From There to Kaneohe

Some time ago, we watched a real classic: From Here to Eternity (1953). This is just one of those movies that you just have to see, right? It's on those list of best movies, has big stars, won lots of Oscars, etc. While we'd seen stills of the iconic rolling-around-in-the-surf scene, neither of us had ever seen the actual movie. But the movie's local-ness intrigued us and it finally drifted to the top of the queue.

And all those lists and awards seem to have it right. It's quite a film. All those doomed romances, the troubled souls, individuals caught in events larger than them, joined with great cinematography and scenery -- hard to go wrong. Not to mention all the fabulously attractive actors -- Lancaster, Kerr, Clift, Reed.

For us, much of the enjoyment of it came from the setting. We loved that it was set and much of it filmed in Hawaii. It was fun to see Honolulu depicted with the Asian-Polynesian kitsch of it all right alongside the inescapable seediness. Watching the movie, we realized we only vaguely knew where these bases are, and afterwards, we promptly got out the map. (Okay, so if Karen Holmes and Sgt Warden are going to Kaneohe to meet, how far out of their way are they really going...?)

I'm intrigued by what I read about the original novel by James Jones (although some of what has recently been discussed is about what got cut from Jones's original manuscript). It's on the Modern Library's list of 100 best novels and was the winner of the National Book Award in 1952.
Have any of you read it?