Alan Alda Movies
The son of actor Robert Alda, Alan Alda grew up around vaudeville and burlesque comedians, soaking up as many jokes and routines as was humanly possible. Robert Alda hoped that his son would become a doctor, but the boy's urge to perform won out. After graduating from Fordham University, Alda first acted at the Cleveland Playhouse, and then put his computer-like retention of comedy bits to good use as an improvisational performer with Chicago's Second City and an ensemble player on the satirical TV weekly That Was the Week That Was. Alda's first film was Gone Are the Days in 1963, adapted from the Ossie Davis play in which Alda had appeared on Broadway. (Among the actor's many subsequent stage credits were the original productions of The Apple Tree and The Owl and the Pussycat.)Most of Alda's films were critical successes but financial disappointments. He portrayed George Plimpton in the 1968 adaptation of the writer's bestseller Paper Lion and was a crazed Vietnam vet in the 1972 movie To Kill a Clown. Alda's signature role was the wisecracking Army surgeon Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pierce in the TV series M*A*S*H, which ran from 1972 through 1983. Intensely pacifistic, the series adhered to Alda's own attitudes towards warfare. (He'd once been an ROTC member in college, but became physically ill at the notion of learning how to kill.) During his M*A*S*H years, Alda also began auxiliary careers as a director and scriptwriter, winning numerous Emmy awards in the process. He also developed a separate sitcom, 1974's We'll Get By.
In 1978, Alda took advantage of an unusually lengthy production break in M*A*S*H to star in three films: California Suite, Same Time, Next Year, and The Seduction of Joe Tynan. He made his theatrical-movie directorial debut in 1981 with The Four Seasons, a semiserious exploration of modern romantic gamesmanship; it would prove to be his most successful film as a director, with subsequent efforts like Sweet Liberty (1986) and Betsy's Wedding (1989) no where close. Long associated with major political and social causes and well-known both offscreen and on as a man of heightened sensitivity, Alda has occasionally delighted in going against the grain of his carefully cultivated image with nasty, spiteful characterizations, most notably in Woody Allen'sCrimes and Misdemeanors (1989) and as death row inmate Caryl Chessman in the 1977 TV movie Kill Me if You Can. Alda later continued to make his mark on audiences with his more accustomed nice-guy portrayals in films such as Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993), Everyone Says I Love You (1996), Flirting With Disaster (1996), and The Object of My Affection (1998).
The next several years saw Alda show up in a handful of supporting roles, but in 2004, he had his biggest year in more than a decade. First, he appeared opposite Leonardo DiCaprio in Martin Scorcese's critically-acclaimed Howard Hughes biopic The Aviator. Playing Senator Ralph Owen Brewster, Alda would go on to receive a Best Supporting Actor Oscar-nomination, the first nod from the Academy in his long and impressive career. Meanwhile, on the small-screen, Alda played presidential-hopeful Arnold Vinick on NBC's political drama The West Wing, another Senator and his first regular series role since M*A*S*H. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Season eight of M*A*S*H was marked by the last of the series' major regular-cast defections. As the quietly resourceful and eerily clairvoyant company clerk, Cpl. Walter "Radar" O'Reilly, Gary Burghoff had been the only actor from the 1970 movie version of M*A*S*H* to carry over his role into the TV-series version in 1972. Now a full-fledged star with an Emmy award under his belt, Burghoff felt the time had come to move on. Radar O'Reilly made a ceremonious and emotionally charged exit from the series in the two-part episode "Good-Bye Radar." Breaking from the tradition established by such previous series defectees as Wayne Rogers, Maclean Stevenson and Larry Linville, Radar said his goodbyes only four weeks into the 1978-79 season, rather than waiting until the final episode of season eight. It was decided not to bring in a new actor to replace Radar. Instead, Cpl. Max Klinger (Jamie Farr), who previously spent the bulk of his time dressed in women's clothing in hopes of getting out of the Army on a Section 8, was promoted to company clerk. After a nervous "shakedown" period, Klinger adapted quite well