A Reel 70: FROM HERE TO ETERNITY

“Nobody ever lies about being lonely.”

 

This month marks the 70^th anniversary of FROM HERE TO ETERNITY. 

 

A record-breaking Oscar winner and often considered to be one of the greatest films of all time, FROM HERE TO ETERNITY was directed by Fred Zinneman and was based on the 1951 novel of the same name by James Jones. The plot followed three United States Army soldiers stationed in Hawaii in the months leading up to the attack on Pearl Harbor. 

 

The strong cast would be assembled of names that would eventually become Hollywood legend: Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, Deborah Kerr, Donna Reed, Frank Sinatra, Jack Warden, and Ernest Borgnine. George Reeves, who played Superman in TV’S ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN (1952-1958), also had a small role. The directing job would go to Fred Zinnemann, who had just completed the acclaimed Western HIGH NOON (1952). 

 

The novel, which had controversial plot points including homosexuality and suicide, was adapted for the screen by screenwriter Daniel Taradash. The production was overseen by the Army, who needed to approve to allow production to film on location. The novel’s controversial elements were eliminated.

 

FROM HERE TO ETERNITY would open to rave reviews, and would hold the top box office spot for four weeks. At the 26^th Academy Awards, the film would win eight of its 13 nominations, including Best Picture, Director (Zinnemann), Supporting Actress (Reed), Screenplay (Taradash), and Best Supporting Actor for Frank Sinatra. Its eight Oscars would match the record set by GONE WITH THE WIND in 1939. Sinatra and Zinnemann would also win Golden Globes. The American Film Institute (AFI) ranked the film as the 52^ndgreatest film ever made, and in 2002, it was selected for preservation in the United States Film Registry by the Library of Congress. 

 

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Over the decades, there have been many films which have focused on a historical, large-scale battle as its plot. But FROM HERE TO ETERNITY, much like Steven Spielberg’s SAVING PRIVATE RYAN (1998), uses its big ol’ battle as a backdrop. ETERNITY, even though it is labeled as a war film, only brings on the attack on Pearl Harbor late in the third act, as most of its business has to do with its characters. The characters in ETERNITY go through very human issues: infidelity, trauma, lack of self-confidence, rage, and love. The ensemble cast makes it all work, and from Sinatra’s drunken soldier to Borgnine’s villainous turn, to Clift’s troubled youth to the steamy, iconic beach scene with Lancaster and Kerr, FROM HERE TO ETERNITY is a film that will always be remembered…from 1953 to eternity. 

 

“A man should be what he can do.”