CONSENSUS #30. From Here to Eternity

 

SYNOPSIS: "From Here to Eternity" is the classic soap opera set on Oahu before the Pearl Harbor attack. Several character’s lives and loves intertwine. The main arc is the affair between a sergeant (Burt Lancaster) and his commanding officer’s wife (Deborah Kerr). There is also a subplot involving a pacifist boxer (Montgomery Clift) and his buddy (Frank Sinatra). The melodramatics culminate with the attack.

BACK-STORY: “From Here to Eternity” is a war movie that is set in the weeks prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor. It takes place in Honolulu. It was directed by Fred Zinnemann and was based on the famous novel by James Jones. It was released in 1953 and is black and white. The movie was a huge hit and is still very popular. It won 8 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Director, Cinematography, Editing, Screenplay, Sound, Supporting Actor (Frank Sinatra), and Supporting Actress (Donah Reed). Burt Lancaster and Montgomery Clift were nominated for Best Actor but their split votes helped William Holden win for “Stalag 17”. Deborah Kerr was nominated for Best Actress. Sinatra’s win was the culmination of a campaign by him to get the role.  The movie is #52 on AFI’s greatest movies list and #20 on the 100 Passions list.  The movie was filmed on location at Schofield Barracks.

TRIVIA: 

Wikipedia, imdb, TCM, Guts and Glory

1.  It was based on the novel by James Jones.  The title came from a Rudyard Kipling poem called “Gentleman-Rankers” which has the line “damned from here to eternity”.  The book was a smash best seller, but is 800 pages long and with language and sexual situations (including homosexuality) that scared studios away.  Harry Cohn, head of Columbia Pictures, was determined to make it and bought the rights for just $82,000.  It was called “Cohn’s folly” because Hollywood was skeptical that the book could be turned into a successful movie.  

2.  Sinatra worked hard to get the role.  He saw it as a golden opportunity to revive his flagging movie career. Apparently the most important factor was his wife Ava Gardner’s friendship with Harry Cohn’s wife.  The legend that the Mafia was involved (as fictionalized in “The Godfather”) is not true.  Sinatra did the film for only $8,000, but it paid off big time.  He flew on his own dime from Africa to do the screen test.  The test was so good with Sinatra ad-libbing the use of olives for dice that it was used in the movie.

3.  Clift went all out for his role.  He learned to play the bugle even though he knew it would be dubbed.  He took boxing lessons, but they still had to use a double for longer shots.  He did not have to learn how to drink, he was already showing the alcoholism that would ruin his life.  In one scene, he tried to play drunk while drunk but it did not work.

4.  Burt Lancaster was intimidated by Clift’s acting ability.  He had an affair with Kerr during production. 

5.  Clift, Sinatra, and James Jones went on drinking binges during the filming. 

6.  The legend that George Reeves’ role ended up mostly on the cutting room floor because test audiences giggled at Superman is not true. 

7.  The film was made in just 41 days for just $1 million.  Cohn insisted the movie not go over two hours. 

8.  Cohn wanted an almost entirely different cast (for example, Aldo Ray instead of Clift), but Zinnemann insisted on his choices. 

9.  The Army at first was adamant about not cooperating with the movie, but producer Buddy Adler was a veteran of the Signal Corps from WWII and managed to negotiate enough changes to the script to get the Army to provide Schofield Barracks and training planes that could be mocked up to be Zeros.  Some of the changes included:  changing the brothel to a night club, changing the prostitutes to hostesses, toning down the mistreatment in the stockade, and having Capt. Holmes kicked out instead of promoted.  Taradesh had already taken out all the cursing to placate the Movie Code.

10.  At first, Jones tried to adapt his own screenplay, but it was a half-ass effort and a disaster.  Jones inexplicably made huge changes to the characters including making Holmes a good guy.  Taradesh’s screenplay was certainly one of the most deserved Oscar winner for Adapted Screenplay in history.  He added Maggio dying in Prewitt’s arms.  He changed Karen’s sterility to the result of a miscarriage instead of gonorrhea contracted from her husband.  Jones hated the movie when he first saw it, but changed his mind upon a rewatch five years later.

 

Belle and Blade  =  3.5

Brassey’s              =  4.0

Video Hound       =  5.0

War Movies         =  5.0

Military History  =  #59

Channel 4             =  #54

Film Site                =  yes

101 War Movies  =  yes

Rotten Tomatoes  =  #42 

ACCURACY: “From Here to Eternity” is based on a novel that is set in pre-Pearl Harbor Hawaii. The attack plays only a tie-loose-ends role in the story. Historical accuracy is not really a factor in analyzing the movie. As a portrayal of Army life it is a bit melodramatic, but fairly realistic. Could the personal dynamics have occurred at Schofield Barracks? Possibly. Was the Army concerned that the book was falsely tarnishing its image or was it upset that Jones was exposing some dirty little secrets?

Speaking of the book, the Army did insist on some changes to the plot in order to extend its cooperation (e.g. use of Schofield Barracks). First, the movie could not actually show the abuse of Maggio in the stockade and Judson had to be clearly portrayed as an anomaly. Second, Holmes had to resign, instead of be promoted. The Army did not seem to have a problem with the fact that the movie shows there was an incredible amount of drinking in the pre-war army.

Other differences from the book were done for Hollywood reasons. Maggio is a male hustler in the book. The night club is a brothel and Karen is not simply a “hostess”. And Maggio does not die in the book. Oh, and by the way, Warden and Karen don’t just kiss on the beach in the surf.

OPINION: “From Here to Eternity” is a classic example of how changes in social mores can antiquate a movie. The fact that the technology available in “Pearl Harbor” makes the attack here look quaint, that is not the reason why FHTE does not hold up well. The problem is what was shocking behavior in 1941 is tame by today’s standards. When the movie came out in 1953, audiences were titillated by the depiction of adultery and sex on a beach. If you are shocked by Rhett Butler saying “damn”, then you probably will find FHTE to be naughty. However, if you are younger than age 60, there are a lot of ho-hum moments. Here’s what I mean. Over age 60: “Oh my God, he is kissing a married woman in the surf and she is on top!” Under age 60: “OMG, they are keeping their swimsuits on and is that all?” It’s not just the outdatedly tame situations. The dialogue now seems cheesy. The movie is overly melodramatic.

The strength of the movie is in the acting. It is uniformly good, although the critics have gone a little overboard on this. Clift is excellent and supposedly intimidated Lancaster with his acting ability. He also mentored Sinatra and helped him create the role of his life. Kerr acted against type effectively although I did not find her steaming hot like some did. Reed also is good, but certainly both women were not Oscar nomination worthy. Speaking of which, it is hard to imagine what was going through the Academy’s mind in doling out eight Oscars and thirteen nominations to this movie.

The basic themes of the movie are effectively explored. Real men have responsibilities and duties that they are bound to carry out. This explains Prewitt accepting the “treatment” and in fact it looks like he is prepared to box in the tournament after all. He also returns from being AWOL in order to rejoin his unit for the war. Another theme is that military men will choose their unit over their women. Warden lets Karen go not just because there’s a war to be won, but he refuses to win it as an officer.

In conclusion,  the movie is overrated. I can understand why it created a stir in 1953, but that was more than fifty years ago. They had no rating system back then, but no doubt it would have been rated R. Today it would be PG-13 at the most. Torrid back then is tepid today. As I watched the surf scene I wondered what the big deal was. I am not in favor of remakes usually, but this movie begs for a modern reinterpretation.