26th Academy Awards · 1954
From Here to Eternity
Directed by Fred Zinnemann
“The boldest book of our time… honestly, fearlessly on the screen!”
The story
In 1941 Hawaii, a private is cruelly punished for not boxing on his unit's team, while his captain's wife and second in command are falling in love.
What critics & audiences say
Tomatometer88%Fresh#68 of 98 winnersFamous lines
Karen: I never knew it could be like this! Nobody ever kissed me the way you do.
Sgt. Warden: Nobody?
Pvt. Prewitt: A man don't go his own way, he's nothing.
Sgt. Warden: Maybe back in the days of the pioneers a man could go his own way, but today you got to play ball.
Nobody ever lies about being lonely.
It's not confidence, ma'am; it's honesty. I just hate to see a beautiful woman going all to waste.
Karen: Well, on the other hand, I've got a bathing suit under my dress...
Sgt. Warden: Me too!
And I'll be HAPPY because when you're PROPER you're SAFE!
You might as well say stop war because one man got killed!
You're crazy! I wish I didn't love ya; maybe I can enjoy life again.
Sgt. Karelsen: I wouldn't drink with you if it was the last beer in the world.
Sgt. Warden: I'm buying.
Sgt. Karelsen: That's different.
Pvt. Maggio: I just hate to see a good guy get it in the gut.
Cpl. Buckley: You better get used to it, kid. You'll probably see a lot of it before you die.
Quotes via Wikiquote
Fun facts
- Hollywood legend says Frank Sinatra got his role through Mafia connections, inspiring a similar subplot in The Godfather. Director Fred Zinnemann called the horse's head story "pure invention" by Mario Puzo.Wikipedia · Production
- The film is famous for its beach scene of two characters kissing at the water's edge in an adulterous tryst, a groundbreaking display in its time.Wikipedia · Introduction
- The Army insisted that the cruel Captain Holmes be forced out of the service rather than promoted as in the novel. Fred Zinnemann called the scene "the worst moment in the film" and said, "It makes me sick every time I see it."Wikipedia · Differences from the novel
- Joan Crawford was offered a lead role, but her demand to be filmed by her own cameraman led the studio to take a chance on Deborah Kerr, cast against type.Wikipedia · Production
- The Navy banned the film from its ships and shore installations as "derogatory of a sister service," and the Army reportedly refused to let its name appear in the opening credits.Wikipedia · Reception
- Despite their characters' brutal rivalry, Frank Sinatra and Ernest Borgnine became lifelong friends who exchanged Christmas cards signed "Maggio" and "Fatso."Wikipedia · Reception
- The title comes from Rudyard Kipling's 1892 poem "Gentlemen-Rankers," about disgraced British gentlemen forced to enlist who were "damned from here to eternity."Wikipedia · Introduction
- To satisfy censors, Donna Reed's character Lorene went from a brothel prostitute in the novel to a hostess at a private social club. The role won Reed an Oscar.Wikipedia · Differences from the novel
- William Holden, who won Best Actor that year for Stalag 17, felt Burt Lancaster or Montgomery Clift should have won, and Frank Sinatra later said his role in The Man with the Golden Arm was more deserving of an Oscar than Maggio.Wikipedia · Awards and nominations
- With a final gross of $30.5 million, From Here to Eternity became one of the ten highest-grossing films of the 1950s.Wikipedia · Reception