Before “From Here To Eternity” (1953) a love scene had never been made like this. Now this particular scene is one of the most famous love scenes in movie history and Deborah Kerr herself thought it to be one of “the most erotic” love scenes. However, shooting this particular scene was far from being romantic:
“It had to have rocks in the distance, so the water could strike the boulders and shoot upward — all very symbolic. The scene turned out to be deeply affecting on film, but, God, it was no fun to shoot. We had to time it for the waves, so that at just the right moment a big one would come up and wash over us. Most of the waves came up only to our feet, but we needed one that would come up all the way. We were like surfers, waiting for the perfect waves. Between each take, we had to do a total clean-up. When it was all over, we had four tons of grit in our mouths—and other places.” (Deborah Kerr)