M*A*S*H 4077th surgeon Major Frank Burns was played flawlessly by actor Robert Duvall in the 1970 movie smash hit M*A*S*H…..which is American black comedy war film directed by Robert Altman and written by Ring Lardner Jr.,…which was based on Richard Hooker’s novel MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors. The picture is the only theatrically released feature film in the M*A*S*H franchise….and it became one of the biggest films of the early 1970’s for 20th Century Fox.
Robert Duvall (born January 5, 1931) is an American actor and filmmaker whose career spans more than six decades….who has been nominated for seven Academy Awards, while winning for his performance in Tender Mercies….and seven Golden Globe Awards, while winning four…. plus has won a BAFTA….a Screen Actors Guild Award….and an Emmy Award. He received the National Medal of Arts in 2005.
Duvall has starred in numerous films and television series, including To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), The Twilight Zone (1963), The Outer Limits (1964), Bullitt (1968), True Grit(1969), MASH (1970), as seen in this video herewith, THX 1138 (1971), Joe Kidd (1972), The Godfather (1972), The Godfather Part II (1974), The Conversation (1974), Network (1976), Apocalypse Now (1979), The Great Santini (1979), The Natural (1984), Lonesome Dove (1989), The Handmaid’s Tale (1990), Days of Thunder (1990), Rambling Rose(1991) and Falling Down (1993).
In this scene excerpt from the 1970 movie M*A*S*H….we get to see the dismantling of surgeon Major Frank Burns by his fellow surgeons Captain Hawkeye Pierce and Captain Trapper John McEntyre….who are of the opinion that Major Burns is “just a bit off his rocker” mentally….in a scene that is simply “pure gold” in our treasure chest of vintage memories….for this is nothing short of hilarious.
