From Here to Eternity is one of Granniemose’s favorite movies, and up until two weeks ago I had never seen it. It was my loss. Because it is a terrific movie, with a fantastic script and wonderful performances from the entire cast. Donna Reed and Frank Sinatra took Oscars for their supporting roles.

DIRECTION AND PERFORMANCES

Fred Zinnemann, who up until 1950 directed several interesting pictures, got ‘hot’ first in 1948, when his The Search earned an Oscar nomination. Marlon Brando’s first picture The Men, in 1950, and High Noon in 1952 increased his popularity. Zinnemann, who was one of those European directors who came to America, had up to this point a reputation for doing good films that were good that were not big at the box office. This turned around dramatically with the early fifties.

Zinnemann was a director who generally held his ground against the 'front office' control. In this case, he was able to keep the protagonist role for Montgomery Clift, (the studio wanted Aldo Ray)and get Deborah Kerr for the role of the captain’s wife, instead of Joan Crawford, who was the studio choice. Kerr was a deliberate choice for the promiscuous captain’s wife, chosen as a contrast to her previous virtuous and prim roles to create a dynamic tension for the audience. And it worked very well.

Harry Cohen, who had control of Columbia, had a great deal of control over how the movie would be made, but Zinnemann managed to do it his way nevertheless. Cohen hated Clift for the role, thinking him too sissified, but Zinnemann threatened to walk away without Clift in the Prewitt. role. The Oscar winning screen play writer, Danny Taradash, whose adaptation made the movie possible, supported this decision, as well. The studio won in casting Donna Reed in the role of Alma, as a woman of ill repute. She surprised everyone, by leaping out of her wholesomeness and playing the part exceedingly well, earning herself an Oscar for the role.

Frank Sinatra, whose career had taken a nose dive when his vocal cords hemorrhaged in 1952, and he could no longer sing, was also not the first choice for the role which won him an Oscar. In order to audition and be given a chance to play the role, he flew on site to Hawaii at his own expense. Eli Wallach probably would have still had the role, had he not been doing a play on Broadway with Eli Kazan. But once old 'Blue Eyes' auditioned for the role, it was his. And you’ll have to see the movie to see why.

CINEMATOGRAPHY

The studio balked over Zinnemann’s insistence that the film be shot in black and white. It was undeniably the correct choice, and allowed full use of artistic cinematography. Anyone who has ever been to Hawaii, probably understands why this movie would have been killed by the use of color. The scenery would have taken too much away from the drama of the story.
While the setting is definitely Hawaii, the scenery never dominates in this movie.

Instead we have the careful set up of every shot, and the meticulous shooting of every scene. And again, Zinnemann shows that ability to tell a story about people by being an expert at filming their dynamics, their unspoken words and their body language. Even the famous “kiss on the beach” becomes a classic image, not one where we become intimate with the adultery. The flesh in black and white even attains a timeless and universal quality, which would not have been possible if we had seen the actors in their real flesh tones.

You won’t find any zoom to closeups in this movie. What you get instead is a series of cuts, each one closer to the performer, which accentuates the interaction by showing a dynamic give and take, with the full use of the camera as the tool of communication.

The original music in this movie, by George Duning was nominated for an Academy Award, and the theme itself is a memorable one, and the music, used throughout the film is important enough to be a plot element in itself. The hero of this piece is a bugler. A song about enlistment, (a blues piece)was played at least three times and performed by Merle Travis, a country music singer, who had a small part in the movie. And finally, it is Fatso’s piano playing that creates a subplot for the movie, involving Maggio, Prewitt and Fatso in some deadly conflicts.

OTHER ISSUES-the times


The movie was based on a James Jones 800 page novel of the same name. Like many movies of that time, most of the audience had either read or was reading the popular novel, so the story had no surprises. The surprise for the audience came in the casting .

In order to film this movie on a Army base in Hawaii, the studio needed permission. The Army would not play ball until the villainy of this man’s army was played down a tad, and they stood THEIR ground, even changing the ending . Where the Captain is given a promotion in the book, he is punished in the movie.

The theme of adultery, the studio thought, marked this film for failure. The open criticism of the Army, they thought, would not help. Instead of failure it was met with almost instantaneous phenomenal success.

****

The Army

The approach to the regular army practices here does tell a tale. But I do not believe it was so much a criticism of the army as it was realism. The movies being made were often nihilistic , openly disdainful of the human condition, and the audience of the day seemed open to the dynamics of a film which did not give "Hollywood” endings. This movie does not have a happy ending, but it does show the better qualities of the men in the regular Army , stationed in Hawaii when n the war started. They achieve a heroic status, at least in my mind, by bravely fighting their attackers.