to his new responsibilities, so much so that he cut back on his efforts to escape military service--and, simultaneously, was seen more often in the "proper" male garb. Having previously digressed from its established format, M*A*S*H expanded its efforts at experimentation during season eight with a brace of "gimmick" episodes. In "Life Time," the surgeons raced against the clock to save the life of a seriously wounded GI--and, to heighten the tension, that selfsame clock was seen ticking away throughout the episode, superimposed at the lower corner of the TV screen. And in "Dreams," the men and women of the 4077th were plagued by bizarre, surrealist nightmares reminiscent of the cinematic delusions of Ingmar Bergman and Luis Bunuel. The series' previous season move from a Tuesday-night timeslot to a Monday-evening berth had had a most salutary effect on M*A*S*H's ratings. Ranked as the seventh most popular series during its seventh season, the program climbed to fourth place for season eight. Additionally, M*A*S*H earned its eighth and ninth Emmy awards during this season, with the gold statuettes going to series regulars Harry Morgan and Loretta Swit. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alan Alda, Mike Farrell, (more)
- 1979
- R
Alan Alda wrote and starred in this tale about a big-time politician's struggles with his own morality and the corruption he finds surrounding him. He plays a U.S. Senator, Joe Tynan, who falls for a lovely lady attorney and has an affair that jeopardizes his marriage, and possibly, his career. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alan Alda, Barbara Harris, (more)
- 1979
Mariette Hartley guest stars as Dr. Inga Helversen, a gorgeous Swedish surgeon temporarily assigned to the 4077th. Hawkeye (Alan Alda) is smitten by Inga, but doubts that one so beautiful could be truly efficient in the O.R. Our hero's preconceived notions--and his ego--take quite a beating when Inga proves to be not only Hawkeye's equal, but in many ways his superior. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1979
Looking forward to the day that peace breaks out in Korea, B.J. (Mike Farrell) begins planning a postwar reunion party for the 4077th. The first step in this undertaking is to arrange (via long distance) a get-acquainted party for the relatives of the M*A*S*H staffers. Alas, an emergency evacuation in the face of a sudden Chinese offensive puts the kibosh on B.J.'s plans--and very nearly destroys his sanity. This was the final episode of M*A*S*H's seventh season. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1979
Hawkeye (Alan Alda) crosses swords with Lt. Hung Lae Park (Mako), a ruthless and determined ROK officer. At the center of the conflict is a wounded Korean woman (Huanini Minn), whose life Hawkeye is determined to save. But Park insists that the woman is an enemy guerilla--and as such must be turned over to him for a particularly brutal round of interrogations. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Based on Bernard Slade's Broadway play of the same name, this film is about George, a married New Jersey accountant (Alan Alda), and Doris, a housewife (Ellen Burstyn). The two accidentally meet in a Californian country inn in 1951. They have an affair, which they continue for the next 25 years, meeting only once a year for a weekend getaway at the same hotel. Through their long-running love affair, the audience witnesses the changes within America and its lifestyles over the course of a quarter of a century. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ellen Burstyn, Alan Alda, (more)
Playwright Neil Simon turned to the hotel setting he used so successfully in his stage-play (later a movie) Plaza Suite to explore four more human dramas in his play California Suite, which was adapted into this quite successful movie. In the first episode, the divorced couple of Bill and Hannah Warren (Alan Alda and Jane Fonda) have rented a suite in a posh Beverly Hills hotel in order to have a discussion about who will get the custody of their child. In the next episode, Sidney Cochran and Diana Barrie (Michael Caine and Maggie Smith) are a hilarious pair of Hollywood stars who have rented the suite to await their appearance at the Academy Awards: it is a "date of convenience" which enables the sexually adventurous duo to conduct their other, more unconventional alliances out of the public eye. Drs. Willis Panama and Chauncy Gump (Bill Cosby and Richard Pryor) have brought their families to Beverly Hills for a vacation which takes on nightmarish tone. Finally, Marvin Michaels (Walter Matthau) tries frantically and unsuccessfully to explain the situation to his wife (Elaine May) when she catches him in flagrante delicto with a hooker. Actress Maggie Smith won an Academy Award as "Best Supporting Actress" for her role in this film, in which she plays the actress waiting to win . . . an Academy Award. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alan Alda, Michael Caine, (more)
