Evening star., 1953-08-27


Underneath its numerous
James Jones novel of soldier ]
autumn of 1941, turns out to be-
a muscularly dramatic subject
with which Hollywood has
wrought wonders.
In Daniel TaradaSh'S adapta-
ton, brilliantly shaped by Fred
Zinneman's direction, Jones is
revealed as a far more powerful
observer of soldier life than his
original work disclosed. He has
written a tremendous love and
hate story, savage and Sadistic
document into which are inter-
woven threads of sentiment and
softnesS that absorb just enough
Of the shock to make it bearable.
From Here to Eternity" could
easily be 1855 best film with a
wild scrambled for the years
acting prizes among such of it's
performers as Montgomery Cliff,
Burt Lancaster, Frank Sinatra,
Deborah Kerr, Donna Reed and
others. It represents the screen
at it's best in every department.
including one of the most COM
pulSive musical scores.
That it is predeStined to be
one Of the all-time top money
makers is already apparent in it's
sock success wherever it has
been released.
The miracle of the Zinnemann-
TaradaSh translation of the
novel is that it leaves out little
save the obscene speech.
1t is lean, hard-hitting,
hard-drinking, cynical, emotion
ally primitive report on peace
time Army that makes it clear
why no mother ever reared her
boy to be a soldier.
The key figures, among the
multitude so angrily etched by
ex-Soldier Jones, are four. These
are Pvt. Robert E. Lee Prewitt
(ClifD. a man of two desper-
ate loves. the Army and girl
miss Reed who works as an
entertainer" at club for SOL
diers, and a sergeant Oancas-
teri who finds a way to make
free with his captains wife (Miss
Kerr.
The dominant figure among
these four is Cliff. His man is
an ex-middleweight prizef1ghter
who no longer will fight after
binding his best friend. Un-
fortunately, he makes the mis-
take of joining an outfit whose
captain philip Ober) is OBJ
sessed with winning the Army
team boxing championship. When
his new man refuses to join the
boxing team, the captain orders
"the treatment" for him, with
no mercy to be shown this side
of insanity or death.
The order is exuberantly car
ried out by the company with
the exception of LancaSter's SER
geant. This man, the best top
kick in any mans army, goes
along with the treatment" only
to the extent that it does not
interfere with the torrid affair
he is carrying on with his su-
perior'S beautiful, frustrated
wife.
This constitutes the brutal es-
sence of Jones' story of soldier
life, its merciful relief provided
In his girls surprised reaction
to Cliffs devotion and the 10y
atty to the latter of his soldier
buddy played by Sinatra.
y *s*
Zinnemann, one of the great
camera -tellers. is remorse-
lessly insistent in sticking to the
detail of his remorseless script.
Much of his film was shot at
Schofield Barracks in Hawaii.
1t is never less than documen-
tarily real as it keeps step with
its soldiers on the parade
ground, in the barracks, in the
beer joints. at the beaches, and
the stockade.
Never do his cameras set lens
on less than Scintillating per-
Torrance. Cliffs Pvt. Prewitt is
his greatest screen role He is
q soldier who def1es the Army to
break his love for soldering
short of ending his life. In the
face of its most inspired brutali-
ties, he remains loyal just to his
private code as he remains faith
full to the seimisoiled girl who is
petulantly touched by his de-
Votion.
Lancaster's sergeant is a man
of matching caliber. He, too, is
In love with an Army, even more
so than with the captains al
Turing wife. Like Cliffs, Lam
casters is an exacting role, full
of clearly caught subleties be-
meath its tough. sinewy surface.
Miss Kerr as the wayward wife
gives the performance of her
career in this country. a portrait
of suffering, pride. vengefulness,