An Unexpected Swap In The Dirty Dozen Led To Donald Sutherland's M*A*S*H Role
In Robert Aldrich's 1967 World War II film "The Dirty Dozen," an ambitious army Major named John Reisman (Lee Marvin) is tasked with assembling 12 American soldiers who have all been thrown in military prison for their insubordination and tendencies toward violence. His job is to whip them into shape, as he intends to send them on a particularly dangerous mission: infiltrating a Nazi stronghold. It's easily one of the manliest films ever made, something Aldrich was good at; he also directed "Kiss Me Deadly," "The Longest Yard," and "The Flight of the Phoenix." It's a testament to Aldrich's talent that he also made famously femme films like "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?," and "Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte."
The second member of the Dirty Dozen was a character named Vernon L. Pinkley, played by the late, great Donald Sutherland. There is a scene wherein Reisman asks Pinkley — at the last second — to pose as a visiting General, and that he walk up and down past a line of soldiers, behaving in a General-like fashion. ("Walk slow, look dumb, and act stupid.") Pinkley is reluctant at first, but quickly adapts to feigning arrogance. He even begins making jokes, much to Reisman's consternation.
Speaking to The Guardian in 2005, Sutherland revealed that Pinkley wasn't supposed to be the character to pose as a general. In the film's script, the false general was to be played by Clint Walker, the first of the Dirty Dozen. When Walker refused, Aldrich more or less drafted Sutherland to do it instead. Evidently, his performance in that one scene caught the attention of an on-looking producer — one who would, only a few years later, cast Sutherland in "M*A*S*H," his big breakout role.
From the Dirty Dozen to M*A*S*H
Sutherland expected to have a tiny role in "The Dirty Dozen," explaining:
"I had a kind of meandering little career, and then I was given a chance to play one of the bottom six in 'The Dirty Dozen.' I originally had one line in the whole film — 'Number two, sir!'"
Recall that "The Dirty Dozen" boasts a powerhouse cast of tough-guy actors, including Telly Savalas, Clint Walker, John Cassavetes, Robert Ryan, Charles Bronson, Ernest Borgnine and, of course, Lee Marvin. "Really extraordinary guys," Sutherland said. He also recalled the incident wherein Walker refused to do the General impersonation scene and how quick Aldrich was to rectify the issue ... by drafting Sutherland:
"Then one day we were all around this big table. [...] And Clint Walker got up and said, 'I don't think it's appropriate for me, as a star in Hollywood, and a representative of the Native American people, to play this stupid scene where I pretend to be a general.' And the director Robert Aldrich, who had a huge authoritarian streak, turned to me — we'd all had our heads shaved — and said, 'You! With the big ears! You do it!' He didn't even know my name!"
It so happened that producer Ingo Preminger was on the set that day. The scene led Preminger to cast Sutherland as Hawkeye Pierce, one of the film's lead characters, in Robert Altman's 1970 Korean War dramedy "M*A*S*H."
"Ingo Preminger saw that scene in 'Dirty Dozen,'" Sutherland added, "and he cast me in 'M*A*S*H' before he had a director. Then Robert Altman came aboard and tried to fire me, but Ingo wouldn't let him." Good to have someone on your side.
Sutherland's soldier roles
"M*A*S*H" was a massive hit. It made $81.6 million on a $3.5 million budget. After, Sutherland became something of a superstar and spent the next few years playing soldiers in notable war films like "Kelly's Heroes" and the deathly serious "Johnny Got His Gun." By the time he starred in Alan J. Pakula's "Klute" in 1971, Sutherland's reputation was secure.
Robert Altman also came to peace with Sutherland, even if the two never became warm with each other. While the animosity wore off quickly — perhaps because of Sutherland's naïveté — he was never "invited to the party," as it were. Altman notoriously smoked a lot of weed on set and Sutherland was ignorant of the world of marijuana. It left him feeling a little bit on the outside:
"[T]here's a certain amount of rancor and bitterness when someone tries to fire you. But I had come from a different kind of tradition. I didn't even know what smoking dope was. I literally didn't know what the smell was. I thought it was smoke-effects stuff for the movie! We used to have the rushes screened every night, back before digital, and it was always a big party in the screening room. It was a family feeling and, regrettably, I was never able to make myself a part of that family. I was much more rigorous and rigid and less loosey-goosey than Bob's regular people."
Sutherland didn't work with Altman again, but he did forge a career working for John Schlesinger, Bernardo Bertolucci, Federico Fellini, Robert Redford, John Landis, Philip Kaufman, and Nicolas Roeg. Interesting directors loved him, and his decades-long career has never not been interesting. R.I.P. to a great one.