Now in its seventh season on the air, the irreverent military comedy series M*A*S*H continued to roll along like a well-oiled machine. The most significant change during season six, the introduction of the insufferable but brilliant surgeon Maj. Charles Emerson Winchester (David Ogden Stiers), had registered quite well with viewers and fellow cast members alike. Less successful had been the scripting decision of marrying off the 4077th's head nurse Margaret Houlihan (Loretta Swit) (who out of respect for changing attitudes toward gender stereotyping no longer bore the demeaning nickname "Hot Lips") to the handsome Lt. Col. Donald Penobscott, especially since viewers seldom saw Margaret's elusive husband. Thus, Penobscott was written out of the show via a quickie divorce at the end of the 1978-79 season. The season itself was distinguished by a number of memorable episodes, as well as a welcome revival of a "gimmick" that had registered well during season four: A "documentary"-style installment, filmed in black-and-white in the manner of a 1950s documentary, wherein TV correspondent Clete Roberts interviewed the men and women of the 4077th. This episode, "Our Finest Hour", was expanded to a full hour, the better to accommodate "flashback" excerpts featuring such long-departed M*A*S*H regulars as Wayne Rogers, Maclean Stevenson and Larry Linville. In another, even more ambitious "gimmick" episode, "Point of View," the action was seen entirely through the eyes of a seriously wounded GI. It was also during this season that reruns of M*A*S*H were telecast on CBS' daytime lineup. The following year, the series would enter local syndication, where it continued to run until well into the 21st century. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alan Alda, Mike Farrell, (more)
- 1978
Obsessing over the possibility of losing a future civilian medical position, Charles (David Ogden Stiers) vows never to speak to his colleagues at the 4077th again. Normally, Charles' silence would be a consummation devoutly to be wished, but Hawkeye (Alan Alda) and B.J. (Mike Farrell) cannot resist the temptation of jump-starting Charles' mouth. As our heroes set about to write a phony telegram in their efforts to cheer up their morose tent-mate, visiting psychiatrist Sidney (Allan Arbus) tackles the problem of an amnesiac soldier (Kevin Geer). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1978
Charles (David Ogden Stiers) saves the life of a wounded G.I. with an emergency heart massage. Never one to hide his talents under a bushel, Charles basks in the congratulations from his colleagues--even his friendly enemies Hawkeye (Alan Alda) and B.J. (Mike Farrell). But when a Stars and Stripes reporter (Greg Mullavey) arrives in camp to write an exclusive story about Charles, the arrogant medico's ego reaches such astronomical proportions that Hawk and Beej are obliged to perform a bit of "surgery" of their own. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1978
In his annual Yuletide letter to his sister (the "Sister"), Father Mulcahy (William Christopher) recounts recent events at the 4077th. Mulcahy's missive is tinged with melancholy: As the war drags on and casualties pile up, he feels that his spiritual solace has been of little practical use to his colleagues. Naturally, everyone else in camp has a different point of view. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1977
Against not only his better judgment but also that of Col. Potter (Harry Morgan), Hawkeye (Alan Alda) falls in love. The object of his affection is an artistocratic Korean woman who is caring for her mother and children all by herself. The role of Kyung Soon is played by Kieu Chinh, who was one of South Vietnam's top actresses and TV personalities before the fall of Saigon in 1975. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1977
