Military Hospitals

 

My dad fought in World War 2 and was injured in the Reischwald Forest near the end of the war. He was sent to Belgium to recuperate from being shot. He awoke and found he was unshaven, was cold and found out his dad was told he died. The Red Cross came in and offered to shave him, give him a blanket and write to his dad… for a fee! They were going to charge him to bathe him, shave him, charge him for a blanket and charge him for writing a letter. My dad told them, to take their offer and shove it where the sun don’t shine. Later, the Salvation Army came in and did all of this without asking for one dime. He was warm, clean shaven, bathed and, most importantly, wrote a letter to his dad and mailed it free of charge. When I met my ex, his dad was also shot near the end of the war, sent to a Belgium hospital and had the exact same experience! 81 years ago, both brave men went through the same experience and I thought this would be a great theme…the military hospital. I love the film, “M.A.S.H.” But I spoke about it more than once so I chose not to talk about it this time. Here are my picks on Military Hospitals…

1. CAPTAIN NEWMAN M.D.-1963

This is an under-appreciated film that stars Gregory Peck as a Military psychiatrist who chooses unique therapy methods to try and help his many patients dealing with all sorts of PTSD, which used to be called Battle Fatigue in WW2 and She’ll Shock in WW1. Peck is under-staffed, but he is able to convince Tony Curtis, an orderly with an unorthodox way to help the patients, plus Angie Dickenson, to help him deal with his, too many, patients. The patients include Bobby Darin, dealing with survivor’s guilt abusing alcohol, a soldier who is catatonic who hid out in a basement for a year in a Nazi occupied town and a colonel, played so well by Eddie Albert, who is severely unhinged because the men who served under him died. It is not all serious but also has some good comedic moments. 

2. 36 HOURS-1964

This is a little different because it’s about an army Major, played by the always great James Garner, dealing with amnesia in an U. S. military hospital. His psychiatrist, played by Robert Taylor and Taylor’s nurse, Eva Marie Saint, are trying to help him remember the details of early June, 1944. It is 1950, and Garner is trying to recall what his life was before the War ended until he sees his paper cut on his finger. When he dupes one of the orderlies who promptly stands at attention in a very German way, he realizes he is being duped. The war is still on and it is early June, 1944. He has been captured and the bad Germans are trying to get him to disclose details of an oncoming invasion. It’s a pretty good thriller with all sorts of duplicity going on. It’s a good thriller with great actors and worth a watch.

3. COMING HOME-1978

This film was made because of Jane Fonda’s dedication to her negative views about the Vietnam War. She plays the wife to Bruce Dern, who is about to be deployed to Vietnam. When he leaves, she changes her life by moving into an apartment and buying a sports car. Her friend coaxes her to volunteer at a military hospital where she meets an angry Joh Voight. He is a Vietnam Vet left a paraplegic because of thewar. They knew each other in high school and slowly develop a friendship which leaves to love. This happens surrounded by the turmoil and destruction of human beings because of this war. Their bliss is interrupted when her husband returns broken because of the war. I saw this when it first came out and should see it again. I would have liked the film if it centered less on the lovey story ( and Fonda’s orgasm scene) and more on the actual soldiers. I do remember the Oscars because this film was up for many awards along with, “The Deer Hunter” which became a bitter rival. I think the 2 directors even started to fight at one of the awards shows…oh brother. 

Bonus..

TV SHOW M.A.S.H.- 1972-1983

I love this TV show that ran for 11 seasons and the finale is still the highest rated TV ending..ever! This show came from the 1970 film of the same name. Alan Alda plays Hawkeye Pierce, a top notch surgeon, Loretta Swift plays head nurse, Major Margaret “Hot Lips” Houlahan who loves men that outrank her.Gary Burghoff plays the company clerk, Radar O’Rielly, who also appeared in the film. Mclean Stephenson, Larry Linville, Wayne Rogers, Jamie Farr and William Christopher were in the first part of this series but in season 4, McLean and Rogers left the show and, in season 5, Linville left. Harry Morgan, Mike Farrell and then David Ogden Stiers entered the show and stayed until the end. This show started out as an all out comedy with some serious overtones but, once Alda became the star of the series, he changed the format and it became more of a dramedy. I do love the early episodes and, I think, once Alda became Creative Consultant, director and writer on the series, it lost that black satiric comedy. I do believe Alda went overboard in a couple of episodes clubbing us over the head with his preach ways. Overall, though, this show is one of the very best written shows that takes place during the Korean War at a MASH hospital. I hope young people find this show and continue to keep this famous as it deserves to be.

What Military hospital shows have you seen?