Passes the Bechdel test
From Here to Eternity
1953. Directed by Fred Zinnemann, written by Daniel Taradash and James Jones.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
3 / 3
Passes
-
Yes
1. At least two women
12 women characters. 5 of them speak. -
Yes
2. Who talk to each other
In 1 scene out of 108. -
Yes
3. About something besides a man
In that scene, our script parser found no man named. See the scene.
Second opinion
Agree bechdeltest.com readers give it 3 out of 3.
The film
It's 1941. Robert E. Lee Prewitt has requested Army transfer and has ended up at Schofield in Hawaii. His new captain, Dana Holmes, has heard of his boxing prowess and is keen to get him to represent the company. However, 'Prew' is adamant that he doesn't box anymore, so Captain Holmes gets his subordinates to make his life a living hell. Meanwhile Sergeant Warden starts seeing the captain's wife, who has a history of seeking external relief from a troubled marriage. Prew's friend Maggio has a few altercations with the sadistic stockade Sergeant 'Fatso' Judson, and Prew begins falling in love with social club employee Lorene. Unbeknownst to anyone, the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor looms in the distance.
- Released
- 28 Aug 1953
- Genres
- Drama, Romance, War
- Rated
- Approved
- IMDb
- 7.6 / 10
- Metascore
- 85 / 100
- Awards
- Won 8 Oscars. 26 wins & 9 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Prew 211 lines, man
- Warden 205 lines, man
- Karen 101 lines, woman
- Maggio 74 lines, man
- Holmes 70 lines, man
- Alma 55 lines, woman
- Lorene 33 lines, woman
- Fatso 19 lines, man
- Galovitch 18 lines, man
- Leva 17 lines, man
Full cast, 66 people
- Burt Lancaster as 1st Sgt. Milton Warden
- Montgomery Clift as Pvt. Robert E. Lee 'Prew' Prewitt
- Deborah Kerr as Karen Holmes
- Frank Sinatra as Pvt. Angelo Maggio
- Donna Reed as Alma 'Lorene' Burke
- Philip Ober as Capt. Dana Holmes
- Mickey Shaughnessy as Cpl. Leva
- Harry Bellaver as Pvt. Mazzioli
- Ernest Borgnine as Sgt. James R. 'Fatso' Judson
- Jack Warden as Cpl. Buckley
- John Dennis as Sgt. Ike Galovitch
- Merle Travis as Sal Anderson
- Tim Ryan as Sgt. Pete Karelsen
- Arthur Keegan as Treadwell
- Barbara Morrison as Mrs. Kipfer
- Claude Akins as Sgt. 'Baldy' Dhom (uncredited)
- Don Dubbins as Pvt. Friday Clark (uncredited)
- George Reeves as Sgt. Maylon Stark (uncredited)
- Jean Willes as Annette (uncredited)
- Delia Salvi as Billie (uncredited)
- Vicki Bakken as Suzanne (uncredited)
- Margaret Barstow as Roxanne (uncredited)
- Henry Bean as Minor Role (uncredited)
- Willis Bouchey as Army Lieutenant Colonel (uncredited)
- John Bryant as Capt. G.R. Ross (uncredited)
- Mary Carver as Nancy (uncredited)
- John Cason as Cpl. Paluso (uncredited)
- Mack Chandler as Soldier (uncredited)
- John Davis as Soldier (uncredited)
- Don Dubbins as Pvt. Friday Clark - Bugler (uncredited)
- Elaine DuPont as Minor Role (uncredited)
- Moana Gleason as Rose - Waitress in Enlisted Men's Club (uncredited)
- June Harris as Dance Hall Girl (uncredited)
- Robert Healy as Soldier (uncredited)
- Douglas Henderson as Cpl. Champ Wilson (uncredited)
- Lars Hensen as Soldier (uncredited)
- James Jones as Undetermined Role (uncredited)
- Robert Karnes as Sgt. Turp Thornhill (uncredited)
- Manny Klein as Trumpet Player (uncredited)
- Edward Laguna as Soldier (uncredited)
- Carey Leverette as Soldier (uncredited)
- Weaver Levy as Bartender (uncredited)
- William Lundmark as Bill (uncredited)
- Freeman Lusk as Col. Wood (uncredited)
- Tyler McVey as Maj. Stern (uncredited)
- Kristine Miller as Georgette - Lorene's Roommate (uncredited)
- Patrick Miller as Soldier (uncredited)
- Allen Pinson as Undetermined Role (uncredited)
- George Reeves as Undetermined Role (uncredited)
- Fay Roope as Gen. Slater (uncredited)
- Louise Saraydar as Undetermined Role (uncredited)
- Alvin Sargent as Nair (uncredited)
- Joseph Sargent as Soldier (uncredited)
- Joan Shawlee as Sandra (uncredited)
- Al Silvani as Soldier Leaving New Congress Club (uncredited)
- Angela Stevens as Jean (uncredited)
- Brick Sullivan as Military Guard (uncredited)
- John Veitch as Soldier (uncredited)
- Guy Way as Soldier at New Congress Club (uncredited)
- Norman Wayne as Soldier (uncredited)
- Robert J. Wilke as Sgt. Henderson (uncredited)
- Jean Willes as Annette - Club Receptionist (uncredited)
- Norman Wright as Minor Role (uncredited)
- Carleton Young as Col. Ayres (uncredited)
- Robert Pike as Maj. Bonds (uncredited)
- Patrick Miller as Soldier (uncredited)
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 3 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 6% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.
