe. Major Webbe, who has a drinking problem, at first wants a "no strings" relationship. McGara is warned by the other nurses of Webbe's womanizing ways. Despite these initial handicaps, their love flourishes against a background of war, enemy attacks, death and injury. The relationship deepens and uplifts both characters.

Date of release
1953-03-06
TMDB
6.0 / 10 (19)
Runtime
1h 30m
Genres
Drama, Romance, War
Director
Richard Brooks

Casting

Interesting facts

Battle Circus is a 1953 American war film directed by Richard Brooks, who also co-wrote the screenplay with married writing duo Laura Kerr and Allen Rivkin. The movie stars Humphrey Bogart and June Allyson, and costars Keenan Wynn and Robert Keith.

Production

According to Richard Brooks (in an interview filmed for the 1988 Bacall on Bogart documentary), Battle Circus was originally called MASH 66, a title rejected by MGM because the studio thought people would not understand the connection to a military hospital.

Brooks also noted that Humphrey 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. Bogart was teamed with an old pal, Keenan Wynn and June Allyson who was also a friend.

In retrospect, Bogart did not enjoy working on the film, the least of which was when he burned his left thumb, a scene that was left in the final production. His $250,000 fee was the sole compensation. Bogart told Brooks, a close friend, "let's not make any more movies together."

Principal photography took place on location in Calabasas, California, and Camp Pickett, Virginia, where MASH units trained. The aerial sequences with the Bell 47 helicopters were filmed there. The camp commandant offered the film crews use of the base facilities, including his house for the lead actors, after initial scenes were finished.

The film's sets were designed by the art director James Basevi.

Read on Wikipedia · Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Data from Wikidata.

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