From Here to Eternity

I'm a Montgomery Clift fan, and From Here to Eternity was in my opinion one of his best performances. He was at the height of his career, and the power of his personality really comes through. The tragic ending is the only reason I won't give this movie a five out of five stars.

"From Here to Eternity" is a Hollywood classic. It may be the finest film ever about the military in peacetime. The background is Schofield Barracks, Hawaii in the Fall of 1941. That was the old "brown boot" Army! This reviewer is a Vietnam era vet, so I can't address the realism of the setting. Judging by the crisp dialog and snappy khaki uniforms, I'm giving the director the benefit of any doubt. I always thought it fascinating that an Austrian born Director could be at the helm of such classics as "High Noon" and FHTE -in consecutive years no less. What did Mr. Zinnemann know of the Old West or the American Army? The male lead is Burt Lancaster as First Sergeant Warden, a tough but fair NCO that any enlisted man would want for his "top". The second male lead is Private Prewitt, played by Montgomery Clift. Prewitt is a top bugler who isn't allowed to bugle and a top boxer who reuses to box for the company team! How that automatic conflict plays out is the heart of the movie. Another conflict is between Frank Sinatra, a happy go lucky but harmless enlisted man who trouble seems to follow and an evil Ernest Borgnine, the top MP at the Schofield stockade. Their "dispute" plays out too, with Clift a surprise key figure in its' "resolution". This reviewer believes that far too much attention has been lavished on the affair between Lancaster and Deborah Kerr, the wife of the Company Commander. I found it hard to swallow that any serious career man would run around openly with an officer's wife. Lancaster was one step away from a bust down to the lowest private and a trip to the stockade. The real female star here was Donna Reed, a bar "hostess' who would be a prostitute in real life. Her sensitivity toward Clift produces some of the best scenes in FHTE. Someone must have agreed because Donna walked off with the Best Supporting Actress Oscar- and promptly fainted after receiving it. The interplay between Lancaster/Kerr and Clift/Reed caused some huge challenges for the Director in making the bawdy best selling novel "clean" for the silver screen in the still conservative, prudish America of 1953. FHTE also contains some of the sharpest dialog and one liners this reviewer can remember. Two favorites: "Never disturb a man when he's drinking" (Lancaster) and "No one lies about being lonely"(Clift). In addition to Reed, Oscars were awarded for Best Picture, Director, Screenplay, Film Editing, Cinematography and Supporting Actor, (Sinatra). The last two are important: FHTE revived Frank's career. Many believe that "pressure" was applied to Harry Cohn and Columbia Pictures to hire Sinatra. Do we remember the "horses head in the bed" scene from Godfather I? Others claim that his then wife, Ava Gardner, supplied the "influence". Finally FHTE is yet another example of why black and white classics should not be colorized. If there is such a thing as "beautiful black and white", it is this one. ....

This is a case of an outstanding movie being adapted from a great book.

FROM HERE TO ETERNITY presents a realistic portrait of army life in Hawaii immediately before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The film features strong performances by Burt Lancaster, Deborah Kerr, Frank Sinatra, Donna Reed, Ernest Borgnine and Montgomery Clift. An extremely competent supporting cast includes Jack Warden, Philip Ober and Mickey Shaughnessy.

Burt Lancaster makes a convincing first sergeant. One who is running the show and is full of knowledge about how the army really works. He also has good instincts when it comes time to act as he demonstrates in the showdown with the sadistic "Fatso" played by Ernest Borgnine. Borgnine himself is exceptional in his most famous impersonation of a villain.

Frank Sinatra definitely deserves his Oscar in the role of the defiant Maggio. However, after seeing Lee Marvin play a drunk it is hard to appreciate any other actor's attempt compared with Marvin's portrayal in PAINT YOUR WAGON.

FROM HERE TO ETERNITY was a relatively low-budget production but it still managed to receive five Academy Awards and eight nominations.