happenings at Pearl Harbor before, and during, attack

Rating: Null/10 (14 March 2003)

All the superlatives bestowed upon this film are well-deserved. Of course, the prime performers' work was just magnificent. Unfortunately, mention this film and most people first will think of Sinatra and the Best Supporting Actor Oscar he received. Deserved, certainly. But Frank was just a sixth man. Like someone playing alongside Michael Jordan. Lancaster, Clift and Kerr are the real stars. And Donna Reed, like Sinatra, earned a Best Supporting Oscar. Also deserved. The legend about this great film is the Ernest Borgnine was the prime bad guy. That's only partly true. Fine character actor John Dennis (Galovitch) never got the credit he deserved. He was at least as effective as Borgnine. When Clift whips him in a fist fight near the film's climax, I imagine a lot of viewers were gratified. There are no weak spots in Eternity. And screenwriter Daniel Taradash, who just recently died, did a marvelous job of culling down Jones' 1000-plus page novel to a two-hour screenplay. I'd like Dennis to get the credit he deserved before he passes away. In my opinion, he's been unfairly uncredited all these years.