From Here to Eternity

The interconnected stories of three soldiers (Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, and Frank Sinatra) stationed at Pearl Harbor in 1941.

From Here to Eternity marked the beginning of Frank Sinatra’s comeback. Finally breaking free of the naïve, boy-next-door image that he’d been shackled with his entire film career, he gives a career-making performance as the fiery private Maggio, a turn that won him an Oscar and effectively revived his fading career. From his first scene, the sly charisma that would later become his trademark is apparent in his knowing grin toward Montgomery Clift. This is Sinatra the swinger, not Sinatra the bobby-soxer.

In addition to Sinatra’s great arc as Maggio, Clift does an equally good job as the tortured private Prewitt. You can see the emotion behind his eyes, as Clift conveys swaths of feelings with a simple gesture or a look.

Also, there’s top-billed Burt Lancaster whose nuanced, and fearless performance as the morally ambiguous Sergeant Warden ranks as one of the best of his career. He’s believable from scene one, which is important because he’s not only got to charm co-star Deborah Kerr’s character, he’s got to charm the audience as well and win us over into caring about him, as his arc is the least sympathetic on paper. Yet, Lancaster does it with ease.

Sure, there are moments when the melodrama goes a little overboard, but From Here to Eternity is well worth a look. Uniformly great performances, a solid story, and top-notch production combine to form a very entertaining two hours, featuring at least one iconic scene that’s been replicated and spoofed countless times in the years that followed.