Best Picture Movie Review: **** From Here to Eternity (1953)

 A Movie at the beginning of WWII.  This movie won the Oscar for best picture.  This movie is about the lead up to Pearl Harbor for troops station in Hawaii.  Sergeant Milton Warden (Burt Lancaster) welcomes Private Robert E. Lee Prewitt (Montgomery Clift) to the unit and Hawaii.  Captain Holmes (Philip Ober) has requested him due to his skill at boxing.  However Prewitt refuses to box, having put a friend into a coma when they were sparring.  Holmes insists, and Prewitt refuses.  So Holmes sets up a system of torture for him which is pretty consistent, less leaves, always being held back for physical duty, digging holes, and being confronted over and over.  Warden watches it happen but does not like to participate.  Angelo Maggio (Frank Sinatra) is best friend of Prewitt, but Maggio runs afoul of Sergeant Fatso (Ernest Borgnine) who is over the guard house, and when Maggio is there he slowly beats hime to death.  So Prewitt extracts his revenge.

This movie is a true tragedy as both Warden and Prewitt have girls, Karen Holmes (Deborah Kerr) and Alma (Donna Reed) but the relationships are doomed to failure--especially when the bombs start to fly.  They are both married to the Army.

I enjoyed this movie.  It was fun.  I really liked the character created by Frank Sinatra, the feisty Italian.

Music Review: Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., The Fabulous Ratpack disc 2

 Disc 2 has 20 songs, eight by Frank Sinatra, eights by Dean Martin and four by Sammy Davis Jr.  Many of the songs are taken from popular musicals like "There's No Business Like Show Business," "Some Enchanted Evening" and "People Will Say We're in Love."  Some are covers of popular pop songs, "Baby Its Cold Outside," "I Only Have eyes for You," "Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song," "Candy Kisses," "What I've Got in Mind," "You Won't Be Satisfied Until you Break my Heart" and many others.  These three are very good crooners and the each put their own personal touch on songs.  So together the C.D. is very nice.  In addition to musicals and pop there is jazz and big band songs.  

Musical Movie Review: On the Town

This is a Frank Sinatra and Gene Kelly musical in which they portray two of three sailors, who have a day's shore leave and the want to meet girls.  Gabey (Kelly) falls for a woman declared princess of New York, and goes to all kind of efforts to meet her.  While he does that, the other guys meet girls as well.  Can you establish a relationship in just one night, you bet you can.  All three guys have girls in tow as the return to the ship.  This movie is fun, but not earth shattering.  The starring actresses are Vera Ellen, Alice Pearce, Betty Garrett and Ann Miller. Music was written by Leonard Bernstein.  Songs of not include "New York, New York" and "Lonely Town."