The 26th Academy Awards (1954)
Nominations: 13
Wins: 8
Is there a more romantic scene in cinema than Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr making out on the beach in From Here to Eternity? I can’t count how many times I’ve seen this scene parodied, from Airplane, to The Nutty Professor, to multiple times on The Simpsons. Little did I know the scene in question is depicting two adults committing adultery. Is From Here to Eternity an edgier movie than I thought?
I didn’t really know anything going into this movie. I knew the beach scene, I knew it had something to do with the military, and I knew Ernest Borgnine played Sgt. “Fatso” Judson, which again, I only know because of The Simpsons.
Now I know that From Here to Eternity is the movie Pearl Harbor if it was good. Based on Daniel Taradash’s 1951 novel, the story follows a coronet-playing Private named Prewitt (Montgomery Clift), who transfers to a military base in Oahu in 1941 after blinding another soldier in a boxing match. Looking to add Prewitt to the boxing team (way more boxing than I was anticipating), Captain (Philip Ober), nicknamed Dynamo–which is way too cool a nickname for such a stuffy guy–instead finds himself making Prewitt’s life a living hell after he refuses.
Mercilessly hazed by his fellow officers, Prewitt makes the best of his situation by befriending the violent but likable Angelo Maggio (Frank Sinatra) and falling for the enchanting Lorene (Donna Reed). At this point you might be asking, “When’s he gonna talk about the beach?!?” And to that I say, “How ‘bout now?”
Burt Lancaster, despite being top billed, occupies the “B Story” of the film. Serving directly under Captain Dynamo, Burt aka First Sergeant Milton Warden, falls in love with the Captain’s wife, Karen (Deborah Kerr), and takes her on sexy escapades around the island. Karen also pressures Warden to become an Officer so that he can unseat Dynamo and marry her. Damn, steal your boss’s wife and his job? That’s a pretty scandalous subplot for a mainstream film from the 1950s.
Most of the film is a romantic melodrama with the occasional dark turn. In particular, SPOILER, when Prewitt kills Fatso Judson in a knife fight to avenge his best friend Angelo’s death. Yeah, Ernest Borgnine is NOT nice in this movie. But it isn’t until the last twenty minutes or so that the base is attacked and the film comes to a solemn close. Was not expecting a downer ending considering all the parodies of that beach scene.
Did From Here to Eternity deserve to win 8 Oscars? Mostly. Best picture and director? Sure. Writing, Cinematography, Sound, Editing. Yeah, I can dig it. On top of those, all five lead performances were nominated; Clift, Lancaster, Kerr, Reed, Sinatra, with only Reed and Sinatra winning. Gotta say, Sinatra? Not my bag, baby. Feels like he’s playing a less charismatic version of himself. Yeah, the Oscars have been making weird choices as far back as 1950s.
I will give From Here to Eternity a lot of credit for being a lot heavier than I anticipated. Which it should be, war is hell, man! And this ain’t just a war between warring nations, it’s a war of love. Isn’t there a saying? Something about love and war? Does that apply to this movie? Anyways, Happy Valentine’s Day.