- From Here to Eternity (Won 1953)
- Mister Roberts (Nominated 1955)
- The Bridge on the River Kwai (Won 1957)
From Here to Eternity is among Fred Zinnemann's most celebrated films. It stars Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, Deborah Kerr, Donna Reed, and Frank Sinatra as soldiers and soldiers' counterparts stationed at Hawaii in the weeks and days leading up to the attack on Pearl Harbor. There are two love stories underscoring the plot: one between the characters played by Lancaster and Kerr; and the other between the characters played by Clift and Reed.
This movie is most famous for probably one scene, involving Lancaster and Kerr (who is cheating on her husband, Lancaster's commanding officer) making out on the beach at Halona Cove in Oahu, as the tide washes over them. You know the one:
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| From Here to Eternity is the movie where this happens |
Despite their photogenic beach-romping, Lancaster and Kerr actually spend most of the film in supporting roles to Montgomery Clift's main character, a talented bugler and misanthropic former boxing champion. I'm a big fan of both Lancaster (his turn in Judgment at Nuremburg is quite spectacular, but more on that in a couple weeks) and Clift, yet another big talent who died as a weirdly young age. The real star of From Here to Eternity, however, is Frank Sinatra, whose "Maggio" character steals every scene he's in and very aptly balances/foils what otherwise would be a a probably-over-morose main cast. Not to be outdone, Ernest Borgnine is great as the villainous Sergeant of the Guard at the stockade (jail).
The plot of this film is akin to a soap opera. But because it takes place in an interesting backdrop, and because of Frank Sinatra's fish-out-of-water antics, it works. Cleverly, in the last act of the film, the characters are often seen situated near calendars and clocks as the morning of December 7, 1941 draws near. In one scene, Lancaster has a heartfelt telephone discussion with Kerr about the state of their affair, while a calendar showing "December 6" is placed conspicuously in the background.
From Here to Eternity climaxes by deftly switching gears from love story to action film as the attack on Pearl Harbor commences. It's great, and I want to see it again. Score: 8.3.
Next, we have Mister Roberts, the second of three movies in today's post that have to do not only with World War 2, but specifically with the Pacific Theatre. (Sort of.) John Ford directs this Broadway play adaptation that stars Henry Fonda as the titular character, Jack Lemmon as his quartermate and James Cagney as the insanely strict captain. They are all aboard a cargo ship situated exactly as far away from the action in the Pacific to still be considered "at war." Somewhat similarly to parts of The Sand Pebbles, much of the conflict comes from the crew's sheer boredom and the dip in morale that comes with it.
I think this film is meant to be a little more funny than it actually is. Henry Fonda is good, and Jack Lemmon is hammy. Lemmon won Best Supporting Actor for his part. Most of Mister Roberts takes place on a couples spots on the ship's deck and in the ship's doctor's cabin. Having been a play adaptation, this make sense. Here's one scene where the crew attempts to create "scotch" for some nurses planning to come aboard later. They use non-traditional ingredients (and I realize now that it may have inspired parts of The Master). This is emblematic of most of the movie:
The plot of this film is akin to a soap opera. But because it takes place in an interesting backdrop, and because of Frank Sinatra's fish-out-of-water antics, it works. Cleverly, in the last act of the film, the characters are often seen situated near calendars and clocks as the morning of December 7, 1941 draws near. In one scene, Lancaster has a heartfelt telephone discussion with Kerr about the state of their affair, while a calendar showing "December 6" is placed conspicuously in the background.
From Here to Eternity climaxes by deftly switching gears from love story to action film as the attack on Pearl Harbor commences. It's great, and I want to see it again. Score: 8.3.
Next, we have Mister Roberts, the second of three movies in today's post that have to do not only with World War 2, but specifically with the Pacific Theatre. (Sort of.) John Ford directs this Broadway play adaptation that stars Henry Fonda as the titular character, Jack Lemmon as his quartermate and James Cagney as the insanely strict captain. They are all aboard a cargo ship situated exactly as far away from the action in the Pacific to still be considered "at war." Somewhat similarly to parts of The Sand Pebbles, much of the conflict comes from the crew's sheer boredom and the dip in morale that comes with it.
I think this film is meant to be a little more funny than it actually is. Henry Fonda is good, and Jack Lemmon is hammy. Lemmon won Best Supporting Actor for his part. Most of Mister Roberts takes place on a couples spots on the ship's deck and in the ship's doctor's cabin. Having been a play adaptation, this make sense. Here's one scene where the crew attempts to create "scotch" for some nurses planning to come aboard later. They use non-traditional ingredients (and I realize now that it may have inspired parts of The Master). This is emblematic of most of the movie:
Score for Mister Roberts: 5.7. So far, in the year 1955, the Academy seems to have made a historically justified decision by awarding BP to Marty.
Last but not least: The Bridge on the River Kwai is David Lean's other-best-known work, and it won Best Picture in 1957. Alec Guinness is a British Lieutenant Colonel, Nicholson, whose regiment has been captured and brought to a Japanese labor camp in Thailand. Their task is to build a railway, over the River Kwai, which will have some strategic implications for Japan. Nicholson outwardly rejects the requirement for officers to join enlisted men in the labor, citing the Geneva Convention, and wins that concession once the Japanese colonel (played brilliantly by Sessue Hayakawa) realizes that the bridge project will certainly fail unless they utilize the British engineering acumen. Once effectively in charge, Nicholson slowly begins to take a great amount of pride in the workmanship of the bridge. His prisoner colleagues question his motives, such as here:
Meanwhile, one of the American POW's escapes and eventually makes his way to Ceylon, where he is recruited by a multi-national commando unit tasked with destroying the bridge. This leads to an amazing climax. The bridge is completed and awaits its first train crossing, and the commando unit has wired it for explosives the night before. As the train approaches, Nicholson discovers the explosives and first alerts the Japanese to the danger. Amid resulting crossfire, however, Nicholson eventually realizes the extreme juxtaposition of his pride and his duty as a British soldier, resulting in one of the great expressions of self-realization ever filmed: "What have I done?"
The Bridge on the River Kwai, like other of David Lean's works, is beautifully photographed and makes great use of its leading men. Guinness won Best Actor for his portrayal of Nicholson, David Lean won Best Director, and the film also won Best Editing and Best Cinematography. (Another of Lean's films, Lawrence of Arabia, an OP favorite, would repeat the Best Picture/Director/Editing/Cinematography feat just five years later.)
This gets a score becoming of a must-see film: 9.2. Madness!
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