M*A*S*HCast #52 – Iron Guts Kelly

M*A*S*HCast -  Season 3, Episode 4: Iron Guts Kelly

This episode is dedicated to its Special Guest Star: Xum Yukinori

Air Date: October 1, 1974

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Theme music by Johnny Mandel

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7 responses to “M*A*S*HCast #52 – Iron Guts Kelly

  1. Thank you, Rob, for recording this with Xum. Yet again, I am reminded of not only how funny he was, but how kind and insightful he was as well.
    As for the episode of M*A*S*H, this one was chock-full of great lines. Some so rapid fire, it takes a few viewings to catch them all. In my re-watch before this podcast, one struck me, not for its humor, but how it relates to an episode that wouldn’t air for another 6 seasons. In an exchange with Colonel Wortman, Trapper and Hawkeye are going back and forth about what the Hippocratic oath means. Hawkeye throws in “never to use tongue depressors as shoehorns.” Considering what he did to them in season 9’s ‘Depressing News,’ that caught my attention. I guess war can change a guy.
    Regarding Margaret’s hair in that scene with Frank, there are actually three shots with it different. The one you pointed out when she says “Did he what?” and the shots before that when she turns in her chair to face Frank. I wonder if they filmed the scene twice and took the best shots from both or, like you suggested Rob, something happened to make the film unusable and they had to re-shoot those three short reactions.

  2. Dammit, Corporal-Captain, this episode made me cry.
    It was one thing to hear Xum’s melodious tones, and for you to dedicate this episode to him…..but it really got me at the very end when Xum talks about how the General needs a razzmatazz farewell…..painfully ironic, and funny at the same time.
    I never actually met him, but I miss him all the same. The guy was classy, and funny.
    Great episode. Thanks. 🙁

  3. At this point I’m used to hearing Xum chime in from time to time. I full expect him to keep appearing on the network forever. I wish he would.

    James Gregory has been in EVERYTHING, but I tend to think of him as Dr. Tristan Adams from Star Trek’s “Dagger of the Mind”. But I did recently see him in Disney’s “The Strongest Man in the World” with Kurt Russell! Thanks Disney +!

    Chris

  4. I’m so glad Xum got to be on the show, and a hilarious episode to boot. What a great one to have him for!

    Does anyone else see a similarity between Iron Guts Kelly and Jack Nicholson’s Colonel Jessup from A Few Good Men? Not that there’s necessarily a lot of variety of depicting hard-core military men in film, but it feels stronger here.

    And regarding Rob’s intro for Xum, well said, my friend.

  5. I don’t listen to any other F&W podcasts so the dedication didn’t mean anything to me. Then he popped up as your guest. What a punch to the gut. Condolences to you and his family.

    I am sure I have seen this before but I have no memory of it. But a great job with the recap.

    I guess a three star would have to have a colonel for an assistant. He would need someone with some clout to get things done.

    Kelly seemed like an OK guy. A bit of a leach (probably married) but so are Trapper and Henry.

  6. Great show. And a fine dedication to Xum, who must had been a fine a gent as he was a podcaster, from what I heard about him on your FW Presents tribute show. And a fine dedication from Xum to you, Rob, given that suggested tribute signoff.

    I do remember noticing the changes in Margaret’s appearance in the cutaway shots in the scene with Frank in her tent. It reminded me of the scene in “Officer of the Day” when Radar had taken off his shirt, and then the closeup of his hands tucking his teddy bear into bed shows the shirt cuffs on his wrists which meant he had his shirt on, and then the cut to Radar standing upright being shirtless again.

    The part of the “button” that I liked was the irony of Hawkeye’s response to Trapper planning to have a drink, about “avoiding reality” (which I think was delivered tongue-in-cheek) — with the “reality” being the *fantasy* story in “Stars and Stripes” of how “Iron Guts” Kelly died heroically. Trapper’s reply of “one man’s reality being another man’s fantasy” was definitely appropriate. But yes, I agree that having that moment suddenly degrade into a female objectification joke was a bit of a damp squib.

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