From
Here to Eternity as Awesome as Awesome Gets, Period.
By
Kristin Battestella
Everyone
has seen that snip of the waves crashing over Deborah Kerr and Burt Lancaster
in their steamy beach bound lip lock from this 1953 Hawaiian military epic. The
shot’s famous, the film’s a bonafide classic, and yet there is so much more to From Here to Eternity.
After
injuring a friend in the ring, bugler Private Robert E. Lee Prewitt (Montgomery
Clift) won’t box for his new CO, Captain Holmes (Philip Ober) in the upcoming
tournament. Sergeant Warden (Lancaster)
tries to get the stubborn Prewitt to see reason and even puts him on extra
detail rather than see Prewitt punished by Holmes. Unfortunately, Warden has his own hang ups-
namely that affair with Holmes’ wife Karen (Kerr) - who pressures Warden to
seek a commission. Prewitt and his
friend Maggio (Frank Sinatra) try to take the army life easy by visiting the
New Congress Club for drinks and girls, and Prewitt makes plans with Lorene
(Donna Reed). Maggio, however, runs into
trouble with the stockade sergeant, Fatso Judson (Ernest Borgnine). Jealously,
vengeance, pride, and romance eventually collide as the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor commences.
I
feel like I’m going to ramble. What can
I say about From Here to Eternity
that hasn’t already been said? Then
again, this isn’t nearly enough analysisizing over Best Director winner Fred
Zinnermann’s (High Noon, A Man for All
Seasons) adaptation of James Jones’ then
scandalous novel and Daniel Taradash’s (Don’t
Bother to Knock) Best Adapted Screenplay, either. Multiple viewings are indeed necessary to
fully appreciate and properly study all the great dialogue, complex characters,
Oscar winning cinematography, and star-studded performances. Maybe the
melodrama will seem tame to some today, but From
Here to Eternity still offers plenty of Pearl Harbor
heavy. I simply love this movie and have
to tune in whenever it is on television. A viewer thinks he knows it line by
line and can just leave it on the tele in the background. But no, the torment,
romance, toughness, and intensity call you to the screen. Is it over the top by today’s standards?
Perhaps- but the fifties flair and form works for the archetype characters. For
better or worse, these are these characters’ shining moments. From Here to Eternity’s journey is in
seeing which player will burn out, fade away, win, or survive- and we’re not
even talking about World War II yet! Strategically
placed couples and intimate photography match the suggestive relationships
while balancing nicely with wider shots and the foreboding historical
background. The focus here is on the little people and the Oscar winning
editing mirrors the personal taboos of the time perfectly. The camera sweeps down with Lancaster as he kneels to kiss Kerr and
brings a long focus as Clift takes slow drags on a smoldering cigarette after
going to the upstairs parlor with Lorene.
Audiences know what’s happening, and I actually find it pleasing that we
can take the hint. Today’s films would be dominated by the raunchy base
lifestyle and TnA brothel action. There’s an element of class amid the scandal
here. Life sucks, America’s not the best of the best
can’t always deal- and yet From Here to
Eternity shows it all in style.
If From Here to Eternity has a fault, it is
that both its Best Actor nominees cancelled each other out in favor of William
Holden in Stalag 17. Holden is good, very good; perhaps it is
indeed his best. Sixty years later, however, our boys look decidedly robbed. Future Oscar winner Burt Lancaster
(Elmer Gantry) is just wonderful as
the stiff all business sergeant who keeps the men in line while his jerky
captain seeks glory. Lancaster
looks good as Warden- acrobat fit, natural in uniform, and shirtless for his
fans. He looks tough and cold hearted yet has a soft spot for his company- not
to mention a brimming passion for his CO’s wife. Warden knows how to handle the
hard, worn, and broken of the army, and we like him for it. Somehow, we like him even more when he loosens
up his prison alluding name and button up attitude to go after the wrong woman.
He’s the last man we’d expect to get caught up with another man’s wife- the
seemingly used and denied pencil pusher who cleans up his captain’s messes
because he wants the company to remain a well oiled machine. Yet Warden’s a
hunk of sergeant so overdue some leeway loving and getting drunk- which
Lancaster and Clift really did, by the way! What’s proper? What’s respectable? Since we
know Pearl Harbor looms, these people don’t
have time to worry about morality, do they? From
Here to Eternity gives us wonderfully flawed and multi dimensional
characters.
Rather
than an acting rivalry, Warden and Private Prewitt have an unusual rapport,
even a friendship as far as enlisted men and NCOs can have. In this, Montgomery
Clift (Red River, A Place in the Sun) is equally
awesome to Lancaster
and just as beautiful. Clift embodies
Prewitt like no one’s business- complete with a slender uniform and a chip on
his shoulder. Any man who wants to know
how to act should watch Clift here. Prew is a military man through and through-
he just refuses to simply do and die and not reason why. He loves his bugle but
won’t to back down to pressure to join the boxing team- even if it means
continued hazing and difficulty on the base.
