View source for From Here to Eternity

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[[File:Burt_Lancaster_From_Here_Eternity_8413.jpg|frame|Soldiers enjoy some typical R&R [[During the War]].]]

{{quote|Well, what am I? I'm a private no-class dogface. The way most civilians look at that, that's two steps up from nothin'.|''' Robert E. Lee "Prew" Prewitt '''}}

A 1952 novel by [[James Jones]], ''[[From Here to Eternity]]'' was based on his experiences serving in [[World War II]]. It was adapted into a film in 1953, a miniseries in 1979 and a TV Show in 1980. The film version, directed by Fred Zinnemann and staring an [[All-Star Cast]] including Burt Lancaster, [[Frank Sinatra]] and [[Deborah Kerr]], remains the most iconic of these productions. It won eight Oscars in its year, including Best Picture.

The 1953 film is also famous for a [[Signature Scene|certain scene]] involving Burt Lancaster, [[Deborah Kerr]], [[Big Damn Kiss|and a beach]]. It's an iconic bit, and new viewers may be surprised to discover that it's only ''three seconds long.''

In 1941, a few short months before the attack on Pearl Harbor, Private Robert E. Lee "Prew" Prewitt is transferred to the nearby Schofield Barracks in Honolulu. His CO at Company G, Captain Holmes, learns that Prewitt was a Boxer and tries to recruit him for the Unit’s Boxing Club. When Prewitt refuses, Holmes decides to make the new recruit’s life a living hell. 

Other characters in the story include Prewitt’s buddy and only supporter on base, Angelo Maggio; Holmes’s wife Karen and her lover, Sgt. Warden; Prewitt's girlfriend, "[[Hooker with a Heart of Gold|nightclub hostess]]" Alma; and Staff Sgt. Fatso Judson, the brutish stockade guard who becomes Maggio's tormentor.

See also ''[[The Thin Red Line]]'' which features [[Expy|similar characters]] based on James Jones' [[Real Life Writes the Plot|real life experiences]], including Private [[Meaningful Name|Witt]], appropriately enough for a subsequent novel.

{{tropelist}}
* [[Beach Kiss]]: The [[Trope Codifier]].
* [[Big Damn Kiss]]: The beach scene in the 1953 film won an Oscar by itself.
* [[Camp Follower]]: Alma.
* [[Embarrassing Nickname]]: Staff Sgt. James R. "Fatso" Judson.
* [[Good Adultery, Bad Adultery]]: Captain Holmes cheats on his wife, which makes it all right for her to cheat on him. {{spoiler|His behavior previously resulted in her losing a child and nearly dying herself.}}
* [[Literary Allusion Title]]: From “Gentleman Rankers” by [[Rudyard Kipling]].
* [[Longing Look]]: Sgt. Warden aims a few at Karen.
* [[Making Love in All the Wrong Places]]: [[Signature Scene|That Scene on the Beach.]]
* [[Male Gaze]]: Every man in the bar watches the waitress' [[Sexy Walk]]. So does the camera.
* [[Martial Pacifist]]: Prewitt, as far as boxing goes.
* [[My Girl Is Not a Slut]]: Sgt. Warden is somewhat upset to find that Karen has had numerous other lovers.
* [[Real Life Writes the Plot]]
* [[Sergeant Rock]]: Warden to G-Company.
* [[Sorry, Ociffer...]]: Spoofed. Warden pretends to chew Prewitt out for being drunk, while falling-down drunk himself.
* [[Suddenly Sober]]: For two guys who couldn't walk straight several minutes before, Warden and Prewitt are remarkably coordinated {{spoiler|when Maggio drops in.}}
* [[War Was Beginning]]
* [[World War II]]

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