Psychiatrist Sidney Freedman (Allan Arbus) makes a return visit to the 4077th--at the personal request of Col. Potter (Harry Morgan). It seems that the entire camp is at each other's throats, thanks to the nervous tension built up over a period of several weeks. Ultimately, the doctors and nurses heal their emotional wounds with a cathartic bonfire, while Sidney tries to resolve a personal crisis involving a wounded--and very vindictive--G.I. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1977
Taking the advice of his idol Hawkeye (Alan Alda), Radar (Gary Burghoff) heads off for a weekend of whoopee at the Pink Pagoda in Seoul. When Radar is wounded en route, Hawkeye is consumed by guilt, so much so that he is unable to do his job to the best of his abilities. The disappointed Radar reprimands Hawkeye for his behavior, thereby sparking a war of words that seriously threatens the future relationship of these longtime friends. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1977
In the conclusion of a two-part story, Hawkeye (Alan Alda) and Margaret (Loretta Swit) are forced to put aside their mutual animosity as they huddle together in an abandoned hut behind enemy lines. With artillery shells flying over their heads, the two antagonists gain mutual respect for one another--and as they wake up after a long night's sleep, it appears that they have become far more than friends (if the sly, contented look on Margaret's face is any indication). Meanwhile, B.J. (Mike Farrell) hires a helicopter and conducts a frenzied search for the missing couple. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1977
Father Mulcahy (William Christopher) is laid low with hepatitis, forcing the entire camp to submit to antiobiotics injections. The man in charge of this mass inoculation is Hawkeye (Alan Alda), who has problems of his own thanks to a painful back ailment. Meanwhile, B.J. (Mike Farrell) undertakes an extremely delicate operation. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1977
The story of "red light bandit" Caryl Chessman, previously dramatized in the 1955 film Cell 2455, Death Row (based on Chessman's own book), was adapted for television as Kill Me If You Can. In a radical departure from his usual duties as MASH's Hawkeye Pierce, Alan Alda plays Chessman, who in 1948 was found guilty of robbery, kidnapping and sexual assault. Under the laws of the era, Chessman was sentenced to die in the gas chamber. But by studying the law and publishing four books on his plight, the brilliant (albeit still repugnant) Chessman managed to forestall his execution for 12 years. Though no effort is made in the film to make the sociopathic Chessman any better than he was, John Gay's script comes out squarely in opposition of capital punishment. Kill Me If You Can first aired on September 25, 1977. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alan Alda, Talia Shire, (more)
Season six of M*A*S*H was noteworthy for yet another defection from its regular-cast ranks. Long dissatisfied with the artistic limitations of the role of obnoxious Major Frank Burns, actor Larry Linville followed the lead of his former M*A*S*H colleagues Wayne Rogers and Maclean Stevenson by leaving the series to pursue new projects. It was explained in the sixth season opener that Frank Burns had gone AWOL in reaction to marriage of his longtime paramour Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan (Loretta Swit) to the dashing (but seldom-seen) Lt. Col. Donald Penobscott, and had been transferred to a stateside hospital. The series' producers were anxious to replace Frank Burns with a character who would remain an antagonist to the nominal "heroes," irreverent Army surgeons Hawkeye (Alan Alda) and B.J. (Mike Farrell). At the same time, it was acknowledged that the series' writers had painted themselves into a creative corner by depicting Burns as stupid and incompetent. His replacement would have to be an eminently qualified and undeniably brilliant surgeon, while at the same time boasting a prickly personality that would drive Hawk and BJ up a wall--and vice versa. Thus was born the character of Major Charles Emerson Winchester II (played by David Ogden Stiers), an aristocratic Boston Brahmin of vast knowledge and expertise, whose surgical skill approached genius, and whose arrogance and disdain for his colleagues would provide an amusing contrast to the casual, carefree slovenliness of the 4077th. Also avoiding the series' previous scripting boondoggle of making Frank Burns thoroughly unlovable, it was established early on that Charles Winchester had his compassionate, humane and even warm moments, despite his haughty, overbearing demeanor. Still in its winning Tuesday-night timeslot, M*A*S*H continued to rank highly in the ratings, though it would slip from fourth to eighth place during its sixth season. Also, this would be the first year since 1973 that M*A*S*H would not win at least one Emmy award, though it was honored with eight nominations. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alan Alda, Mike Farrell, (more)
