The soldier who is killed by strafing Japanese planes at the beginning of the attack on Pearl Harbor was played by Alvin Sargent, who later won an Oscar® for the screenplay of Julia (1977).

The music Montgomery Clift as Prewitt plays on his bugle was dubbed by Manny Klein, who also appeared briefly in the film.

Clift, who normally didn't care about awards, was sure he would receive an Oscar® for his portrayal as Prewitt and became depressed when he lost to William Holden in Stalag 17. From Here to Eternity actually got the most Best Actor votes that year, but they were split between Clift and Burt Lancaster. As a consolation, director Fred Zinnemann gave Clift a miniature gold trumpet mounted like an Academy Award®, a memento the actor treasured the rest of his life.

Frank Sinatra was visiting his wife Ava Gardner on the set of Mogambo (1953) in Africa when he found out he might have a shot at the role of Maggio. He immediately flew back to Hollywood and made a screen test for the part, which turned out to be the scene in which Prewitt meets Maggio and Lorene in the bar after he walks off guard duty. Using olives as dice for a craps game, Sinatra ad-libbed on the spot and the test was so good, director Zinnemann used the scene in the final film.

George Reeves, who was already well known as TV's Superman, can be seen in a few brief scenes as Sergeant Maylon Stark. At some point, a rumor got started that his scenes in the film were edited out because preview audiences found his presence amusing. Of course, there is no truth to this story.

Columbia Pictures chief Harry Cohn limited the film to a $2 million budget, and he was elated when it grossed $19 million in its first run. It was the second highest-grossing film of the year, behind The Robe and ahead of Shane. From Here to Eternity eventually brought in $80 million for the studio, the biggest moneymaker in Columbia's history up to that point.

Everyone thought Harry Cohn was nuts to open the film in New York's un-air-conditioned Capitol Theater on a sweltering August night. At the time, major films were rarely released in mid-summer. Furthermore, Cohn decided not to do any publicity beyond a full-page ad in the New York Times. At midnight on opening day, August 5, Marlene Dietrich called Fred Zinnemann in Los Angeles to report the theater was full and an extra show had been added for 1:00 a.m. to accommodate the crowds lined up around the block. The theater stayed open around the clock, closing briefly in the morning so janitors could sweep the floor. Ticket sales reached 18,235 for the first day, and net box office receipts totaled $171,674 for the first week, a record for any single theater.

Famous Quotes from FROM HERE TO ETERNITY

Angelo Maggio: Only my friends can call me a little wop!

Karen Holmes: Come back here, Sergeant. I'll tell you the story; you can take it back to the barracks with you. I'd only been married to Dana two years when I found out he was cheating. And by that time I was pregnant. I thought I had something to hope for. I was almost happy the night the pains began. I remember Dana was going to an officers' conference. I told him to get home early, to bring the doctor with him. And maybe he would have... if his "conference" hadn't been with a hat-check girl! He was drunk when he came in at 5 AM. I was lying on the floor. I begged him to go for the doctor, but he fell on the couch and passed out. The baby was born about an hour later. Of course it was dead. It was a boy. But they worked over me at the hospital, they fixed me up fine, they even took my appendix out -- they threw that in free.
Sergeant Milton Warden: Karen...
Karen Holmes: And one more thing: no more children. Sure I went out with men after that. And if I'd ever found one that...
Sergeant Milton Warden: Karen, listen to me, listen.
Karen Holmes: I know. Until I met you I didn't think it was possible either.

Robert E. Lee "Prew' Prewitt: Nobody ever lies about being lonely.

Robert E. Lee "Prew' Prewitt: A man don't go his own way, he's nothing.
Sergeant Milton Warden: Maybe back in the days of the pioneers a man could go his own way, but today you got to play ball.

Robert E. Lee "Prew' Prewitt: 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'.

Sergeant Maylon Stark: Leva tells me you've been eyeing the Captain's wife like a hound dog at hunting time.

Alma: Prew, it's true we love each other now, we need each other, but back in the States it might be different.

Alma: Sit down and -- and get comfortable. I'll make you a martini and see what's to cook for dinner.
Robert E. Lee "Prew' Prewitt: Hey, this is like being married, ain't it?
Alma: It's better.

by Rob Nixon & Jeff Stafford