Why You Rarely See Any Of The Actors' Feet In M*A*S*H
With New Hollywood influences and the freedom to shoot beyond the limitations of a soundstage, "M*A*S*H" is one of the most visually interesting sitcoms of the '70s. The show's filmmakers often made intriguing creative decisions, shooting entire episodes from the point-of-view of a documentary camera crew or a patient stuck in a hospital bed. With writer, director, and star Alan Alda counted among its directing team — not to mention filmmakers like Alan Rafkin, James Sheldon, Charles Dubin, and more — the show's visual flair stands in sharp contrast to many multicam sitcoms of its era.
Still, "M*A*S*H" sometimes relied on standard shots and techniques to get by, including a penchant for filming characters from the waist up in a classic medium-distance shot. While this seems like a decision filmmakers might have used for simplicity's sake, or perhaps to keep the camera focused on the emotion on the faces of each actor, there was reportedly also another reason "M*A*S*H" filmmakers did so: to hide the fact that much of the cast was wearing sneakers.
These boots were made for interrupting
According to Parade magazine and Outsider.com, the cast of "M*A*S*H" frequently opted not to wear their characters' standard-issue military boots during shooting for a very practical reason. The thick, hard-soled boots apparently made a racket, and the sound was picked up by on-set microphones, ruining the audio for scenes that were meant to be all about the snappy dialogue. Actors' footsteps obscured the on-set audio, so instead, they often came to work in sneakers and only changed into their authentic-looking military boots as needed. Given that tennis shoes are probably much more comfortable than combat boots, I can't imagine anyone complaining.
Of course, there are plenty of scenes that show the actors' boots or feet, especially when the show focused on action outside the camp or in episodes with foot-related side plots, like season 4's "Dear Ma." For the most part, though, the camera crew was reportedly instructed to go with closer shots that cut the cast's feet out of the shot — kind of like that old work-from-home era trick of joining a Zoom call in one's pajama pants, with no one any the wiser. It's unclear how early on the cast and crew of "M*A*S*H" decided to go with this hack to side-step audio problems, but I'm sure the sound mixers and editors were grateful.
One pair of M*A*S*H boots made a major comeback
Even with limited use per episode, the boots the cast of "M*A*S*H" wore on set certainly got some wear and tear across the show's 11-season run. Earlier this year, Alda sold his own prop boots at auction along with the dog tags he wore in the series, with proceeds benefiting the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science at Stony Brook University in New York. The organization, which Alda opened in 2009, offers programs to help scientists foster communication skills to break down barriers and better educate the public. In the end, the dog tags and boots sold for a whopping $125,000 per the Associated Press.
In a statement to the AP, Alda said, "There's an old belief among actors that when you put the shoes of the character on, it's easier to believe you're the character and I think the boots had that effect on me." The actor's boots may have gotten limited screen time compared to the rest of his Hawkeye costume, but they're still a vital part of the show — and TV history. Look for them the next time you watch "M*A*S*H," and if you don't see them, you'll know why: they apparently threatened to talk over all the lovable loudmouths of the 4077.