Gay Sex Cut From Classic Army Novel

A major gay sex story line was cut from James Jones's 1951 novel From Here to Eternity.

By Advocate.com Editors

FROM HERE TO ETERNITY DONNA REED FRANK SINATRA MONTGOMERY CLIFT X390 (COLUMBIA) | ADVOCATE.COM

A major gay sex story line was cut from James Jones's 1951 novel From Here to Eternity, reveals Kaylie Jones, the author’s daughter, on The Daily Beast.

Jones wrote the novel about his experience on an Army base in Hawaii in the years preceding World War II, and his use of profane language -- particularly the f word -- was considered shocking at the time. But publishers forced Jones to omit passages in which the character Maggio made extra money by providing sexual favors to older gay men. Jones writes that her father “believed…that homosexuality was a natural condition of men in close quarters, and that it in no way affected a soldier’s capabilities on the battlefield.”

The novel was adapted into the 1953 Academy Award–winning film starring Montgomery Clift, Burt Lancaster, and Frank Sinatra in his Oscar-winning performance as Maggio.

Read the full story and view the original manuscript.

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Reader Comments

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Name: FakeName
Date posted: 11/12/2009 12:46:50 AM
Hometown: Anytown

Comment:
Where from either this story or the Daily Beast story are you getting the notion that either the published FHTE or the unpublished manuscript is saying that hanging around gay people makes one gay? Although the false belief that gays recruit was certainly prevalent at the time the novel was written, the original manuscript has Maggio realizing that he prefers men over women which leads him to suicide. Nothing about any straight character turning gay, rather a character realizing his true sexuality. And no one appears to be "screaming" anything.
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Name: Phillip
Date posted: 11/11/2009 7:13:17 PM
Hometown: Reseda

Comment:
Basically the book said that if men get together they turn gay. Which is what I thought was a big nono to you gays who keep screaming gays are born that was. But who cares about that nonsense. I want to know why the newspapers in 1953 reported this movie as widescreen and stereophonic sound. I saw this movie at the Cinerama Dome in 1999, before they f--ked it up and called it Arclight. The movie was a square screen and mono sound. Did a different version come out in 1953? Which version won the sound Oscar?
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Name: Michael S.
Date posted: 11/11/2009 6:50:16 PM
Hometown: Gurnee, Il

Comment:
I live in Korea and all of my gay Korean friends had to serve compulsively in the military. They told me that gay sex between soldiers is so rampant that many barracks don't even hide it. The soldiers are all between 18 and 24 (officers are a different story) and, as I see it, their service in the military is the "sexual exploration" time Americans might go through in college dorms. As a side note, the Korean military code holds such acts illegal under sexual harassment laws, even if both parties are consenting. In Korea being dishonorably discharged or arrested for homosexuality is literally a deal breaker for the rest of your life. In a country whose populous claim that "there are no gay Koreans" being out is social suicide and being outed generally leads to suicide. The practice might not be as widespread in the volunteer army of today, but I bet that 70-75 years ago the young men who grew up in a sexual repressed society similarly spent a lot of their free time exploring...
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Name: Kevin
Date posted: 11/11/2009 6:43:22 PM
Hometown: Ft. Myers

Comment:
Oh, ok, sorry then. I misread it. Apologies. :)
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Name: Niles Forbush
Date posted: 11/11/2009 6:32:05 PM
Hometown: Santos, Brazil

Comment:
Jones's view of sex among men is more realistic than society will acknowledge, and I think it just adds to this character's depth in the novel. Gay-for-pay or for convenience is something that has been going on for thousands of years. Straight and gay men providing for each others' needs - I'm sure it was prevalent during the 50s, a much simpler time.
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Name: FakeName
Date posted: 11/11/2009 6:24:03 PM
Hometown: Anytown

Comment:
The story is about how it was cut from the BOOK, not the film. And yes, it is news. It's also history and literature, something far too many people know far too little about.
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Name: J. Claremce
Date posted: 11/11/2009 6:15:55 PM
Hometown: Purchase, New York

Comment:
Yes, it is news. The fact that the person who wrote it had such a "progressive" view at the time and dared to put it in is news. Of we shouldn't be surprised that it was taken out, after all Boys Beware was made in the 60s(?).
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Name: Kevin
Date posted: 11/11/2009 5:57:13 PM
Hometown: Ft. Myers

Comment:
Of course it was cut from the film. I was made in 1951. Is this news?

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