'' is a
1953 Film directed by
Richard Brooks , who also wrote the screenplay. It stars
Humphrey Bogart and
June Allyson . and costars
Keenan Wynn and
Robert Keith .
The film is set in
Korea during the
Korean "conflict" ; Bogart plays a surgeon at a
Mobile Army Surgical Hospital , and Allyson plays a nurse.
According to Brooks (in an interview filmed for the 1988 ''
Bacall On Bogart '' documentary), the film was originally called ''MASH'', a title rejected by
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer because the studio thought people would think the film had something to do with potatoes. Brooks also noted that 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.
The title of the film refers to the speed and ease with which a
MASH Unit , like a
Circus , can pick up stakes and move to where the action is.
