From Here to Eternity (1953)

Director:

Fred Zinnemann

Writers:

Daniel Taradash (screenplay)
James Jones (novel)

Release Date:

15 October 1953 (Australia)

Genre:

Drama | Romance | War

Tagline:

Pouring out of impassioned pages...brawling their way to greatness on the screen!

Plot:

In 1941 Hawaii, a private is cruelly punished for not boxing on his unit's team, while his captain's wife and second in command are falling in love.

Plot Keywords:

Captain | Hawaii | Boxing | Stockade | Sergeant

Awards:

Won 8 Oscars. Another 14 wins & 7 nominations

Cast

Burt Lancaster	...	Sgt. Milton Warden
Montgomery Clift	...	Pvt. Robert E. Lee Prewitt
Deborah Kerr	...	Karen Holmes
Donna Reed	...	Alma 'Lorene' Burke
Frank Sinatra	...	Pvt. Angelo Maggio
Philip Ober	...	Capt. Dana Holmes
Mickey Shaughnessy	...	Cpl. Leva
Harry Bellaver	...	Pvt. Mazzioli
Ernest Borgnine	...	Sgt. 'Fatso' Judson
Jack Warden	...	Cpl. Buckley
John Dennis	...	Sgt. Ike Galovitch
Merle Travis	...	Sal Anderson
Tim Ryan	...	Sgt. Pete Karelsen
Arthur Keegan	...	Treadwell
Barbara Morrison	...	Mrs. Kipfer - Owner of New Congress Club
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Claude Akins	...	Sgt. 'Baldy' Dhom (uncredited)
Vicki Bakken	...	Suzanne (uncredited)
Margaret Barstow	...	Roxanne (uncredited)
Henry Beau	...	(uncredited)
Willis Bouchey	...	Army Lieutenant Colonel (uncredited)
John Bryant	...	Capt. G.R. Ross (uncredited)
Mary Carver	...	Nancy (uncredited)
John L. Cason	...	Cpl. Paluso (uncredited)
Mack Chandler	...	Soldier (uncredited)
John Davis	...	Soldier (uncredited)
Don Dubbins	...	Pvt. Friday Clark - Bugler (uncredited)
Elaine DuPont	...	(uncredited)
Moana Gleason	...	Rose - Waitress in Enlisted Men's Club (uncredited)
Robert Healy	...	Soldier (uncredited)
Douglas Henderson	...	Cpl. Champ Wilson (uncredited)
June Horne	...	Dance Hall Girl (uncredited)
James Jones	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Robert Karnes	...	Sgt. Turp Thornhill (uncredited)
Manny Klein	...	Trumpet Player (uncredited)
Edward Laguna	...	Soldier (uncredited)
Carey Leverette	...	Soldier (uncredited)
Weaver Levy	...	Bartender (uncredited)
William Lundmark	...	Bill (uncredited)
Freeman Lusk	...	Col. Wood (uncredited)
Tyler McVey	...	Maj. Stern (uncredited)
Kristine Miller	...	Georgette - Lorene's Roommate (uncredited)
Patrick Miller	...	Soldier (uncredited)
Robert Pike	...	Maj. Bonds (uncredited)
Allen Pinson	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
George Reeves	...	Sergeant (uncredited)
Joe Roach	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Fay Roope	...	Gen. Slater (uncredited)
Delia Salvi	...	Billie (uncredited)
Louise Saraydar	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Alvin Sargent	...	Nair (uncredited)
Joseph Sargent	...	Soldier (uncredited)
Joan Shawlee	...	Sandra (uncredited)
Al Silvani	...	Soldier Leaving New Congress Club (uncredited)
Angela Stevens	...	Jean (uncredited)
Brick Sullivan	...	Military Guard (uncredited)
John Veitch	...	Soldier (uncredited)
Guy Way	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Norman Wayne	...	Soldier (uncredited)
Robert J. Wilke	...	Sgt. Henderson (uncredited)
Jean Willes	...	Annette - Club Receptionist (uncredited)
Norman Wright	...	(uncredited)
Carleton Young	...	Col. Ayres (uncredited)

