---
title: "M*A*S*H"
year: 1972
kind: "series"
canonical: "https://film.one/tv/m-a-s-h-1972"
fi1m_score: 85
critics_reviews: 3
published: "2026-09-16T16:24:50.917137+00:00"
updated: "2026-09-16T16:24:51.484289+00:00"
region: "US"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# M*A*S*H (1972)

Created by Larry Gelbart · MPA TV-PG · War & Politics, Drama, Comedy

**Fi1m score: 85** · Critics: 3 of 6 reviews so far

*In a sentence:* The army would find these surgeons easier to discipline if it could afford to do without them

> Larry Gelbart’s *M*A*S*H* is a funny, humane war comedy with a few stubborn blind spots. Alan Alda leads an ensemble worth getting to know, provided we can forgive the dated jokes and occasional lectures.

## Synopsis

At the 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital in Korea during the Korean War, Hawkeye Pierce (Alan Alda) and Trapper (Wayne Rogers) treat wounded soldiers while trying to keep army routine from taking over their lives. Henry Blake (McLean Stevenson) is nominally in charge; Frank Burns (Larry Linville) and Margaret Houlihan (Loretta Swit) want discipline observed. Between the operating theatre and the shared quarters, Hawkeye Pierce looks for drink, company and ways around orders. The patients keep arriving, leaving the staff to fit their off-duty schemes around the work the war sends them.

## Review

Larry Gelbart’s [*M*](https://film.one/film/m)A*S*H* is funny, humane television, worth the occasional stale joke and the more irritating occasions when it explains its own decency. Its Korean War setting puts people who can save lives inside an organisation that keeps sending them casualties. The comedy comes from their attempts to do the work without accepting all the rules that surround it. That is a durable basis for a series, and the pleasure is in how differently these people respond to the same pressure.

Alan Alda gives Hawkeye Pierce the charm required to make persistent insubordination enjoyable, though he sometimes enjoys being right a little too visibly. The delivery is quick, but the face can register fatigue before the next line has arrived. We were moved by those brief lapses in his cheerfulness, because the effort of keeping everyone amused suddenly becomes visible. Wayne Rogers, as Trapper, makes a useful companion: the banter feels shared rather than merely supplied for the leading man.

McLean Stevenson finds something endearing in Henry Blake’s difficulty with authority, including his own. Larry Linville has a tougher assignment as Frank Burns, who too often seems to have entered the scene solely to lose an argument. Loretta Swit gives Margaret Houlihan a firmness that deserves more than being treated as an obstacle to the men’s fun. The jokes at her expense can make the programme’s generosity look rather selective.

Mike Farrell’s B. J. Hunnicutt offers a quieter kind of company, and David Ogden Stiers gives Charles Winchester enough intelligence to make disagreement worth hearing. Harry Morgan’s Sherman Potter brings steadiness without draining the comedy from a scene. These performances matter to a series that gradually lets its people become more complicated than their first joke suggests. The tenderness is most persuasive when it comes from their dealings with one another, without a speech explaining why we should care.

The visual approach, with William B. Jurgensen among the cinematographers, is plain enough to seem negligible until we notice how much of the comedy depends on watching several people at once. It serves the performances without making the war inviting to look at. Stanford Tischler’s editing gives the answering look its place alongside the spoken joke, so the exchanges feel conversational even when the lines are carefully arranged. Johnny Mandel’s music supplies a melancholy that sits usefully beneath all this compulsive good humour.

Less persuasive is the habit of stopping to deliver the lesson. Alan Alda can give a reprimand conviction, but when Hawkeye Pierce is allowed the last word too insistently, a conversation begins to feel like an address. For a comedy so alert to the absurdity of being ordered about, it can be surprisingly bossy about the correct response. The writing is better when another character can puncture that certainty, and the ensemble is strong enough to do so without derailing the scene.

As a war comedy, it is unusually affectionate towards the people it mocks. That can soften its anger, but it also gives the jokes people worth returning to across eleven seasons. The patience pays off in the growing familiarity of these performances, rather than any obligation to admire a celebrated programme. Give it a little patience; the company is worth getting to know.

*Fi1m score 85, published 16 September 2026.*

### Reviews we read (3)

- **Vulture** (80/100, inferred): The critic recommends binge-watching the full series as an essential classic that rewards patience despite its length and dated elements. They single out the complex, evolving characters and the show's blend of ribald humor with emotional depth and anti-war themes for praise. [Read](https://www.vulture.com/2015/07/why-you-should-watch-mash-if-you-havent-already.html)
- **The Hollywood Reporter**, Sue Cameron (70/100, inferred): If you liked the movie, you’ll like the series. It features the same absurd attitude and characters from the film, with Alan Alda strong as Hawkeye, though the overall casting is uneven. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/mash-first-episode-thrs-1972-816183/)
- **The Times**, Nigel Kendall (70/100, inferred): The DVD set offers 24 episodes of the Korean War comedy at a point where the show was still finding its feet, with some cast changes ahead. It recalls how shocking the series was in the early 1970s amid the Vietnam War and notes its enduring ability to make viewers think and laugh. [Read](https://www.thetimes.com/world/us-world/article/mash-season-2-pg-kbrnt9k6knl)