- 1976
Having volunteered for temporary duty several hundred miles from the 4077th, Margaret (Loretta Swit) sends back a radio message with some startling news. The former "Hot Lips" has become engaged to a handsome bull colonel named Donald Penobscott. Frank Burns (Larry Linville), Margaret's longtime main squeeze, demonstrates his sportsmanship and good nature by arresting an innocent Korean family and charging them with espionage. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1976
The focus is on psychiatrist Sidney Freedman (Allan Arbus) in this whimsical episode. Hoping to find an island of sanity during the Korean Conflict, the depressed Dr. Freedman settles for a few days surrounded by the merry insanity of the 4077th. In a letter to his "mentor" Sigmund Freud (one suspects that this missive won't be answered), Sidney describes a typical vacation amongst the M*A*S*H loonies, culminating on yet another practical joke perpetrated against the insufferable Frank Burns (Larry Linville). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1976
Bad luck begins to plague the 4077th the moment that Radar (Gary Burghoff), acting under orders, removes an old Korean "spirit post." The climax comes when an elderly Korean patient refuses treatment until an exorcism is performed to remove the evil spirits summoned by Radar's "sacrilege." Looks like Frank Burns (Larry Linville) will have yet another excuse to rail against the Koreans--while the rest of the camp will gain renewed respect for the People of the Land. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Although M*A*S*H entered its fifth season with the cast from season four intact--including relative newcomers Mike Farrell as B.J. Hunnicut and Harry Morgan as Col. Sherman Potter--the production roster was short one significant name. Producer and co-creator Larry Gelbart had exited the series at the end of the 1974-75, declaring that he had contributed all he could to the project and was now prepared to move on. This left the lion's share of the creative decisions in the hands of series star Alan Alda, aka Hawkeye Pierce, who had already written and/or directed a number of episodes. Another M*A*S*H stalwart was indicating that he, too, was feeling creatively confined by the series. Larry Linville, who since the beginning of the program in 1972 had functioned as the 4077th's resident nemesis in the role of xenophobic, incompetent surgeon Maj. Frank Burns, had been issuing public complaints that his character had not been allowed to grow and mature as had the other M*A*S*H regulars. Also, since the decision had been made to marry off Burns' mistress Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan (Loretta Swit) to dashing officer Donald Penobscott, Frank was becoming gratuitous and redundant. By the end of season five, Larry Linville followed the lead of such former regulars as Maclean Stevenson and Wayne Rogers) by leaving the series to pursue more artistically satisfying projects. Linville's discomfiture did not, however, extend to the other M*A*S*H cast members. In particular, William Christopher had every reason to welcome the beginning of the fifth season with open arms. Having long been consigned to the "featured players" roster in the closing cast of each episode, Christopher had finally graduated to series-regular status--with commensurate billing at the beginning of the program--in his role as the 4077th's mild-mannered but strong-willed chaplain, Father John Mulcahy. Having been toppled from the "Top Ten" by CBS's reckless decision to schedule the series opposite NBC's Friday-night blockbuster Chico and the Man during season five, M*A*S*H had begun regaining lost ground in December of 1975, when the network shifted the program to Tuesday evenings. It remained a solid Tuesday hit throughout the 1976-77 season, climbing back to fourth place in the ratings. The series also picked up two more Emmy Awards, for Gary Burghoff (aka Cpl. Radar O'Reilly) as best supporting player in a continuing series and for Alan Alda as best director (for the episode "Dear Sigmund"). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alan Alda, Mike Farrell, (more)
