From Here to Eternity (miniseries)

From Here to Eternity
VHS box art
Written by	Harold Gast Don McGuire Daniel Taradash
Directed by	Buzz Kulik
Starring	Natalie Wood William Devane Kim Basinger Steve Railsback Joe Pantoliano
Music by	Walter Scharf
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
Production
Executive producers	Harve Bennett Harris Katleman
Producer	Buzz Kulik
Cinematography	Gerald Perry Finnerman
Editors	Les Green Michael B. Hoggan Robert L. Swanson
Running time	6 hours
Production company	Columbia Pictures Television
Original release
Network	NBC
Release	February 14 (1979-02-14) – February 28, 1979 (1979-02-28)

From Here to Eternity is a 1979 American three-part, six-hour television miniseries and a remake of the 1953 film From Here to Eternity based on the 1951 novel of the same name. All three conclude with the December 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor.^[1] The miniseries originally aired in three two-hour installments on three consecutive Wednesdays on NBC on February 14, 21 and 28, 1979.^[2][3]

The story details the men and families of G Company, 24th Infantry Division, United States Army. There are two main sub-plots: First Sergeant Milt Warden’s (William Devane) ongoing affair with Karen Holmes (Natalie Wood), the wife of his commanding officer, and Private Robert E. Lee Prewitt's (Steve Railsback) affair with Lorene Rogers (Kim Basinger), a local prostitute.^[4][5][6]

Miniseries (1979)

Synopsis

It is April 1941 at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii and Pvt. Robert E. Lee Prewitt is new to G Company. He is a skilled boxer who unintentionally severely injured a fellow soldier in an exhibition boxing match. As a result he refuses to be a boxer anymore. This places him at odds with his company’s commanding officer, Captain Holmes, who uses the reputation of many of the sergeants in his company as skilled boxers to further his military career. Facing pressure from the fascist-minded Gen. Barney Slater, who argues that the Army needs to control soldiers by fear of authority, Captain Holmes has many of his sergeants harass and abuse Prewitt in an attempt to pressure him to join the company's boxing team. Prewitt is tough and refuses to bend to the pressure. The company's First Sergeant, Milt Warden, attempts to help Prewitt, but there is only so much he can do.

Prewitt becomes involved with Lorene Rogers, a local prostitute. Prewitt’s friend Private Angelo Maggio is sent to the stockade after being court martialed for getting drunk and fighting with MPs. Things take a turn for the worse when Pvt. Prewitt is sent to the stockade for a few months of what turns out to brutal mistreatment at the hands of the Sergeant of the Guard at the stockade, Sgt. Fatso Judson, a bully and a sadist. While in the stockade, Prewitt reunites with Maggio and finds that he has been nearly beaten to death by Judson. Maggio dies after panicking and falling out of the ambulance on his way to the hospital. After Prewitt is released from the stockade he tracks downs Judson and kills him in a knife fight. Prewitt is wounded in the fight and he takes refuge at Lorene’s house while he heals.

Captain Holmes is promoted to major and leaves the company. The new company commander does not care about the boxing team. On December 7, 1941, the Japanese attack Pearl Harbor and Schofield Barracks. First Sergeant Warden organizes the men of his company. He and the other sergeants of the company go to the armory and get Browning Automatic Rifles (B.A.R.s) and .30 caliber Model 1919 machine guns and return fire to the attacking Japanese warplanes. Warden and his men shoot down one of the Japanese "Zeros".

Wanting to join in on the upcoming war, and with Warden promising to help smooth things over regarding Fatso’s murder if he reports back, Prewitt attempts to rejoin the company but is mortally wounded by a nervous sentry that same evening. As he lies dying, he says he knows that Sgt. Warden will take care of his body (make sure his death is marked “line of duty”) and makes sure that it gets a military burial. After he dies, Warden assures the guilt-ridden sentry that Prewitt’s death was going to happen one way or another. When asked by the other soldiers if Prewitt was a good soldier in his company, Warden replies, “Hell, he was the only soldier.”

Weekly series (1980)

The miniseries spawned a weekly primetime soap opera of the same name, with many cast members reprising their roles, including William Devane, Roy Thinnes, and Kim Basinger. However Natalie Wood did not return, instead the role of Karen Holmes was played by Barbara Hershey. Gary Swanson, who played Cpl Herbert in the miniseries, replaced Steve Railsback in the role of Robert E. Lee Prewitt in flashbacks, as did Claude Jones with Peter Boyle for the role of Fatso.