It also shows how actually going to war came as a surprise, as it certainly did when Pearl Harbor was bombed. While the regular army trained, being a soldier being trained for war wasn’t the point of the movie at all. The boxing championship held precedence in the daily lives of the men chosen for this company.

The criticism seems to be reserved for those men of small minds, who inevitably get to be bosses and officers and use their power for themselves, showing themselves not worthy of leadership. This may be more “reality” than we liked, but the popularity of this movie proved something about the ability of an audience to appreciate a more complex situation. There are a few characters in this flick who maintain their integrity to the end, and that alone makes it an extraordinary celebration, not condemnation, of humanity.

THE DVD

There is a simultaneous commentary with Alvin Sargent (who had a small part in the film) and Tim Zinnemann (the son of the director) in which they shared many reminiscences . I found almost as interesting as the movie itself. In addition there is a short featurette, closed captioning, and some Bios. There is a short excerpt of “As I see it” interviews with Fred Zinnemann before he died, which give some insight on this extraordinary director.

THE PLOT

(Sgt Warden)" Maybe back in the days of the pioneers a man could go his own way, but today you got to play ball."

It is 1941, Hawaii, a few months before Pearl Harbor was bombed. Private Prewitt has just been transferred to G Company. He had been a corporal, and a bugler, and an up and coming middle weight boxing champion. But he quit boxing because he had blinded a friend in sparring practice, and quit the bugle corps, because someone was promoted over him.

G Company wants him for his boxing ability, and the army determines to break his resolve to quit boxing. He is given extra duty, punished for things he didn’t do, but he stands stubborn, insisting that he won;t do it.

(Karen)"What is it about you that makes you so efficient?"

(Warden)" I was born smart, ma’am."

The company commander, Dana Holmes is a drinker and a womanizer, but his wife Karen has a reputation for sleeping around. Warden is attracted. But things aren’t always as they seem. There is a reason for her actions, and as the sparks fly between the beautiful woman and the tough Sargent, their two worlds are shattered and rearranged by their affair.

(Prewitt )“Nobody ever lies about being lonely”

Prewitt has still got problems, but at least now he as a friend in a little scrapper, private Maggio. These guys go to a “social club” where Prew meets a girl called “Lorene”, who he immediately falls for. We find out that Prewitt is determined in a lot of ways to make the army his home, a thirty year man, as he says. Lorene, whose real name is Alma, has different aspirations. But just as in the other romance, their two worlds are changed forever by each other.


(Maggio)" Only my friends call me a little wop."

One day Maggio scraps with the wrong guy, a big bully who he calls Fatso, a staff sargent in the stockade named Judson. He is narrowly rescued from being creamed, by his friends and the master sargent, who turns out to be not such a bad guy. But one day he walks off guard duty to go into town drinking, and this is the turning point of the movie. What happens after this is inevitable, but you aren’t going to hear it from me. But I will tell you this. The War starts before the last frame flickers.


THE CAST


Burt Lancaster as First Sargent Milton Warden-Burt was well on his way to reestablishing the macho American hero icon to American Audiences. Handsome, athletic, and sensitive at the same time, he was perfect for this role. Excellent and unappreciated performance, also worthy of more acclaim than he received. While his character shows conflict, in the end he remains true to himself, and continues on with “his job”, as a worthy hero in the regular army. I loved his performance and found him very easy to look at as well!

Montgomery Clift as Pvt Robert E Lee Prewitt.-They said he didn’t look the part, but I have to say I agree with Zinnemann’s choice here 100% . He was an outstanding actor, and never won an Oscar, although he earned one here. His character longed for a home in the army, but was stubborn in trying to maintain his own integrity in opposition tio what his Captain wanted him to do, use his championship boxing skills in the ring. Clift learned to play the bugle and stayed in the part for long after the movie was over. While in Hawaii, he was never seen in public without the bugle.

Deborah Kerr as Karen Holmes-Kerr, who received 6 Academy Award nominations, never received one for any one picture, although she did get a sort of honorary one. She must have shocked ANYONE who knew her in her prim and proper roles. Her wholesome image was blown away by this movie, although she went back to it. But she certainly proved her extreme talent and versatility with this role. This character is in many ways, the most tragic of all. Deborah Kerr EARNED an Oscar. It’s a shame she didn’t get one. She plays an adulterous wife (of the captain), but there is much more to her story. I found her believable and her nonverbal scenes were simply extraordinary.

