From Here to Eternity (1953)

From Here to Eternity
Directed by Fred Zinnemann
Written by Daniel Taradash from the novel by James Jones
1953/USA
Columbia Pictures Corporation
Repeat viewing/Netflix rental
#273 of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die

[box] Robert E. Lee “Prew’ Prewitt: Nobody ever lies about being lonely.[/box]

This sure deserved to win a bunch of Oscars.

The story is set on Oahu in the days immediately before the attack on Pearl Harbor. Robert E. Lee Prewitt (Montgomery Clift) has been busted back to buck private for some undisclosed reason and requested a transfer to Fort Schofield.  He soon has reason to regret his decision.  Capt. Holmes who commands Prewitt’s unit is the base’s boxing coach.  He is ambitious and believes that winning the upcoming boxing tournament will be his key to a promotion.  But Prewitt, previously a star boxer, has given up fighting.  He absolutely refuses to change his mind and is subjected to increasingly harsh treatment by both his superiors and his colleagues.  He bears up remarkably stoically.

Prewitt’s best, perhaps only, friend is Angelo Maggio (Frank Sinatra), a good natured but volatile alcoholic.  Angelo introduces Prewitt to the “social club” where the latter rapidly falls in love with “Lorene” (Donna Reed) a “hostess”.  She likes him too but has her sights set on a “proper” future that does not involve being a military wife.

Concurrently, Prewitt’s sergeant  Milton Warren (Burt Lancaster) falls for Captain Holmes’ pretty wife Karen (Deborah Kerr).  The captain and his wife have a kind of open marriage, more open on his side than on hers of course, but Milt and Karen must still sneak around. She wants him to become an officer so that they can marry.  But Milt has never much liked officers and can’t quite picture himself as one.

The story evolves into an eventful melodrama, suddenly made small by the onset of war.

As can be seen from the synopsis, this is a vast and complicated story.  Fortunately, it is expertly told by the director and screenwriters.  The performances are all first class.  I was impressed by the consistency and believability of Kerr’s American accent.  Clift is always fantastic and the more I see of Donna Reed the more I like her.  Before I started this exercise my exposure to her was limited to It’s a Wonderful Life and “The Donna Reed Show”.  Recommended.

The Blu-Ray I rented looks beautiful and contains a very good commentary.

From Here to Eternity won Academy Awards for:  Best Picture; Best Director; Best Supporting Actor (Sinatra); Best Supporting Actress (Reed); Best Writing, Screenplay; Best Cinematography, Black-and-White; Best Sound, Recording; and Best Film Editing.  It was nominated in the categories of Best Actor (Clift); Best Actor (Lancaster); Best Actress (Kerr); Best Costume Design, Black-and-White; Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKt-ZjCg9OE

Re-release Trailer

Original Trailer