Late ‘M*A*S*H’ Star Loretta Swit on Making This 1975 Film: “It’s The Most Scared I Think I’ve Ever Been”
Just a few months before her death, M*A*S*H star Loretta Swit spoke to the San Antonio Current about her experience playing a very different character from Margaret “Hot Lips” Houlihan. She starred alongside Peter Fonda and Dark Shadows star Lara Parker in the 1975 horror-thriller Race with the Devil, which celebrates its 50th anniversary on June 27. The film is about two couples who accidentally witness a human sacrifice while on vacation, accidentally attracting the attention of a murderous Satanic cult.
When asked if it feels like she filmed the movie 50 years ago, the 87-year-old actress shared with the Current, “I’m not good at [remembering] how many years ago something happened. I would say, vaguely, it was a long time ago. I remember … I was already doing M*A*S*H. It was a long running [series]. It began in 1972 and became such a phenomenon. I have those dates in my head. You know, we ended [M*A*S*H] in 1983. We had 11 seasons, so I kind of know those numbers. I was shooting Race [with the Devil] while I was in M*A*S*H. I guess it’s been a long while.”
20th Century-Fox Film Corporation/Everett Collection
Swit got nostalgic about another aspect of the time period: drive-in movie theaters. When the film came out, it was a very popular choice at many drive-ins around the country. Swit, when asked how she felt about the decline of the drive-in theater, shared, “My memories of the drive-in were during my high school days. They were for younger kids, a younger generation, with popcorn and soda pop and sitting in a car. The whole concept was great, but [drive-ins] were aimed at a younger audience, which I think accounts for their disappearance. Our youngsters today are a lot different than the teenyboppers I grew up with. I think they’re more adult than we were.”
20th Century Fox Film Corp./Everett Collection
She also opened up about some of the scary parts of filming the movie, including shooting a scene with poisonous snakes, which, luckily, had been milked of their poison. Swit added, “I saw them do it. It was quite something. At first, [working with the snakes] was scary. But after a while, it wasn’t. They had personalities. After a while, you could develop a relationship with them. They have a terrible reputation, but [those snakes] were harmless. They did a wonderful acting job. They were just like fellow actors.”
She continued, “I think that’s probably the most screaming I’ve done. It’s the most scared I think I’ve ever [been for a role]. It was the only [horror movie] that I’ve ever done, which is crazy [because] as an audience, I love [horror]. That’s my favorite genre. I love a good scare.”
20th Century-Fox Film Corporation/courtesy Everett Collection
For moviegoers, the film’s ending was left open-ended, which helped to make it a classic. Swit said of the fate of the film’s heroes, “We don’t know [what happens]. I think they look pretty doomed. That was the first time a movie of that nature left you hanging on a cliff. [The main characters] think everything’s over, they’re taking deep breaths, and suddenly there’s a circle of fire around the vehicle. You know what’s going to happen. They’re not prepared. The satanists are more prepared. What was so interesting about the film [was] that it would end on that note. It just worked.”
Asked about her legacy, Swit replied, “What’s to think about? I’m living it! That’s the most honest answer I can give you.”
Remind 
Summer Fun
July 2022
Take a look back to the summer nights when you were young, so full of adventure and possibility.
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