Burt Lancaster...they don't make 'em like that anymore.

Quite often, I record classic movies from TCM (Turner Classic Movies). Since we got the TiVo-like box from our cable company, I do a lot of browsing through the TCM schedule and record things to watch at a more convenient time. The other night, I played back From Here To Eternity. Loretta and I watched it from beginning to end, ate some popcorn, and had a great “night at the movies”. It is one of those classic films that needs to be seen every once in a while, like Casablanca or The Graduate or Psycho.

From Here To Eternity won the Oscar for Best Film in 1954. Frank Sinatra got Best Supporting Oscar for his role as Maggio. Donna Reed won Best Supporting actress. The director, Fred Zinnemann, got the nod for Best Director. Eight academy awards and twelve nominations all tolled. Burt Lancaster was nominated for Best Actor, but didn’t win that year. William Holden got it for Stalag 17.

I got a kick out of Loretta while we were watching From Here To Eternity. She was totally mesmerized by Burt Lancaster. During every scene he was in, she sat there fixated, with a strange, little smile on her face. Every once in a while she would say things like, “Wow...he is really good looking!” Or, “He is so trim and in-shape. Look at that smile!”

Burt Lancaster was definitely one of the true man’s man actors. There weren’t many, but he was one. Regarding his being trim and in-shape, he actually worked in a circus before becoming an actor...as an acrobat and trapeze artist. In fact, he made a movie with Tony Curtis (another old school actor hunk) called The Trapeze. He did all his own stunt work. In The Crimson Pirate, that is actually Burt swinging on ropes from yardarm to yardarm with a sword in his hand! And no hidden wires!

He did win Best Actor for the lead in Elmer Gantry. Other great Burt Lancaster films include The Train, Seven Days in May, Birdman of Alcatraz, Judgment at Nuremberg, Run Silent Run Deep. And, Gunfight at O.K. Corral in which he starred with his buddy (another of Hollywood’s rare man’s man actors) Kirk Douglas.

If you’re a movie buff, even a young movie buff, check out some of Burt Lancaster’s flicks. I recommend starting with From Here To Eternity. As 1st Sergeant Warden, he epitomizes the hard-nosed, but compassionate, tough-guy loner. You won't find a more passionate love scene than the one he did with Deborah Kerr...rolling around in the surf!