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The film, based on a novel by James Jones, tells the story of soldiers on a base in Hawaii in the months preceding the attack on Pearl Harbor. There are three main players in the drama — Robert E. Lee Prewitt, Milton Warden and Angelo Maggio. Prewitt is an excellent boxer and bugler who does not pursue either passion much to the dismay of his commanding officer Capt. Dana Holmes. Prewitt does not bugle because he has been passed up for a lesser talent and does not step into the ring after he accidentally blinded his sparring partner.

Holmes and others in the barracks give Prewitt the “treatment” to break him into an acceptable frame of mind. Prewitt is however stubborn and no amount back-breaking penalties can make him change his mind. Prewitt falls in love with Lorene, a hostess at the New Congress Club.

Sgt Milton Warden is the ultimate Mr. Fix it who sees to the smooth running of the squadron despite Holmes’ philandering. Warden, however, takes a walk on the wild side when he starts an affair with Holmes’ wife, Karen.

There is also the free spirited Angelo Maggio from the mean streets of New York whose rebellion against regimental Army life expectedly ends in grief. The bombing of Pearl Harbor makes for a fitting climax to the braided lives on the base.

The cast despite all the legends of not being the first choice are uniformly first rate. From Lancaster as the lantern jawed Warden to Kerr as the erring wife, from Clift as the stubborn Prewitt to Donna Reed as the conflicted hostess and Frank Sinatra in a non-singing role as Angelo, everyone has performed exceedingly well.

Watching the movie now, one cannot imagine the film was considered one of the most controversial of its time. The negative portrayal of the Army made this 1953 film almost un-filmable. The kiss on the beach was deemed too erotic for publicity shots. Shot in 41 days on a budget of 1 million dollars, the film went on to make 18 million dollars and win eight Oscars including actor in a supporting role (Frank Sinatra), actress in a supporting role (Donna Reed), cinematographer, editing, screenplay, sound, directing and picture.

There are urban legends aplenty about the movie from Sinatra’s casting as Angelo to the supposed cutting of George Reeves’ role as Sgt. Maylon Stark. Sinatra is supposed to have used the mafia to get him the role. This finds a fictional representation in Mario Puzo’s “The Godfather” where Don Corleone makes an offer movie bosses cannot refuse to cast singer-actor Johnny Fontaine in a movie. The real reason is supposed to have been Sinatra’s then wife Ava Gardner convincing studio heads to cast him.

While director Zinneman has denied George Reeves part was cut as it was distracting to see the man who played Superman on telly as a soldier, even the recent “Hollywoodland” which tells the story of the life and death of George Reeves, plays up to the story of his role being cut precisely for those reasons.

As far as extras go the DVD does not offer much. There is an excerpt from Fred Zinneman’s “As I see it” and a “making off” featurette that does not break any new ground. The film might seem a little tame for today’s tastes but then that works for the film, talking as it does of a time of officers and gentlemen.

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