56 Years Ago, the Film That Inspired the Classic TV Show ‘M*A*S*H' Won the Top Prize at Cannes

Most people know M*A*S*H as the iconic television series that aired from 1972 until 1983. However, it was originally a 1968 novel by Richard Hooker called MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors. This book was adapted into a 1970 film that starred one of the same actors from the series-Gary Burghoff, who played Radar.

The film won the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival 56 years ago. According to a New York Times article from the time, the film "was only the third Hollywood film since 1948 to win the top prize at Cannes." The film also received five Academy Award nominations and was entered into the National Film Registry for preservation.

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In a 1973 interview with The Columbus Ledger, McLean Stevenson, who played Lieutenant Colonel Henry Blake, admitted that he was happy with the changes the show made from the movie, which made it more similar to the novel.

"First, the surgeons are highly skilled in the book and in the series. They are not in the movie," Stevenson said. "Second, in the series, any joke in the operating room is strictly between the doctors. In the movie, some of the jokes were directed at the patients. Third, we all wanted to be drafted, as everyone in the book was. In the movie they made Col. Blake a regular Army man."

However, Robert Altman, the director of the movie, was not a fan of the television series. He has said, "I didn't like the series because that series to me was the opposite of my main reason for making this film." He continued, "I thought it was the antithesis of what we were trying to do."

On Reddit, fans of the show are divided about the film. Many of them spoke about how different it is than the show that they know and love. One said, "Even though Gary Burghoff played Radar in both the movie and the series, the character in the series (even in the earlier seasons) is quite different than in the movie." Another said, "If all you know is the TV show, you will find the movie shockingly dark."

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This story was originally published May 16, 2026 at 9:25 AM.