Women
Men
Scene 1 Scene 108
Hover, tap or tab to a bar to see those scenes: where they happen and who's talking.
Show the numbers
| Scenes | Women's lines | Men's lines |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 3 | 0 | 13 |
| 4 to 6 | 0 | 48 |
| 7 to 9 | 16 | 42 |
| 10 to 12 | 0 | 25 |
| 13 to 15 | 0 | 3 |
| 16 to 18 | 0 | 2 |
| 19 to 21 | 1 | 11 |
| 22 to 24 | 15 | 26 |
| 25 to 27 | 0 | 34 |
| 28 to 30 | 2 | 7 |
| 31 to 33 | 30 | 41 |
| 34 to 36 | 34 | 35 |
| 37 to 39 | 0 | 38 |
| 40 to 42 | 0 | 53 |
| 43 to 45 | 11 | 44 |
| 46 to 48 | 0 | 37 |
| 49 to 51 | 0 | 0 |
| 52 to 54 | 2 | 5 |
| 55 to 57 | 21 | 17 |
| 58 to 60 | 25 | 47 |
| 61 to 63 | 0 | 23 |
| 64 to 66 | 0 | 68 |
| 67 to 69 | 0 | 0 |
| 70 to 72 | 0 | 1 |
| 73 to 75 | 0 | 0 |
| 76 to 78 | 0 | 0 |
| 79 to 81 | 0 | 16 |
| 82 to 84 | 0 | 2 |
| 85 to 87 | 1 | 13 |
| 88 to 90 | 14 | 28 |
| 91 to 93 | 0 | 19 |
| 94 to 96 | 0 | 16 |
| 97 to 99 | 1 | 6 |
| 100 to 102 | 0 | 7 |
| 103 to 105 | 12 | 13 |
| 106 to 108 | 11 | 8 |
The evidence
- Straight from the script
- Counted from the script and the credits
Tap an exhibit to open it.
Exhibit A: the passing scene
The scene our parser counted as passing, word for word.
ANNETTE: ... Girls, here's some new poison. This is Billy and Jean and Nancy. ANNETTE: Don't tell me the Princess is your style. ANNETTE: Meet Suzanne and Roxanne. ANNETTE: Much as I adore your company, you must allow me to tear myself away. I see a few friends at the door. Also I can see I will be of no use to …
Exhibit B: every 100 lines
Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 21 are women's.
196 lines from women, 748 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who's in it
12 women and 40 men in the cast. 5 women and 24 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit D: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 97 of 1,004.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 134 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 21% of the words (2,831), men 79% (10,503).
Exhibit E: the test the other way
Two named men talk to each other about something besides a woman. It passes the reverse test.
Conversations between two named characters
Two women
2
Two men
59
Exhibit F: behind the camera
None of the 9 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 8% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Fred Zinnemann (man)
- Written by
- Daniel Taradash (man)
- From the novel by
- James Jones (man)
- Produced by
- Buddy Adler (man)
- Shot by
- Burnett Guffey (man)
- Edited by
- William A. Lyon (man)
- Music by
- George Duning (man)
- Costumes by
- Jean Louis (man)
- Cast by
- Maxwell Arnow (man)
The crew, department by department
-
Sound
0 women, 8 men, 1 not listed
-
Costume & Make-Up
1 women, 3 men, 2 not listed
-
Art
0 women, 2 men, 2 not listed
-
Directing
1 women, 2 men, 1 not listed
-
Other crew
0 women, 2 men, 1 not listed
-
Camera
0 women, 1 men, 1 not listed
-
Production
0 women, 2 men
-
Writing
0 women, 2 men
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit G: how old the stars were
Women: 32 on average. Men: 39 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Deborah Kerr 31, Donna Reed 32
Men
Montgomery Clift 32, Jack Warden 32, Mickey Shaughnessy 33, Ernest Borgnine 36, Frank Sinatra 37, Burt Lancaster 39, Harry Bellaver 48, Philip Ober 51
Exhibit H: the money
It made 18.5 times what it cost.
- Budget
- $1.6 million
- Box office
- $30.5 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 108 scenes and 1,004 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
