Review of From Here to Eternity (1953) by Ola G — 16 Nov 2016

In 1941, bugler and career soldier Private Robert E. Lee Prewitt (Montgomery Clift) transfers to a rifle company at Schofield Barracks on the island of Oahu. Captain Dana "Dynamite" Holmes (Philip Ober) has heard he is a talented middleweight boxer and wants him to join his regimental team to secure a promotion for Holmes. Prewitt refuses, having stopped fighting because he blinded his sparring partner and close friend over a year before. Holmes makes life as miserable as possible for Prewitt, hoping that he will give in. Holmes orders First Sergeant Milton Warden (Burt Lancaster) to prepare general court-martial papers after Sergeant Galovitch (John Dennis) first insults Prewitt and then gives an unreasonable order that Prewitt refuses to obey. Warden suggests, however, that he try to get Prewitt to change his mind by doubling up on company punishment. The other non-commissioned officers join the conspiracy. Prewitt is supported by his only friend, Private Angelo Maggio (Frank Sinatra). Meanwhile, Warden begins an affair with Holmes' neglected wife, Karen (Deborah Kerr). Warden tells Karen that he is risking a twenty-year prison sentence. Sergeant Maylon Stark (George Reeves) has told Warden about Karen's many previous affairs at Fort Bliss, including with him. As their relationship develops, Warden asks Karen about her affairs to test her sincerity. Karen relates that Holmes has been unfaithful to her most of their marriage. She miscarried one night when Holmes returned home from seeing a hat-check girl, drunk and unable to call a doctor, resulting in her being unable to bear any more children. She then affirms her love for Warden. Prewitt and Maggio spend their liberty at the New Congress Club, a gentlemen's club where Prewitt falls for Lorene (Donna Reed). She wants to marry a "proper" man with a "proper" job and live a "proper" life. Maggio and Staff Sergeant James R. Judson (Ernest Borgnine) nearly come to blows at the club over Judson's loud piano playing. Later, Judson provokes Maggio by taking his photograph of his sister from him, kissing it, and whispering in Prewitt's ear. Maggio smashes a barstool over Judson's head. Judson pulls a switchblade, but Warden intervenes. Judson backs down but warns Maggio that sooner or later he will end up in the stockade, where Judson is in charge. Karen tells Warden that if he became an officer, she could divorce Holmes and marry him. Warden reluctantly agrees to consider it. Warden gives Prewitt a weekend pass, which he uses to see Lorene. Maggio then walks in drunk, having deserted his post. The military police arrest Maggio, and he is sentenced to six months in the stockade. Unbeknownst to anyone, the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor looms in the distance...

Opening to rave reviews, From Here to Eternity proved to be an instant hit with critics and the public alike, the Southern California Motion Picture Council extolling: "A motion picture so great in its starkly realistic and appealing drama that mere words cannot justly describe it." Variety agreed: "The James Jones bestseller, From Here to Eternity, has become an outstanding motion picture in this smash screen adaptation. It is an important film from any angle, presenting socko entertainment for big business. The cast names are exceptionally good, the exploitation and word-of-mouth values are topnotch, and the prospects in all playdates are very bright whether special key bookings or general run." Of the actors, Variety went on to say, "Burt Lancaster, whose presence adds measurably to the marquee weight of the strong cast names, wallops the character of Top Sergeant Milton Warden, the professional soldier who wet-nurses a weak, pompous commanding officer and the GIs under him. It is a performance to which he gives depth of character as well as the muscles which had gained marquee importance for his name. Montgomery Clift, with a reputation for sensitive, three-dimensional performances, adds another to his growing list as the independent GI who refuses to join the company boxing team, taking instead the 'treatment' dished out at the C.O.'s instructions. Frank Sinatra scores a decided hit as Angelo Maggio, a violent, likeable Italo-American GI. While some may be amazed at this expression of the Sinatra talent versatility, it will come as no surprise to those who remember the few times he has had a chance to be something other than a crooner in films." The New York Post applauded Frank Sinatra, remarking,"He proves he is an actor by playing the luckless Maggio with a kind of doomed gaiety that is both real and immensely touching." Newsweek also stated that "Frank Sinatra, a crooner long since turned actor, knew what he was doing when he plugged for the role of Maggio." The cast agreed, Burt Lancaster commenting in the book Sinatra: An American Legend that "[Sinatra's] fervour, his bitterness had something to do with the character of Maggio, but also with what he had gone through the last number of years. A sense of defeat and the whole world crashing in on him... They all came out in that performance." With a gross of $30.5 million equating to earnings of $12.2 million, From Here to Eternity was not only one of the top grossing films of 1953, but one of the ten highest-grossing films of the decade. Adjusted for inflation, its box office gross would exceed US$240 million in recent times. Despite the positive response of the critics and public, the Army was reportedly not pleased with its depiction in the finished film, and refused to let its name be used in the opening credits. The Navy also banned the film from being shown to its servicemen, calling it "derogatory of a sister service" and a "discredit to the armed services". The film won eight Academy Awards out of 13 nominations, including for Picture, Best Director (Fred Zinnemann), Adapted Screenplay, Supporting Actor (Frank Sinatra) and Supporting Actress (Donna Reed). The film's title comes originally from a quote from Rudyard Kipling's 1892 poem "Gentlemen-Rankers", about soldiers of the British Empire who had "lost [their] way" and were "damned from here to eternity." From Here to Eternity was selected in 2002 for preservation in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.".

I saw "From Here to Eternity" when I was a kid and I loved it already back then, despite the fact that I hardly understood all the nuances of the film. I have never red James Jones's novel "From Here to Eternity", a tale of the peacetime army in Hawaii before Pearl Harbor which the film was based on, but as I just re-saw the film again I am keen to read it. This is truly a fine piece of film that just has everything in my point of view. You have to hand it to Director Fred Zinneman who obviously had a great intuitive sense about the casting for "From Here to Eternity". It´s just top names in all the leads. Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, Deborah Kerr, Donna Reed, Frank Sinatra, Ernest Borgnine etc. And all of them puts on such a great performance that you truly believe in the characters. I personally think that this is Montgomery Clift's greatest role and I can understand his disappointment when he lost to William Holden in Stalag 17 (1953) at the Oscars as he was sure he would receive one for his portrayal as Prewitt. There´s so much vulnerability and strong sense of individualism in this role which Prewitt can't control and I reckon he saw so much of that in himself and due to that we got this fantastic performance out of him. He seems to have made everyone else excel in their performances as well. The contrast and yet comradery between Clift's Prewitt and Lancaster´s Warden is a big part of the driving force in the film, but also the strong comradery between Prewitt and Sinatra´s Maggio (which he won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor). I love the fact that Fred Zinneman pushed the envelope so he could film it in black and white as he thought it fitted the story better and I agree. The cinematography is very nice, and yes we do see some nice green screen scenes, but many scenes are in live environments and I think that Zinneman did an excellent job with the Pearl Harbor attack scenes. I love "From Here to Eternity" even if the nuances from the novel was Hollywoodified, however it´s one of those films you can see over and over and over.