Directed by
Fred Zinnemann

Writing credits
Daniel Taradash		(screenplay)
James Jones		(novel)

Produced by
Buddy Adler	....	producer

Original Music by
George Duning

Cinematography by
Burnett Guffey		(director of photography)
Floyd Crosby		(uncredited)

Film Editing by
William A. Lyon		(as William Lyon)

Casting by
Maxwell Arnow		(uncredited)

Art Direction by
Cary Odell

Set Decoration by
Frank Tuttle

Costume Design by
Jean Louis		(gowns)

Makeup Department
Clay Campbell	....	makeup artist
Helen Hunt	....	hair styles
Robert J. Schiffer	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Earl Bellamy	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Lodge Cunningham	....	sound engineer
John P. Livadary	....	supervising sound editor (uncredited)

Stunts
John L. Cason	....	stunt double: John Dennis (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Irving Lippman	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Val O'Malley	....	assistant camera (uncredited)
Val O'Malley	....	camera operator (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Joan Joseff	....	costume jeweller (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Sati Tooray	....	colorist (uncredited)

Music Department
Arthur Morton	....	orchestrations
Morris Stoloff	....	musical director
Michael Goldsen	....	music consultant: Polynesian music (uncredited)

Other crew
Kendall J. Fielder	....	technical adviser (as Brig. Gen. Kendall J. Fielder Ret.)
Walter Shenson	....	unit publicist
Mushy Callahan	....	boxing advisor (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Columbia Pictures Corporation (presents)

Distributors

• Columbia Pictures (1953) (USA) (theatrical)
• Columbia Film-Verleih (1954) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Columbia Films (1954) (France) (theatrical) (as Columbia Films S. A.)
• Columbia Pictures (1955) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Columbia Pictures (1958) (USA) (theatrical) (reissue)
• Columbia Pictures (1978) (USA) (VHS) (re-release)
• RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video (1989) (USA) (VHS)
• LK-TEL Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (VHS) (????) (????)
• Columbia TriStar (1994) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• Columbia TriStar (2003) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Columbia Film-Verleih (1954) (Austria) (theatrical)
• RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video (????) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2001) (Germany) (DVD)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2008) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Sunset Gower Studios  sound stages

Also Known As:

Runtime:

118 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White (archive footage) | Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording) | 3 Channel Stereo

Certification:

Iceland:L | Norway:16 | Portugal:M/12 | Spain:18 | South Korea:15 | Germany:12 | West Germany:16 (f) | Brazil:14 | UK:A (original rating) (passed with cuts) | UK:PG (video rating) (1988) | USA:TV-PG | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (certificate #16582)

Filming Locations:

Diamond Head, O'ahu, Hawaii, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

In 1966, a pilot of a TV series was shot, with 'Roger Davis (II)_ cast as Robert E. Lee Prewitt, but it was not picked up.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: The impromptu bugle solo in the club includes notes that only a trumpet could hit.

Quotes:

Annette:That'll be four bucks, babyface. Two for initiation fee, two for this month's dues.
Robert E. Lee "Prew' Prewitt:What do I get for it?
Annette:Members are entitled to all privileges of the club, which includes dancing, snack bar, soft drink bar, and gentlemanly relaxation with the opposite gender - so long as they ARE gentlemen, and no liquor is permitted, got it?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The 100 Greatest War Films (2005) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Taps

A Realistic View of the Army

One of the big blockbuster best sellers of the post World War II years is James Jones's From Here to Eternity, a tale of the peacetime army in Hawaii before Pearl Harbor. The book was definitely going to be made into a film and it was only a question of casting to make it a success.