Donna Reed as Alma Burke/Lorene-now who would have thought that Reed, who would in short order become America’s ideal Television wife and Mom (in spite of those ridiculous heels she wore even fixing dinner) would have played a woman who could not articulate clearly, and was working as a call girl in a social club? How could Jimmy Stewart’s wife in the Capra classic ever fit in THIS role, we wonder? Everyone was surprised by this performance, and she was truly excellent. She plays Prewitt’s Romantic interest, and is the one to whom he tells the yearnings of his soul. A complex character, played exceedingly well. She won an Academy Award for her performance.

Frank Sinatra as Pvt. Angelo Maggio-Maggio is a scrappy character who is felled by his own little guy syndrome. This is a great performance, and EARNED the Oscar for Sinatra. He is instantly the most likable of any of the characters and the one who will meet with the second biggest tragedy. Outstanding performance

Philip Ober as Captain Dana Holmes, Company Commander-A thoroughly despicable guy, and would seem to be more at home in B grade movies as the light weight villain . In real life, he was married to Vivian Vance, and beat her, according to Hollywood gossip.

Mickey Shaughnessy as Cpl. Levea Supply Clerk-You’ve seen this round faced comical looking actor on TV and movies throughout the 50's and sixties. He is probably the only consistently funny character, whose statements do manage to give us a breather from all the gut wrenching dynamics of this story.

Harry Ballever as Pvt Mazioli-another unidentifiable dogface. There were so many!

Ernest Borgnine as Staff Sargent “Fatso” Judson, Stockade Sgt of the Guard-In 3 years, Ernie would win his Marty Oscar, but for now he is a bully, and a good one at that. It took a lot for Borgnine to change his character 180 degrees for the good guy role in Marty , because he is one mean bad guy in this one.

Jack Warden as Corporal Buckley-Jack was the actor who could fill any role play good and bad, with equal measure. His part here, if you listen carefully, is probably the best voice of the author in this flick. He knows what is going on, but usually just watches, maintaining a sympathetic observation status of the Sargent, the slut, the fighter and the other slut, not to mention the captain and his antics

John Dennis as Sargent Ike Galovitch-This guy sounds like a Swede, his accent is a little hard to figure. He pushes Prew into a fight. NOW do you remember him?

Merle Travis as Sal Anderson-He’s the one that strums and sings. Otherwise irrelevant part.

Tim Ryan as Staff Sargent Pete Karelson-Hard bitten old Sargent, a sort of fixture in Army movies made BEFORE the war. You will recognize him when you see him. Was also in High Noon with Zinnemann the year before.

Arthur Keegan as Treadwell-I don’t even know who this guy is in the movie

Barbara Morrison as Mrs. Kipfer -the “madame” of the social club, in the book as a house of ill repute. (I can’t say w-h-o-r-e-house on Epinions? Better tell those travel folks before they post those reviews!) My least favorite character of the movie.

Claude Akin as Sgt. Dhom-Akin is such a familiar face to me from my years of force fed Westerns, that it is like seeing a long lost cousin. It was kind of a nice surprise to see him in this movie.

Alvin Sargent as Nair-The part was actually a significant one, for this fellow who would go on to become a writer of some note. He appears with Tim Zinnemann (the director’s son) in the Commentary on the DVD, as well. He is the one who tells Prew about Maggio’s beatings in the stockade, and is the guy who runs across the field shouting that the Japanese are bombing. His input on the commentary was very interesting as well.

George Reeves as Sgt Maylon Stark-This part was cut quite a bit, when the Superman role on TV seemed to present a conflict. Too bad, because Reeve 'coulda been a contender.' He was an amateur boxer, and never got out of his typecast after Superman. His suicide is still a controversial subject so many years later.

James Jones in a bit part, and he also sings in the little musical group. (He is the author of the novel)


FINAL RECOMMENDATION

Forget about Pearl Harbor! If you want to see a love story that tells a better version of that fateful day, watch this one! All the special effects in a Hollywood extravaganza is simply no match for a good story, well told. Thank you Granniemose for making me watch it. Once more, you have enriched my life.


THE GRANNIEMOSE BIRTHDAY BASH

I had to do at least one movie review in honor of Granniemose (Virginia, my Mom) who is turning eighty years young in just 4 days. Want to join the celebration? Add your name to the write off. E-mail me at artbyjude@aol.com for details.

Many thanks to all the contributors so far! We have 57 submissions so far and only 23 to go to make 80.

To read some of the contributions, go to http://www.geocities.com/granniemose2002/
or get the link to granniemose on my profile page.

A thousand thank you's (or if you are from Cleveland, a thousand thank youse guys) to redwolfoz who designed and is updating this magnificent web page!






Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening