Rated: NR
Starring: Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, et al.
Director: Fred Zinnemann
Review
Here's a model for adapting a novel into a movie. The
bestseller by James Jones, a frank and hard-hitting look at military life,
could not possibly be made into a film in 1953 without considerably
altering its length and bold subject matter. Yet screenwriter Daniel
Taradash and director Fred Zinnemann (both of whom won Oscars for their
work) pared it down and cleaned it up, without losing the essential
texture of Jones's tapestry. The setting is an army base in Hawaii in
1941. Montgomery Clift, in a superb performance, plays a bugler who
refuses to fight for the company boxing team; he has reasons for giving up
the sport. His refusal results in harsh treatment from the company
commander, whose bored wife (Deborah Kerr) is having an affair with the
tough-but-fair sergeant (Burt Lancaster). You remember--the scene with the
two of them embracing on the beach, as the surf crashes in. The supporting
players are as good as the leads: Frank Sinatra and Donna Reed won Oscars
(and Sinatra revitalized his entire career), and Ernest Borgnine entered
the gallery of all-time movie villains, as the stockade sergeant who makes
Sinatra miserable. Zinnemann's work is efficient but also evocative,
capturing the time and place beautifully, the tropical breezes as well as
the lazy prewar indulgence. This one is deservedly a classic. --Robert
Horton
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This classic film still has a lot going for it although it
seems somewhat dated by today's standards. It won the academy award in
1953 for Best picture, and most of the cast either won or were nominated
for Oscars. Having read the book way back then and also seeing the
picture, I think that some of my memories are from the book, not the
movie, because as far as I can see, the movie didn't quite get the
richness of the novel.
The story is about the peace time army in 1941, in Hawaii,
in the few months before the historic Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
The star is Montgomery Clift as Private Pruitt, a solder
who refuses to conform because of his personal moral principles. He is
every man's hero and, watching the video, I was impressed with the quality
of his acting, and the complexities he adds to the character.
Burt Lancaster is his sergeant who is having an affair
with the captain's wife (Deborah Kerr). They have a famous beach scene
where they are lying in the waves as they kiss. However, neither Lancaster
or Kerr ever really come across well. Lancaster's performance is wooden,
and Deborah Kerr seems to be an unhappy complainer. Their dialog is almost
silly and sounds like a soap opera. They also smoke cigarettes constantly
and this seems dated now.
Donna Reed plays a dance hall girl. In the book there was
a detailed account of her prostitution, but the movie glosses over that
and makes it seem that all she does is dance with the soldiers. The part
is a good one, however, and one that won her an academy award.
Frank Sinatra is Montgomery Clift's pal, Angelo Maggio. I
understand that this was a turning point in his career. The part is small
but essential to the plot. Sinatra's performance shines with authenticity
and really showed he could act.
The audience is aware, of course, that all this is taking
place in December of 1941, and there is a feeling of knowing something the
characters don't -- that this is the end of an era. When the attack on
Pearl Harbor comes, the climax reinforces this concept and everything
changes.
The movie has its faults. A little too much reflection of
1953 moral values. Off-screen violence in places that could have used more
action. Shot in black and white which dilutes the natural beauty of
Hawaii.
However, It is a movie worth seeing. Recommended.
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