"Major Fred C. Dobbs" is the title of episode #22 of the first season of the TV series ''
M*A*S*H
''M*A*S*H'' (Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) is an American media franchise consisting of a series of novels, a film, several television series, plays, and other properties, and based on the semi-autobiographical fiction of Richard Hooker.
T ...
''. It originally aired on March 11, 1973.
Plot
After witnessing Frank's berating of nurse Ginger Bayliss (
Odessa Cleveland) for no reason, Hawkeye and Trapper console Ginger and set Frank up for one of their "getting even" pranks. This latest scheme succeeds where no other one has, as Frank finally demands that he be transferred to another unit. But when another prank embarrasses both Frank and Margaret over the P.A. system, she also demands a transfer. Hawkeye and Trapper are glad to be rid of the pair at first, but then learn that they will have to work double shifts until replacements arrive. To trick Frank into staying, the two surgeons lead him to believe that large deposits of gold can be found near the camp. His greed gets the better of him and he withdraws his transfer request, after which Hawkeye and Trapper humiliate him again by driving past him in a jeep that they have painted gold.
Notes
The title of this episode is a reference to the
John Huston
John Marcellus Huston ( ; August 5, 1906 – August 28, 1987) was an American film director, screenwriter, actor and visual artist. He wrote the screenplays for most of the 37 feature films he directed, many of which are today considered ...
film ''
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre'', in which Fred C. Dobbs (
Humphrey Bogart
Humphrey DeForest Bogart (; December 25, 1899 – January 14, 1957), nicknamed Bogie, was an American film and stage actor. His performances in Classical Hollywood cinema films made him an American cultural icon. In 1999, the American Film In ...
) becomes consumed with greed — a weakness to which Hawkeye and Trapper appeal in order to keep Frank from actually leaving.
The plot device of
Radar O'Reilly planting a microphone in Margaret's tent and embarrassing her and Frank by broadcasting them over the camp PA system originally appeared in the original ''
MASH'' film.
Some original ''M*A*S*H'' production personnel consider this to be the worst episode of the series, centering as it does on Hawkeye and Trapper trying to ''keep'' Majors Burns and Houlihan at the 4077th.
Alan Alda
Alan Alda (; born Alphonso Joseph D'Abruzzo; January 28, 1936) is an American actor, screenwriter, and director. A six-time Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award winner, he is best known for playing Captain Benjamin "Hawkeye" Pierce in the war come ...
referred to it as "a low point".
Hawkeye makes a reference to his favorite soap opera, ''Just Plain MacArthur,'' a reference to a real radio soap from the Golden Age called ''
Just Plain Bill
''Just Plain Bill'' was a 1932-1955 15-minute American radio drama program heard on CBS Radio and NBC Radio. It was "a story of people just like people we all know.”
Originally called ''Bill the Barber'', the program began on CBS on September 19 ...
''.
The PA announcement tells of a movie to be shown
Greed (film) an actual 1924 silent film classic.
This was the last episode to have the "jazzier" version of the theme song playing during the credits.
References
External links
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{{M*A*S*H episodes
M*A*S*H (season 1) episodes
1973 American television episodes