‘From Here to Eternity’ (1953) Review

In 1953, three major movies came out - ‘This Is Cinerama’ (a documentary film and the first major thing in the ‘50s to be shot in widescreen), ‘How to Marry a Millionaire’ (the first feature film shot in widescreen, as well as Betty Grable’s last major movie), and ‘The Robe’ (the first feature film released in widescreen). Apart from the fact that 1953 was the year of widescreen pictures, it is also considered the year that truly made Marilyn Monroe, one of the biggest icons of the 20th century, a star. However, my favourite film from 1953 didn’t include the glamorous Marilyn Monroe or the new widescreen format. Instead, it is the black-and-white ‘From Here to Eternity’. ‘From Here to Eternity’ features five big names: Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, Deborah Kerr, Donna Reed and Frank Sinatra. It is one of the earliest movies focused on the Pearl Harbour attack, and while the film focuses more on the behind-the-scenes of the army rather than the physical fighting, it’s still an interesting watch.

While Burt Lancaster gets top billing, Prewitt, played by Montgomery Clift, is the central character in this classic. He signs up to a new army division after leaving his old division since he accidentally left a man blind in a boxing match. The unfortunate accident made him quit boxing, but that causes problems for him because the whole division expect him to box, and he is physically punished for refusing, which makes life harder for him. Maggio (Frank Sinatra) is Prewitt’s only friend in the army, however, he is quite reckless at times, and while a good friend, does sometimes go too far. Prewitt also meets “Lorene” (Donna Reed) at a club, and takes a liking to her, even though she has her hesitancy. Meanwhile, Warden (Burt Lancaster) stars his own forbidden romance with Karen (Deborah Kerr), which could cost him his position in the army.

In general, I think this picture was executed fantastically. Montgomery Clift definitely takes the spotlight this time, and his portrayal of Prewitt was perfect. Clift is often known for playing “moody, sensitive characters”, and you can understand how true that is just by watching him in this movie. Burt Lancaster is also great in his role. He has a roughness which is needed to play a convincing solider. His romantic scenes are also very exceptional. He and Deborah Kerr both do the iconic beach scene, but he still has that roughness, which makes him very believable. Frank Sinatra is mostly known for his musical talents, and while I appreciate a good musical, he could do just fine in non-musical roles. Sinatra’s general bubbly acting really adds to his character, and he is amazing.

While the male characters hit the target for me, unfortunately, the female characters weren’t as adequate. I do appreciate the fact that this is a war movie about soldiers, meaning that men will get the prominent roles, however, the female characters were very underused and poorly written. Deborah Kerr’s Karen Holmes is one of the most boring leading ladies of all time. She has almost zero personality, and to be quite frank, the film would have made perfect sense without her. Her only role was to serve as a love interest to Burt Lancaster’s character. Personally, I think Deborah Kerr is quite a bland actress anyway, however, I highly doubt any actress could make Karen interesting. Originally, she was meant to be played with Hollywood titan, Joan Crawford. However, Crawford demanded a specific cameraman be used, so she quickly found herself off the picture. The other main female character is Donna Reed’s “Lorene”, AKA Alma Burke. Alma has slightly more personality than Karen, however, she is incredibly unlikeable, and that means that poor Reed can’t do much with the character she’s playing. She keeps changing her mood unexpectedly and she is just so underused. Donna Reed is an amazing actress, and she could adapt well to her roles, however, the role of Alma was not something Reed could turn into wonders. As I said, I do appreciate the fact that this is a war movie focused on male soldiers, however, I wish the women were more than just love interests.

Despite having some poorly-written characters, most characters were actually interesting, and this is one of my all-time favourite movies. Clift really shines in this picture, and the storyline is very compelling. Often war movies that are centralised on the action don’t really appeal to me, so having a movie that shows the consequences on a soldier rather than war in general was very engaging to me. 1953 was a busy and glamorous year, but ‘From Here to Eternity’ will be remembered for eternity.