Journal Entry #11 Semester 2

From Here To Eternity

Movie:  1953, black and white, 118 min

• Director:  Fred Zinnemann
• Actors: Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, Deborah Kerr, Donna Reed, Frank Sinatra, Ernest Borgnine, Philip Ober, Jack Warden

It’s 1941 in Hawaii and Private Robert E. Lee Prewitt is transferred to a rifle outlet on the island of Oahu. The film deals with the troubles and trials of being a soldier played by Lancaster, Clift, Sinatra etc… stationed on Hawaii in the months leading up to the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Why does First Sergeant Milton Warden admire the ridiculed Private Robert E. Lee Prewitt?

First Sergeant Milton Warden admires the ridiculed Private Robert E. Lee Prewitt because he is an honest man. Warden’s affair with Captain Holmes’ wife Karen Holmes played by Deborah Kerr is an obvious illustration at Warden’s dissimilarity with Prewitt in the sense that he does not lead an honest life. One, he is with Kerr’s character even though she is married and even though other men told him that she is very promiscuous. Two, He arrives at work in the morning and faces the very man he is insulting. Prewitt is more of an honest man because though he could have been elevated in stature of the group of men he surrounded by he decides not to do the simple thing. He could have accepted Captain Holmes’ boxing offer but his refusal shows he wants to be a genuine soldier and nothing else and his will to sustain that will is a testament to his goodness. He receives major ridicule, mocking and bullying because of this decision.

Why is the scene between Lancaster and Kerr on the beach at Halona Cove, Oahu, Hawaii so iconic?

The scene between Lancaster and Kerr on the beach at Halona Cove, Oahu, Hawaii is so iconic because of its highly romantic quality. The idea of a couple kissing on the beach is quite dreamy. Zinnemann uses the water as a metaphorical substance, the waves that hit them as she lay slanted atop Lancaster is metaphorical of the trouble to come such as the attack on Pearl Harbor, as well as the plain roughness of them which demonstrates the complexity of their relationship and how shifty it is. Once Kerr loves him another time she doesn’t, like the water washing up on the shore then returning out to sea, confusing for Lancaster. Lancaster’s faultless body doesn’t hurt either, his tiny shorts and her black one piece is an exemplification of the time period something that audience whenever and wherever appreciates as a bit of nostalgia. Then Zinnemann has Kerr run away from Lancaster over up the shore to where Lancaster famously looks down to her and kneels for a passionate kiss. The passion is so powerful and that is why the scene is so iconic.