The show's two-hour pilot, From Here to Eternity: Pearl Harbor, premiered on March 10, 1980. Subsequent episodes ran for an hour. After less than a month, the show was taken off the air, with the remaining episodes airing later in the year as three 130-minute specials, From Here to Eternity: Island and Homecoming, From Here to Eternity: Crossroads and Secrets and From Here to Eternity: Aftermath and Revenge. The show's finale aired on August 16, 1980.^[7]

Cast

Role	Miniseries	Weekly series
Karen Holmes	Natalie Wood	Barbara Hershey
Master Sgt. Milt Warden	William Devane
Pvt. Robert E. Lee Prewitt	Steve Railsback	Gary Swanson
Capt. Maj. Dana Holmes	Roy Thinnes
Pvt. Angelo Maggio	Joe Pantoliano	—
Lorene Rogers	Kim Basinger
"Fatso" Judson	Peter Boyle	Claude Jones
Cpl. Cheney	Will Sampson
Pfc. Hanson	Rick Hurst	—
Gert Kipfer	Salome Jens
Sgt. Maylon Stark	Andrew Robinson	—
Lt. David Ross	David Spielberg
Col. Jack Delbart	Richard Venture	—
Gen. Barney Slater	Andy Griffith	—
Pvt. Ignacio Carmona	—	Rocky Echevarria
Emily Austin	—	Lacey Neuhaus
Lt. Kenneth Barrett	—	John Calvin
Jefferson Davis Prewitt	—	Don Johnson

Episodes

Season	Episodes		Originally aired
			First aired	Last aired
Miniseries	3		February 14, 1979 (1979-02-14)	February 28, 1979 (1979-02-28)
1	12		March 10, 1980 (1980-03-10)	August 16, 1980 (1980-08-16)

Miniseries (1979)

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	US viewers (millions)
1	"Part I"	Buzz Kulik	Story by : James Jones Teleplay by : Don McGuire	February 14, 1979 (1979-02-14)	21.4[8]
2	"Part II"	Buzz Kulik	Story by : James Jones Teleplay by : Don McGuire	February 21, 1979 (1979-02-21)	14.9
3	"Part III"	Buzz Kulik	Story by : James Jones Teleplay by : Don McGuire	February 28, 1979 (1979-02-28)	20.4

Season 1 (1980)

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	US viewers (millions)
1	"Pearl Harbor"	Ron Satlof	Story by : Harold Gast Teleplay by : Rudy Day & Tony Palmer	March 10, 1980 (1980-03-10)	17.1
2	"Re-Enlistment Blues"	Rick Hauser	Tony Palmer	March 12, 1980 (1980-03-12)	16.0
3	"Maneuvers"	James D. Parriott	Story by : Lionel E. Siegel Teleplay by : James D. Parriott	March 19, 1980 (1980-03-19)	13.0
4	"The Departure"	Jeffrey Hayden	Story by : Lionel E. Siegel Teleplay by : Gregory S. Dinallo	March 26, 1980 (1980-03-26)	12.0
5	"Images"	Rick Hauser	Tony Palmer	April 2, 1980 (1980-04-02)	9.6
6	"The Island & Homecoming"	Ray Austin Jeffrey Hayden	Story by : Lionel E. Siegel Teleplay by : Frederic Hunter & Tony Palmer Martha Morehead	August 3, 1980 (1980-08-03)	10.3
7
8	"Crossroads & Secrets"	Rick Hauser & Lionel E. Siegel	Story by : Lionel E. Siegel Teleplay by : Ferde Rombola	August 4, 1980 (1980-08-04)	12.7
9
10	"Aftermath & Revenge"	Harry Mastrogeorge Jeffrey Hayden	Story by : Lionel E. Siegel Teleplay by : R. A. Urso Allen Williams	August 5, 1980 (1980-08-05)	6.4
11
12	"Hello, Goodbye and Farewell"	Lionel E. Siegel	Tony Palmer	August 16, 1980 (1980-08-16)	6.4

Awards

Year	Association	Category	Nominee	Result
1980	Golden Globe Award	Best Actress – Television Series Drama[9]	Natalie Wood	Won

References

1. "Dallas | Characters & Synopsis | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2022-03-08.
2. "Desert Sun 12 February 1979 — California Digital Newspaper Collection". cdnc.ucr.edu. Retrieved 2022-03-08.
3. Shales, Tom (1979-02-14). "Ooh-la-la 'Eternity'". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2022-03-08.
4. "From Here To Eternity Beach Photos and Premium High Res Pictures - Getty Images". Gretty Images. Retrieved 2022-03-08.
5. Buckley, Tom (1979-02-14). "TV: New 'Here to Eternity' on NBC". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-03-08.
6. independent, Susan King Susan King is a former entertainment writer at the Los Angeles Times who specialized in Classic Hollywood stories She also wrote about; foreign; Movies, Studio; TV, occasionally; Orange, theater stories Born in East; N.J.; History, She Received Her Master’s Degree in Film; Examiner, criticism at USC She worked for 10 years at the L. A. Herald; in 2016, came to work at The Times in January 1990 She left (2001-05-25). "Pearl Harbor Has Been Revisited Often". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2022-03-08.
7. Bruce B. Morris, Prime Time Network Serials: Episode Guides, Casts and Credits for 37 Continuing Television Dramas, 1964-1993, McFarland and Company, 1997.
8. Bruce B. Morris, Prime Time Network Serials: Episode Guides, Casts and Credits for 37 Continuing Television Dramas, 1964-1993, McFarland and Company, 1997.
9. "Natalie Wood". Golden Globes. Archived from the original on March 22, 2019. Retrieved February 18, 2020.

External links

• From Here to Eternity at IMDb
• From Here to Eternity at Rotten Tomatoes