Everybody knew that Maclean Stevenson would not return to M*A*S*H when the series inaugurated its fourth season in the fall of 1975; after all, Stevenson's character, Col. Henry Blake, had been abruptly killed off at the end of season three, so any sort of return was out of the question. It did, however, come as something of a surprise to the series' loyal viewers that another of the leading characters, irreverent surgeon Trapper John, was also missing from the fourth season roster. The reason? Actor Wayne Rogers, who'd played Trapper since the series' debut in 1972, had ankled the project in the middle of a contract dispute; he was tired of playing second fiddle to costar Alan Alda (aka Hawkeye Pierce), and wanted to spread his wings with a series of his own. Thus, season four opened with the first of M*A*S*H's one-hour "special" episodes, the better to establish the character of Trapper John's assistant, Capt. B.J. Hunnicut (Mike Farrell. More clean-cut and level-headed that the Rabelaisian Trapper, B.J. nonetheless proved to be every bit as capricious and irreverent as his predecessor, especially when cooking up schemes to embarrass the gimlet-eyed, humorless Frank Burns (Larry Linville and the chronically thin-skinned Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan (Loretta Swit) As for Col. Blake's replacement, the series' producers decided not to emulate the youngish, laid-back Maclean Stevenson, and instead went with an older, more "Regular Army" character. Harry Morgan, who'd appeared as a guest star during M*A*S*H's third season, was added to the cast as crusty but lovable Colonel Henry Potter, an old Cavalry man who managed to maintain the dignity of the Service and the decorum of the O.R. without ever sacrificing his humanity or sense of humor. Potter also proved to be a "good fit" insofar as company clerk Radar O'Reilly was concerned. Without ever consciously or blatantly doing so, Potter and Radar fell into a warm father-son relationship, which would make Radar's inevitable exit from the series five seasons later all the more poignant. Another development within the M*A*S*H family was the ascention of actor Jamie Farr to full "series regular" status. Introduced as an intended one-shot during season one, Farr's character, cross-dressing Corporal Max Klinger (who of course donned women's clothing in hopes of being discharged from the Army on a Section 8) proved popular enough to warrant additional "guest" appearances, and by the time the 1974-75 season had rolled around, Farr was being billed at the beginning of each episode, rather than merely among the "featured" cast in the closing credits. The "look" of M*A*S*H continued to deepen and mellow during season four, with the "zany" and "serious" aspects achieving a more even balance, thereby lessening the need for that intrusive recorded laughtrack that CBS insisted upon (though the track would not disappear altogether for several seasons to come). This was also the year that the series briefly digressed from its standard format to offer a half-hour "documentary" episode, in which the staff of the 4077th were interviewed by a TV war correspondent (Clete Roberts). Shot in black-and-white, this episode closed out the series' fourth season in the spring of 1976. By that time, M*A*S*H had won the fifth of its Emmy awards, the prize going to Stanford Tischler and Fred W. Berger, who had written the 60-minute opener "Welcome to Korea". Unfortunately, though the series was still popular, it has slipped from fifth to 14th place in the overall ratings, thanks to CBS' misguided decision to move the series from Tuesday to Friday evenings opposite the NBC ratings-grabber Chico and the Man. At least CBS acknowledged its error early on; in December of 1975, M*A*S*H was shifted back to Tuesdays, where it would remain a fixture for the next two years. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alan Alda, Mike Farrell, (more)
- 1975
This time it is Radar's (Gary Burghoff) turn to recap the zany happenings at the 4077th in a letter home. Writing to his mother, Radar invokes such highlights as the camp's annual foot inspection, this year handled by a reluctant Hawkeye (Alan Alda). On a more delicate note, Radar recalls the shrapnel wound endured by Col. Potter (Harry Morgan)--an injury as embarrassing as it is painful. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