Director Fred Zinneman had a good intuitive sense about casting here, even against type. The two principal female parts were done against type. Deborah Kerr who made a career of playing respectable women played a captain's wife who's drinking and playing around. Not that husband Philip Ober is letting grass grow under his feet either, but Kerr's latest sexual exploit involves her with the First Sergeant of her husband's company, Burt Lancaster.

Donna Reed, who up to that point was best known for being Mary Bailey in It's A Wonderful Life, plays a prostitute here. A girl from the wrong side of the tracks, jilted by a rich boyfriend stateside, she's in Hawaii to make money and then go home and buy some respectability. She's not looking for romance with any soldiers, but you can't plan these things.

Especially Montgomery Clift if he comes in your life. It's been argued that this is Clift's greatest role and a case can sure be made for it. His character of Robert E. Lee Pruitt is like so many who still join the army today, from small town America who have no future there and find a home in the Armed Services. What makes Clift unique is that strong sense of individualism he can't control in an organization that does not encourage individuality.

Clift and Lancaster are a great study in contrasts and that's what drives From Here to Eternity. Lancaster as Sergeant Milt Warden is the ultimate professional soldier, held in the highest regard by his men. Lancaster is someone who knows how to work the system, you see it in the way he manipulates his captain. Of course he's got to be a manipulator there since he's having an affair with Deborah Kerr. He tries to protect Clift from himself and ultimately fails.

Clift has transferred into an infantry company and he was at one time a boxer. But he blinded someone in a fight and quit boxing. Philip Ober who prides himself on having several champions in various weight classes worked to get Clift in his company. Clift upsets his plans by refusing to box so he has the various sergeants give him "the treatment."

Clift's best friend in the company is a tough street wise soldier from the big city named Angelo Maggio, played by Frank Sinatra. Sinatra read the book and knew this part was for him. He did everything he had to do to get that part, including working for scale. At the time Sinatra was considered a has been as singer and actor. Sinatra was right on the money in terms of picking a role. His faith in himself and Columbia Pictures and Fred Zinneman's faith in him netted him an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, one of eight awards won by From Here to Eternity.

By the way Sinatra credited both Lancaster and Clift in helping him through this film as a dramatic actor. Lancaster and Sinatra didn't inhabit the same Hollywood orbit, but they remained friends for life. The same could not be said for Clift. Allegedly, some five or six years after From Here to Eternity and after Monty Clift's automobile accident while shooting Raintree County, Clift at some party at Sinatra's made a drunken pass at one of Sinatra's retainers. That got him kicked out of Sinatra's circle permanently.

In fact From Here to Eternity was also the Best Picture of 1953, with Zinneman getting his second Best Director Oscar in a row after the one he took home in 1952 for High Noon. Donna Reed won for Best Supporting Acress. Burt Lancaster and Montgomery Clift were both nominated for Best Actor, but split the vote allowing William Holden to win for Stalag 17. Another great acting job itself. And Kerr was up for Best Actress, but lost to Audrey Hepburn for Roman Holiday.

From Here to Eternity is a film loaded with good actors in small roles who got their first notice in this film. Ernest Borgnine, Robert J. Wilkie, Claude Akins, Jack Warden, Mickey Shaughnessy, all play various soldiers and each one is memorable. Especially Borgnine as the vicious sadistic sergeant of the stockade.

TV's Superman was in From Here to Eternity also. George Reeves who was looking to escape the typecasting from Superman has a part as another sergeant who warns Lancaster about Deborah Kerr. He gave a fine performance, but most of it wound up on the cutting room floor. That would have unforeseen tragic consequences.

This is not any kind of glamorous army. These people are all too real and not very noble. The original novel was toned down quite a bit for the screen. But when the attack on Pearl Harbor comes, the men rise to the occasion, do their jobs in a more than competent manner and led by Burt Lancaster in that company. It's these men who won that war in the Pacific and the one in Europe as well and From Here to Eternity despite the less than noble portrayals of them as individuals is a great tribute to them as a team.