The film is radically different from the novel. Robert Altman described the novel as "pretty terrible" and somewhat "racist" (the only major black character has the nickname "Spearchucker," although this would have been quite typical and accepted during the time frame the movie was set in). He claims that the screenplay was used only as a springboard. However, the screenplay itself reveals that, while there is some improvisation in the film, and although Altman moved major sequences around, most sequences are in the screenplay. The main deletion is a subplot of Ho-Jon's (portrayed by Kim Atwood) return to the 4077th as a casualty. When Radar steals blood from Henry, it is for Ho-Jon's operation under Trapper and Hawkeye's scalpels. When the surgeons are playing poker after the football game, they are resolutely ignoring a dead body being driven away, Ho-Jon's. The main deviation from the script is the trimming of much of the dialogue. Interestingly, the Ho-Jon character made a return to the land of the living in MASH (1972), although he was portrayed by a different actor, Patrick Adiarte.

Film

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