## Details

- **Created by:** Larry Gelbart
- **Creator:** Larry Gelbart
- **Director:** Charles S. Dubin, Alan Alda, Burt Metcalfe, Gene Reynolds, Hy Averback, Don Weis, Jackie Cooper, William B. Jurgensen, Harry Morgan, George Tyne, William Wiard, Larry Gelbart, Mike Farrell, Earl Bellamy, Lee Philips, James Sheldon, Alan Rafkin, Nell Cox, Tony Mordente, David Ogden Stiers, Mel Damski, Bruce Bilson, Jamie Farr, Joan Darling, Susan Oliver, Terry Becker, Michael Switzer, Joshua Shelley, Gabrielle Beaumont, E.W. Swackhamer, John Erman, Stuart Millar, Norman Tokar, Michael O'Herlihy
- **Writer:** Larry Gelbart, Laurence Marks, Mike Farrell, Tom Reeder, Everett Greenbaum, Alan Alda, Jim Fritzell, David Isaacs, Ken Levine, Thad Mumford, Dan Wilcox, David Pollock, Elias Davis, John Rappaport, Karen Hall, Burt Prelutsky, Ronny Graham, James Fritzell, Gene Reynolds, Simon Muntner, Sid Dorfman, Gary Markowitz, Robert Klane, Linda Bloodworth-Thomason, Sheldon Keller, Larry Balmagia, Jim Mulligan, Mary Kay Place, Erik Tarloff, John D. Hess, Bernard Dilbert, Carl Kleinschmitt, Mitch Markowitz, Sheldon Bull, Jerry Mayer, McLean Stevenson, Burt Metcalfe, Burt Styler, Paul Perlove, Jay Folb, Don Reo, Sy Rosen, Glen Charles, Bruce Shelley, Arthur Julian, Rick Mittleman, Richard Cogan, Keith Walker, Lawrence Marks, Gerry Renert, Richard M. Powell, R.J. Colleary, Richard Baer, Jeff Wilhelm, Bill Idelson, Marc Mandel, Hal Dresner, David Ketchum, Johnny Bonaduce, Don Segall, Allyn Freeman, Walter D. Dishell, M.D., Richard Baer, Lee H. Grant, Hal Dressner, Ed Jurist, Paul Richards, Les Charles, John Regler, Gary David Goldberg
- **Story:** Gene Reynolds, Jay Folb, Larry Gelbart, Mike Farrell, Alan Alda, David Pollock, Elias Davis, Burt Prelutsky, Carl Kleinschmitt, Sy Rosen, Reinhold Weege, James Jay Rubinfier
- **Teleplay:** Robert Klane, Jay Folb, Larry Gelbart, David Isaacs, Ken Levine, David Pollock, Elias Davis, Simon Muntner, Larry Balmagia, Don Reo, Allan Katz
- **Novel:** Richard Hooker
- **Cinematography:** William B. Jurgensen, Richard A. Kelley, William T. Cline, Andrew Jackson, Dominick Palmeri, Dominic Palmieri, Meredith M. Nicholson, Sherman Kunkel, Joe Jackman
- **Editor:** Stanford Tischler, Fred W. Berger, Howard Kunin, Samuel E. Beetley, Larry L. Mills
- **Music:** Johnny Mandel, John Carl Parker, Duane Tatro, Benny Golson, Roger Kellaway, Billy May, Earle Hagen, Pete Rugolo
- **Producer:** Larry Gelbart, Jim Mulligan, Thad Mumford
- **Cast:** Alan Alda as Hawkeye Pierce; Mike Farrell as B. J. Hunnicutt; McLean Stevenson as Henry Blake; Loretta Swit as Margaret Houlihan; Larry Linville as Frank Burns; David Ogden Stiers as Charles Winchester; Gary Burghoff as Radar O'Reilly; Jamie Farr as Maxwell Klinger
- **Certificate (MPA):** TV-PG
- **Release (the US):** 17 September 1972
- **Genres:** War & Politics, Drama, Comedy

## Where to watch in the US

- Hulu: streaming, hd
- Disney+: add-on, hd
- Amazon Prime Video: buy, hd

*Checked 2026-09-16.*

Also available in: AT, AU, BG, CA, CH, CZ, DE, DK, EE, FI, GB, HR, HU, IS, LT, NL, NO, NZ, PL, RO, RS, SE, SI, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## If you liked this

- *Catch-22* (1970): Another military comedy where following orders can be the least sensible option.
- *The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp* (1943): For affection towards people in uniform without automatic faith in their judgement.
- *No Man's Land* (2001): A harsher wartime farce, equally alert to the lethal absurdity of procedure.
- *Detectorists* (2014): For the ensemble warmth, patient character work and jokes that permit tenderness.
- *To Be or Not to Be* (1942), Fi1m 87: People behave outrageously under occupation, while the comedy keeps the danger close. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/to-be-or-not-to-be.md)

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© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/tv/m-a-s-h-1972