Principles onscreen and off are such a lost art! Clift exudes the
straight back uniform style, the contrasting slouched and ruined hunch of an AWOL
tropical shirt, and all the range of emotion and torment in between. So what if the boxing scenes are hokey. The idea of not wanting to box after blinding
a friend may seem cliché to contemporary audiences, but Clift sells the pain perfectly,
as if it is an integral part of who Prewitt is. The punishments he receives may
just seem merely asinine, yes- today’s films would frontload this kind of plot
point with unwatchable brutality before despicable character focus.
Nonetheless, Clift plays the anger as fundamental, with no separation between
himself and Prewitt. Sure, he had his off
screen troubles, but the viewer never thinks Clift is angry or playing himself,
no. Prewitt’s turmoil is simply so
seamless- the music, the boxing, the love and loss. This is a completely three
dimensional character thanks to Clift.
Perhaps
I gloat over Clift, but I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: I don’t
like Deborah Kerr. Fortunately, The Innocents, The King and I, and From Here
to Eternity create a trio of her best. Kerr doesn’t look the expected English pretty in
tight sweaters and short shorts, and all those wet dialogue references up the
innuendo. Karen has been around the
block- and a base or two- for all the wrong reasons, and yet we don’t blame
her. She’s a fast woman carrying plenty
of pent up issues, but she struts her stuff and knows how to shake those hips.
We see her coming and yet the audience can sympathize with this wasted and
wronged captain’s wife. This affair can’t end well- the would be scandal, Pearl Harbor is imminent, Warden doesn’t want to be an
officer and Karen won’t marry an enlisted man.
It isn’t good and yet these people need some happiness, dreams, and all
the misery that comes along with love. Although she went home with the Best
Supporting Actress Oscar, I’m still not so sure Donna Reed was the right choice
for the prostitute Lorene. She’s great
and has the acting chops to turn our It’s
a Wonderful Life and Donna Reed Show expectations,
yes. However, you can’t quite forget this “It’s
Donna Reed! As a prostitute!” feeling. Fortunately, Reed does match Clift’s
charm, and together they develop a tender but broken kind of chemistry and
bitterness. Do they love each other?
Without a doubt. Will the military action behind the scenes and on the battle
lines eat them alive? Definitely.
Surprising,
the one who exceeds expectations in From
Here to Eternity is revitalized crooner Frank Sinatra (The Manchurian Candidate and my personal favorite Robin and the 7 Hoods) as the loyal
friend who cracks under the ruthlessness of the late Ernest Borgnine’s Fatso. The
ill-fated best friend is the very definition of a supporting character, and
Maggio is simply classic for that final scene alone. He lifts, inspires, and sets Prewitt’s actions
into motion for the final third of the film. Today’s speculation about Mafia
involvement in his casting and debate about his Oscar win unfortunately seem to
overshadow his actual performance, but Sinatra is worth another look here. Perhaps
also a stereotypically styled villain, Borgnine (Marty, McHale’s Navy) is nevertheless an imposing, multi
dimensional figure both in stature and in performance. He’s gritty, wicked, and
we immediately hate that people like him get ahead while honest soldiers like
Maggio are chewed up and spit out. But oiy,
it must have been tough for him with all that wop talk! Philip Ober (North by Northwest) is despicably love
to hate worthy as Dynamite Holmes, too.
Despite
winning awards for its black and white cinematography, I can’t help but wonder
what From Here to Eternity would look
like in full fifties color and splendor. The onscreen forties styles and accessories,
those swanky parlors, lovely palm trees, and handsome starch uniforms in all
their glory! Not that I condone colorization by any means, and besides, this
film is not about dazzling visuals and little else like the 2001 Michael Bay
stinking spectacle Pearl Harbor. The battle finale here is sweet though; and
the real military locations and authentic drilling, equipment, and protocols
give us the wartime vibe needed. Bittersweet
bugle tributes, fun piano music, period swing and aloha sounds also do wonders-
along with “Re-enlistment Blues.” Even
the cigarettes in From Here to Eternity shine.
The way our players hold them and their shot glasses or brush their hair- most young
stars and ‘celebrities’ today simply cannot ‘act’ like this. They can’t embody the tense mood, atmosphere,
pressure, and grace tying From Here to
Eternity in a pretty bow.
Simply
put (a thousand words too late!) this film
is a must see. Maybe you don’t like Best Picture hardware laden classics or
any of the cast. Perhaps you don’t like wartime films or have no interested in
seeing a film of acting, direction, and cinematic perfection. Too bad. You can’t be a fan of dramatic
cinema and movies themselves without having seen From Here to Eternity. So why wait?
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