Cast and Crew:  Fred Zinnerman (Director); James Jones (Novel); Donna Reed, Ernest Borgnine, Jack Warden, Claude Akins, George Reeves

What It’s About: Just prior to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Captain Dana Holmes (Phillip Ober) cares more about getting Private Robert E. Lee Prewitt (Montgomery Clift) to join his boxing team than he does about his wife Karen (Deboarh Kerr) or preparing his men for the coming conflict.  Career Army Sergeant Milton Warden (Burt Lancaster) doesn’t like the way Holmes runs his unit or treats his wife, and soon he is quietly aiding Prewitt and entangled in a romance with Karen….

Why Watch it Today?: The climax of From Here to Eternity takes place during the attack on Pearl Harbor, which occurred 72 years ago today.  The film is known more today for its much parodied beach scene and the rumors about how Frank Sinatra secured his career reviving supporting role as Private Angelo Maggio than anything else, but it’s an excellently made and acted drama with a great cast.