I totally agree with other MASH fans on this board who have talked about how frustrating it is that the Frank Burns char
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Samboknows — 19 years ago(January 06, 2007 03:23 AM)
Larry Linville was a f**cking genius on MASH. He was written as 1 demential, so there wasn't much he could do.
Actually, if they made him more human, it would've ruined his character. He was just meant to be a putz and he played it beautifully. -
Skk94 — 19 years ago(March 14, 2007 03:29 PM)
Actually, if you think about and pay close attention to the episodes, Frank does develop but in reverse. In the first episodes, he's called a "fair to competent suregon." At the end, he's a bumbling idiot, even more than what would be imaginable for even the worst surgeon.
Now that I think of it, there was another time when Frank showed his human side. Remember the episode when Hawkeye was sleepwaking and having horrible dreams? One night, Hawkeye was trying his best not to fall asleep so hard that he was even talking to Frank just to stay awake. Frank mentioned that, as a kid, his dad took away his nightlite so that his child wouldn't grow up afraid of the dark. Hawkeye thought this was a bit harsh, but Frank countered by agreeing with his dad's decision, saying that "there's nothing out there in the dark that isn't there in the light." (I think that's close to what he said I'm quoting from memory.) Pretty deep statement for an idiot, huh? -
roarsymfo — 18 years ago(June 28, 2007 01:34 AM)
At the end of the episode "Margaret
s Engangement" , in the mess tent, when the surgeons join Hot Lips while bragging about Donald, Frank asks Hawkeye and BJ about going out that night, he tells about this nurse who has an eye on him, and Hot Lips asks that shes a bit young for him, and Frank replies
that he will try some younger girls for a change. Hot Lips gets offended and leaves the table. Frank tells Hawkeye and BJ: "Really got her on that one, didn`t I?" and giggles
That was great moment to watch !! -
secondnapoleon — 18 years ago(July 22, 2007 07:16 AM)
Another poignant moment with Frank is when Hawkeye says something along the lines of, "I didn't realise this was a kids' war" and Frank replied with, "It's everyone's war Pierce." Pretty deep for a supposedly rabidly-patriotic and pro-war guy.
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kdf31 — 17 years ago(May 22, 2008 03:05 PM)
In the 30th anniversary show, an interview with Larry Linville was played. He indicated that he was often asked (over the years) why Frank Burns never grew into a compassionate, kind, giving, person etc etc.
Larry Linville's response basically was: Well Frank is NOT Hawkeye.
So, I think it was his decision as the actor and the writers decision to keep Frank the way he was.
Fantastic actor! He really was a brillant casting choice for Frank.
A real loss to the world when Mr. Linville passed away. -
RobBase086-1 — 15 years ago(December 10, 2010 09:26 PM)
I am a M.A.S.H. fan myself and I hate to say it but I feel that the first five seasons are the best because they are more comical than any of the rest of the seasons. Frank did have his moments but it is a shame that they did not have his character develop a little more.
That is why the actor who played Trapper left the show because originally the people that created the show had plans to develop Trappers character but it did not happen. That is why he left the show. I cracked up laughing when they would make fun of Frank though and made him look like an idiot! Winchester was ok but it just did not seem the same at all without Frank Burns in the show.
Dedicated to USA UP ALL NIGHT and the fans!
www.usaupallnight.webs.com/ -
p_banger — 18 years ago(January 11, 2008 06:57 PM)
Another moment, from I believe Season 3:
Houlihan, defending Gen. MacArthur to Pierce: "Just like you to denigrate one of the Top Ten generals in American history."
Pierce: "Margaret, the man started up with Red China!"
Burns: "You've got a point there, Hawk."
Perhaps the only time Frank agreed with Pierce in the OR about anything.
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vinidici — 18 years ago(February 20, 2008 11:22 AM)
The trouble with the Frank Burns character was that he was nearly always written as shallow, weak, hypocritical and self-righteous. He's that way in the MASH novels and with Robert Duvall (as Frank) in the original MASH motion picture. After Linville left the series, it was much easier for a brand new character (Winchester) to arrive as a foil to Pierce and Hunnicutt yet still evolve a grudging friendship with his colleagues
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rick-997 — 17 years ago(May 12, 2008 07:05 PM)
I grew up watching MASH and I have the first 5 seasons on DVD. Winchester was an OK character but MASH is not MASH without Frank. In my opinion, Frank made the show. He was the best actor by far hands down. He made it memorable.
