Line #3 Film/BattleCircus


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/battle_circus.jpg]]
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3	''Battle Circus'' is a 1953 war picture directed by Richard Brooks and starring Creator/HumphreyBogart and Creator/JuneAllyson. The film chronicles the work of the 8666th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (MASH) as they treat wounded soldiers during UsefulNotes/TheKoreanWar. The film is notable for being a more dramatic forerunner to the ''Franchise/{{MASH}}'' franchise. Comparisons between the two are inevitable.
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5	Lieutenant Ruth [=McCara=] (Allyson) is newly assigned to the 8666th (often shortened to 66th in dialogue) MASH, officially commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Hilary Whalters (Robert Keith), but effectly controlled by the Chief Surgeon, Major Jed Webbe (Bogart). The womanizing Webbe is quickly drawn to [=McCara=], who constantly rebuffs his advances. Initially a poor addition to camp, [=McCara=] soon proves herself in the operating room, only increasing Webbe's interest in her. All the while, the camp must deal with a constant flow of wounded, enemy fire, supply shortages, and regular moves as the front line shifts.
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8	!!This work contains example of the following tropes:
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10	* TheAce: As chief surgeon, Webbe is this in spades - he's the one who takes on the complex surgeries and assists with field rescues.
11	* TheAlcoholic: Webbe imbibes frequently when off duty, to the point that Whalters has to warn him to dry out.
12	* TheAllegedBoss: Played with. Whalters is shown to be an entirely competent leader and ReasonableAuthorityFigure, but is absent or incapacitated for much of the film, Webbe calling most of the shots instead.
13	* AsianSpeekeeEngrish: Strongly averted. All Korean characters who appear speak Korean, as do some members of the camp.
14	* BrokenAce: Webbe is a hardened veteran of combat surgery, relying heavily on alcohol to get him through. Notably, early in the film he performs open-heart massage on a Korean boy he's operating on to revive him. By the movie's end, he walks away from a flatlined soldier on the operating table without even trying to bring him back.
15	* TheCasanova: Webbe has a camp-wide reputation for flirting with the nurses, who warn [=McCara=] of this. They suggest he may be married, but this is never established for certain.
16	* CombatMedic: One of Webbe's first scenes has him fly into a combat zone to help treat wounded soldiers at the front and evacuate them to the 66th. He catches some flak from Whalters for this.
17	* CoveredInMud: [=McCara=] and Webbe get this while trying to get out of the shower tent when it collapses.
18	* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: [=McCara=]'s EstablishingCharacterMoment has her try to pull wounded soldiers out of harm's way when the camp comes under fire during a dogfight between American and Korean fighter jets.
19	* TheDitz: [=McCara=] is this when she first arrives. When she sees the camp's tents being dismantled ahead of a move early in the film, she is under the impression that the war has ended.
20	* DrinkingOnDuty: Played with. Webbe confines his drinking to his off hours, but being at a front line army hospital means off hours tend to be curtailed without warning. This leads to his being summoned for surgery, only for it be discovered that he is unfit to operate.
21	* GentleGiant: Sergeant Orvil Statt, a former circus roustabout who is in charge of dismantling and reconstructing the unit when it moves. He develops a soft spot for a Korean orphan who is brought in as a patient.
22	* GungHolierThanThou: [=McCara=] shows some of these tendencies, genuinely believing in her mission as an Army nurse. Gradually downplayed over the course of the movie.
23	* INeedAFreakingDrink: After the safe arrival of a helicopter carrying a shipment of whole blood through a nighttime windstorm, Webbe goes on a bender.
24	* MacGyvering: When the hospital train fails to arrive, the camp evacuates recovering patients by putting an abandoned set of railroad wheels under the nose of the evac truck, turning it into a proto-[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Road%E2%80%93rail_vehicle hi-rail]].
25	* TheMainCharactersDoEverything: Webbe seems to have a hand in everything that happens in the camp. Justified in that he is chief surgeon and therefore a ''de facto'' second in command. Played straight at the beginning, when he goes into combat to treat wounded soldiers on the line, something a chief surgeon would not be expected to do.
26	* MeatgrinderSurgery: The movie spares no punches in showing the stresses MASH personnel were under during the Korean War.
27	* MeetCute: Webbe and [=McCara=] meet after the former drags the latter under a truck when the camp comes under fire during aerial combat.
28	* MildlyMilitary: Webbe is never shown to be particularly GI. Indeed, Whalters tells him that had he been more military in his attitude, he would have been made commander.
29	* TheNeidermeyer: Webbe displays tendencies of this, demanding that the helicopter pilot Captain John Rustford fly at night in a windstorm to deliver an overdue shipment of whole blood.

Context Film / BattleCircus