From Here To Eternity (1953) Columbia Pictures Director: Fred Zinnemann Producer: Buddy Adler Cast: Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Cliff, Deborah Kerr, Donna Reed, Frank Sinatra. Awards ceremony: -26th Academy Awards: March 25, 1954. RKO Pantages Theatre, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California & NBC Center Theatre, New York City, New York. Other films nominated for Best Motion Picture this year: -Julius Caesar. -The Robe. -Roman Holiday. -Shane. Plot summary: Set in Hawaii 1941, top army bugler Robert Prewitt (MONTGOMERY CLIFT) gets transferred into a new company where his commanding officer Captain Holmes (PHILIP OBER) tries to convince him to sign up for their boxing division. When the stubborn Prewitt refuses he is treated poorly by the officers as a form of punishment. One such officer is Sergeant Galovitch (JOHN DENNIS) who really has it in for Prewitt. Sergeant Warden (BURT LANCASTER) falls in love with his superior's estranged wife (DEBORAH KERR), whilst recruit Angelo Maggio (FRANK SINATRA) gets on the wrong side of Sergeant Judson (ERNEST BORGNINE) and pays a heavy price. And then comes the attack on Pearl Harbor. Standout scene: The scenes where it starts to boil over between Frank Sinatra and Ernest Borgnine. I also liked the "clean it up yourself" moment when Prewitt tells Galovitch he isn't cleaning up his mess! Facts: -The 26th Academy Awards. -Nominated for 13 Academy Awards, it won 8: Best Film, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor (Frank Sinatra), Best Supporting Actress (Donna Reed), Best Writing/Screenplay, Best Sound Recording, Best Cinematography (black & white), Best Film Editing. Personal opinion: I gotta say this one was average. It was neither good nor bad. It certainly wasn't riveting! I enjoyed seeing the 36 year-old Ernest Borgnine who was only in his third year in the movies. Didn't rate him as a pianist in the film though! The whole film was fortunately under the 2-hours mark and it plods along, sometimes enjoyably and sometimes methodically until the last 15 minutes when things suddenly get LOUD! Did it deserve the Oscar? NO. I prefer "Stalag 17", which didn't even receive a nomination for Best Picture and yet won the award for Best Actor (William Holden). 5/10

Review date: 01 March 2025