From Here to Eternally Good ****

Rating: 10/10 (16 January 2006)

This anti-war movie was proclaimed the best picture of 1953, deservedly so.
Montgomery Clift is the anti-hero Pruitt. This man is ready to take anything or anyone on.
Frank Sinatra, as Maggio, is also anti-hero. Both of our friends are in one scrap after another.
Deborah Kerr is unhappily married and begins a relationship with Commander Burt Lancaster. Their steamy scene on the beach is absolutely memorable, quite controversial for 1953.
Then, of course, there is Donna Reed, who as Clift's girl friend, was named best supporting actress of the year. With the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Clift, who had gone AWOL, wants to return to his unit. Reed utters those immortal words: "What did the army ever do for you?" Of course, he returns and is promptly shot. Everyone on the base is naturally upset after the bombing-it's shoot first and ask questions later.
The film basically concerns itself with an army unit boxing tournament. One of our heroes will not box for his unit and as a result suffers for it. Of course, it is Deborah Kerr's miserable husband who gives the guy an awful a lot of problems for refusing to do so. An investigation after the Pearl Harbor bombing will drive him from the service.
Sinatra, in his best supporting Oscar performance, fights with a bull-dog played viciously by Ernest Borgnine.
When Sinatra winds up later in the stockade, Borgnine is in charge and beats Sinatra to death. Clift responds to this by stabbing Borgnine to death in a back alley. That's when he became AWOL.
It is amazing that this anti-war, anti-army film was voted for best picture. Sure, it deserved the award but we're talking about 1953-the McCarthy era. Belated congratulations to the Motion Picture Academy for their fine choice which probably irked McCarthy. This film was certainly one of the best anti-war films ever made. It really delved into the military pointing out a very ugly side of it. The picture received 5 acting nominations, Lancaster, Clift, Kerr, Sinatra and Reed.