On this date in 1941

 On this date in 1941, the Imperial Japanese Navy carries out a surprise attack on the United States Pacific Fleet and its defending Army and Marine air forces at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

"From Here to Eternity" (1953) deals with the tribulations of three U.S. Army soldiers, played by Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, and Frank Sinatra, stationed on Hawaii in the months leading up to the attack on Pearl Harbor, which occurred on this date in 1941.

An urban myth regarding the casting of Sinatra was that the Mafia made Columbia Pictures an offer they couldn't refuse. This, of course, was fictionalized in Mario Puzo's novel "The Godfather" (1972) and its subsequent film adaptation. The real reason for Sinatra's casting was mainly his then-wife Ava Gardner, who was shooting a film for Columbia head Harry Cohn and suggested to him that he use Sinatra. Although initially reluctant, Cohn eventually saw this as being a good idea, as Sinatra's stock was so low at the time that he would sign for a very low salary. Sinatra had been lobbying hard for the role, even suggesting he would do it for nothing, but he was eventually hired for the token amount of $8,000.

Ernest Borgnine, while filming "Marty" (1955), went into the Bronx to get into character for the role. While there, just walking around, he was harassed badly by some local toughs who were enraged that Borgnine's character had killed Sinatra's character. He was only able to calm them down by explaining that, in reality, he was good friends with Sinatra, as well as being a fellow Italian-American.

Joan Crawford was originally meant to play Karen Holmes, but when she insisted on shooting the film with her own cameraman, the studio balked. They decided to take a chance and cast Deborah Kerr, who then was struggling with her ladylike stereotype, to play the adulterous military wife who has an affair with Lancaster. The casting worked and Kerr's career, thereafter, enjoyed a new, sexier versatility.

As scripted, Kerr and Lancaster's classic clinch on the beach was to be filmed standing up. It was Lancaster's idea to do it horizontally in the surf. The scene was filmed at Halona Cove on the eastern side of Oahu, near Koko Head Crater and Sandy Beach, and the location became a major tourist attraction for years after.

This film tied with "Gone with the Wind" (1939) for the most Oscars won by a single film up to that point in time - eight. By coincidence, both films feature George Reeves in small roles. A false rumor has been circulating for years that Reeves, who played Sgt. Maylon Stark, had his role drastically edited after preview audiences recognized him from TV's "Adventures of Superman". According to director Fred Zinnemann, screenwriter Daniel Taradash and assistant director Earl Bellamy, the rumor is false. Every scene written for Reeves' character was filmed, and each of those scenes is still present in its entirety in the film as released.