When you first watch MASH and you see Frank you think "man what a jerk, what a stick in the mud" and guess what, thats what you are suppose to think, and Larry did it flawlessly. He was able to take that role and make it so believable. I like the other actors but without him the show just didnt do it for me. -
tohu — 17 years ago(July 16, 2008 06:39 PM)
But the point is that every other character in the show develops over the years - just as people do (especially in wartime). Hotlips becomes much softer, Pierce goes through his psychological problems and becomes much less confident and more serious, Klinger becomes more accepting of his place in the army, Radar becomes more mature, etc. Even Winchester - who starts off as a smarter, more sophisticated version of Frank - becomes much more multi-dimensional by the end of the show's run.
To have Frank as a one-dimensional 'cartoon' character was fine in the movie, and even in the first season when they didn't expect it to be such a long-running show. But as the seasons went by I still say he should have been allowed to develop, as the others were.
Anyway. I spose we can analyse these things too much.
"Maybe I should go alone"
- Quint, Jaws.
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CousinLumpy — 17 years ago(August 29, 2008 03:08 PM)
In all fairness, some people are just jerks. As many people have pointed out, Frank did have his tender moments. But I've known people who could be compared on some level to Frank Burns. (One of them works in the office next to me.) Granted, they all have levels, but they just never really come out because that bitter, resentful person is so much closer to the surface.
I think the biggest issue with Frank was that you had learned to hate him (and love it!) for so long 5b4that trying to make him more sympathetic would almost undermine everything that had come before.
But another "human Frank" moment I would point to is "Margaret's Wedding" at almost the very end. Everybody sees Margaret and Donald P. off in the chopper. After the chopper flies away and the crowd disperses, Frank (standing alone on the chopper pad) stands there for a few seconds and just says "Goodbye, Margaret." Even though it's Frank, it almost breaks your heart! -
kdf31 — 17 years ago(February 04, 2009 05:01 PM)
As many people have pointed out, Frank did have his tender moments.
He did. He wasn't completely heartless. Remember the Korean boy that Trapper was going to adopt and Margaret and Frank lose track of the kid?
Later the kid wandered off into a land mine. Margaret screams out for the kid to stay where he is, and Frank also screams out in Korean for the kid to stay put
He definately cared about the kid and when the boys mother shows up, the camera panned out to Trapper and Frank did give Trapper a look of concern.
There were tiny, small fleeting moments when Frank was shown to care. He just always cared about himself and his money the MOST!
Great character, probably my favorite. -
themolemenprophecies — 17 years ago(December 19, 2008 08:52 AM)
I recently saw an episode in which Hawkeye and Trapper filed a report that a South Korean village had been shelled by friendly fire. They initially tried to get Frank in on it, but he shrugged off their requests.
The army didn't want the word of the shelling to get out, so they disappeared the evidence that Hawkeye and Trapper submitted, and eventually threatened their careers and freedom. Then Frank and Houlihan stepped in, revealing they had kept their own evidence (X-rays, shrapnel pieces, etc) and forced the army to admit they had shelled the village and release the vice grip they were putting on Hawkeye and Trapper. -
TorontoJediMaster — 17 years ago(March 20, 2009 08:58 PM)
Well, it's hard to compare Burns to Winchester. From the start, Winchester was set up to be a much more worthy adversary to Hawkeye. He was portrayed as a truly brilliant surgeon from the start (so Hawkeye couldn't criticize him on that front) who was simply egotistical. As well, he was clever enough to fight back when pranked (the conclusion of his introductory episode shows this, when he moves the snake -which Hawkeye and BJ had placed in his bed- to Hawkeye's bed).
Larry Linville's real genius was that he was able to make Burns such a delightful weasel. He was such a stupid and venal character that you couldn't wait for him to fail.
Of course, there were instances where you saw glimpses of his humanity show through. I think the best one was the one where Margaret got engaged. That's where he has his minibreakdown and "captures" a Korean family and their ox, believing they're enemy spies. When he's wound up enough to pull his carbine of Hawkeye, BJ and Potter, Radar defuses the situation by putting a call through to Burns' mother. Burns gets on the phone and says that he had this friend who wasn't really his friend. This friend only pretended to like himthe way his father used t1c84o. In the office, Potter -who's listening in to Burns' talk on Radar's phone says Frank is crying now.
So, you got the impression that Frank was more a victim of really lousy programming than anything else. At the end of that episode is when Frank gets his shot in at Margaret by saying some youth would be nice for a change.
Larry Linville himself said that he left the role when his contract expired because a) he'd taken the character as far as he could. And b) it really wasn't so funny to portray Burns anymore. As he said, without Margaret as his ally, Burns was really pathetic as he was an obviously disturbed man without anyone to talk to. As well, this man was still operating on patients.