Daily Dialogue — February 22, 2014

Capt. Peterson: [hostile tone of voice] What are you two HOODLUMS doing in this hospital?

Hawkeye Pierce: Ma’am, we are surgeons and we are here to operate. We just waiting for a starting time. That’s all.
Capt. Peterson: You can’t even go near a patient until Col. Merrill says its ok and he’s still out to lunch.
Trapper John: Look, mother, I want to go to work in one hour. We are the Pros from Dover and we figure to crack this kid’s chest and get out to golf course before it gets dark. So you go find the gas-passer and you have him pre-medicate this patient. Then bring me the latest pictures on him. The ones we saw must be 48 hours old by now. Then call the kitchen and have them rustle us up some lunch.[turns to Hakweye] Ham and eggs will all right. [turns back to Capt. Peterson] Steak would be even better. And then give me at least ONE nurse who knows how to work in close without getting her tits in my way.
Capt. Peterson: [outraged] Oh! [turns to leave and bumps into Nurse in Japan] Oh! Fool! [stomps out of ward]
Nurse in Japan: How do you want your steak cooked?

— M*A*S*H (1970), screenplay by Ring Lardner Jr., novel by Richard Hooker

The Daily Dialogue theme for the week is surgery.

Trivia: The operating scenes were almost cut out due to their graphic nature. However, two women who were visiting the set told the producers that the operating scenes were what made the movie, and should be kept in.

Dialogue On Dialogue: M*A*S*H is one of two great medical movies from the 70s [I will feature the other one tomorrow], yet the film almost didn’t get released because 20th Century Fox had no idea what they had on their hands. Fortunately it screened at a theater in San Francisco and the audience went wild, thereby spurring the studio to release the film. The rest, as they say, is history.

Comment Archive