Official Synopsis
Major Jed Webbe (Bogart) is a brilliant, hard-bitten Army surgeon with a weakness for women and strong liquor. Fresh from the states arrives Lt. Ruth McCara (Allyson), a naive young nurse ready to save the world. The story of their love and heroism, told against the grimly realistic background of pounding artillery and deadly ambushes of the Korean War, forms the core of the film.
The love story of this film is weak. I like the backdrop of the Korean War (namely because I know little to nothing about the war), but the actual love story here is just no damn good. Humphrey Bogart is a perfect Major Jed Webbe, and shows exactly why he is one of the greatest stars ever in Hollywood. His presence, acting and his aurora really is the tent pole holding up this entire film. When he walks into the shot he brings business with him and he sets us back in the Korean War. He was perfect for this role and made this movie more than worthwhile to watch.
Regretfully (and respectfully), June Allyson is the complete opposite of Bogart and is horribly miscast in this film. Her innocence to war is shallow, unbelievable and at times hilarious. She isn’t meant to outshine the leading star, but she doesn’t make an attempt at trying. She spouts out lines that are horribly read and she just doesn’t belong in the same frame of film as Bogart. In other words, she simply isn’t meant for this war film. She is more of a lighthearted actress in a bubbly comedy at this point of her career. Later on in the 70s and 80s, her maturity in Hollywood is self-evident and might work for a film like this, but in Battle Circus she is definitely the odd person out.
Her oddity hurts the overall film, simply because she is supposed to be the leading lady. She doesn’t take control of it, which means that she leaves a void in the story. When Bogart has to go back and forth with Allyson, it’s simply not believable interactions and regretfully one-sided. For example, when Allyson goes back to Bogart to ‘charge in’ for his love she simply doesn’t ‘charge’ as much as she ‘prances’ with her dialogue. Again, it’s odd and awkward to watch, and it hurts the film immensely.
Having said that, this 1953 classic introduces us to the M*A*S*H unit before Robert Altman got ahold of it. It also shows us a war that isn’t glorified like WWII or Vietnam. It’s not as popular, but it’s equally as brutal. When some of the more intense scenes show up in this movie, that’s when the reality of war really hits home and the film excels. The lack of blood, the constant moving from one place to another, the feeling of loneliness and entrapment; all of these really hit home for these characters. It keeps the interest of the film at a very high level, which is a positive. Despite the lack of leading lady, the story does carry itself pretty well, just like Bogart.
As for visuals of this DVD, the film transfer was actually done pretty well. It looks sharp, almost clean at times. You still get some popping from the audio and occasional dirt/artifact in the film. For a 1953 film it isn’t too bad.
Regretfully, no features.