MovieChat Forums > From Here to Eternity (1953) Discussion > The Congress Club: a brothel?

The Congress Club: a brothel?

posted 8 years ago by kolnoaMograbi
16 replies | jump to latest

If it was a brothel, how come the proprietor admonished Pru to "act like gentlemen" when he was paying his member's dues?

Also: Alma/Lorene went all the way to Hawaii from the US to work there. From my understanding, if it was a brothel, those types of places ordinarily hire local women, as they'll work for less money than Americans. It just somehow seems improbable that an American woman would go that far in order to work as a prostitute. Thoughts?

"When you think of garbage, think of Akeem!"

[–] ncdwbmk6 8 years ago

Regarding your first question, the proprietor wanted the male customers to behave themselves and not cause trouble. That makes sense even for a brothel, although the film made the club look like a USO club where the activity was limited to conversation and dancing.

I read the novel, but don't recall how Alma/Lorene wound up in Hawaii.

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Fowler's knots? Did you say ... fowler's knots?

[–] kolnoaMograbi 8 years ago

Thanks, NCD. Thanks also for reminding me that it's based on a book. I think I'll seek it out...

"When you think of garbage, think of Akeem!"

[–] ncdwbmk6 8 years ago

It's a great novel. I've read several of Jones' books, and I think that "From Here to Eternity" is by far the best.

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Fowler's knots? Did you say ... fowler's knots?

[–] ginbelt 7 years ago

I've read several of Jones' books, and I think that "From Here to Eternity" is by far the best.

Having seen the film many times and hearing how the novel it's based upon is considered an important American work, I read it recently and found Jones' writing even better than I expected it to be. Unfortunately and somewhat inexplicably though, Jones for some reason seems to be forgotten a bit, compared to other writers from the era, and outside of FHTE, his books are hard to find in a library. I want to read more but don't know what to pick up next....I'll probably have to wind up buying it, whatever it is, so I want to pick a good one. What would you suggest for a next reading....? I thought about Some Came Running, since I've seen the film numerous times and love it (also, I read it's sort of a sequel to FHTE in a way...?) Also saw The Thin Red line when it came out, didn't know who James Jones was at that time and hadn't even seen FHTE yet, my impression of the film was that of an art movie, very different from either of the Sinatra vehicles and not much like the FHTE novel, either....I liked it ok but I do wonder what the book is like.

[–] ncdwbmk6 7 years ago

"From Here to Eternity", "The Thin Red Line" and "Whistle" comprise Jones' WWII trilogy.

"Some Came Running" is set after WWII, in the Korean War era, although 99% of it deals with life in a small midwestern town.

"Go to the Widowmaker" concerns the experiences of a successful novelist learning SCUBA diving and skin diving in the Bahamas. Like the other novels, it's focused on the characters the protagonist encounters.

I'm not sure which to recommend.

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Fowler's knots? Did you say ... fowler's knots?

[–] willjohn 8 years ago

In the book it was called "Ma Kipfer's Place" and was supposed to be the fancier of two brothels near the base. I think the other one was called "Big Sue's."

[–] OnlyRocknRoll 8 years ago

There is an interesting documentary called "Sex in WWII". Much of it is centered on the Hawaiian Islands and the 'clubs'. If I remember correctly, as I saw this several years ago, a sexual hook up was $2. Of course, in those days, a pack of cigs was 35 cents.

The most interesting part was about a woman from the States who went there and started a 'club' called the Senate or Senators Club. She made her fortune during the War. Afterward, she went back to the States with her bucks and disappeared. There was a nude postcard photo of her in the doc. Great figure. Plain face.

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ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED??!!

Maximus Decimus Meridius

[–] kolnoaMograbi 8 years ago

Thanks, OR&R. Interesting.

"When you think of garbage, think of Akeem!"

[–] doug65oh 8 years ago

Wasn't that the show that mentioned "Hotel Harry?" My memory's a bit dim, but he was a newspaper reporter for either the Honolulu Star or Honolulu Advertiser who wrote tongue-in-cheek pieces more or less about...ahem, night life in Honolulu during the war.

[–] johncg25 8 years ago

Um, well then its supply and demand. If all the other women are locals and one is a white girl, and all the soldiers are white guys, which one will be more popular ?

Also, why do you think girls go halfway across the country to work at the bunny ranch ? Its the same thing. (Besides it being legal there, they can make a lot of money there, no matter how many "local" girls are hired.)

[–] kolnoaMograbi 8 years ago

"If all the other women are locals and one is a white girl, and all the soldiers are white guys, which one will be more popular?" - Depends. Some guys might fetishize a Pacific islander. Others might commodify a Caucasian. But I see your point. Thanks, johnCG.

"When you think of garbage, think of Akeem!"

[–] tropicaldiver2001 8 years ago

If I recall the novel correctly, Lorena says at one point she was from Oregon and wanted to work as a hooker and make enough money so that she could go home, live a middle class life and marry some guy.

It makes sense that she would want to work a long way from where she was from. And yes, I would guess the money would be good where there were thousands of horny soldiers and sailors and very few unattached women willing to date them.

Due to the 1950s film code, you could not state the obvious, that Lorena worked as a hooker. She had to appear outwardly as a "dime-a-dance" girl or something.

[–] RobbieCalifornia 7 years ago

They made it as obvious as they could, for the time.

Not a single swear word in the whole movie that I remember, and these were soldiers!

How times have changed.

[–] JepGambardella (463) 4 years ago

According to the special features in the Blu-Ray, in the book it was a brothel, but the movie changed it to a "hostess club" to make it less objectionable to the audiences of the time, and to the armed forces.

Did Alma/Lorene say that she went to Hawaii specifically to work at that place, or at a similar place? Or could it be that she went to Hawaii to start a new life, and that that was the only job she could get?

[–] ncdwbmk6 (77) 4 years ago

In the book, Alma/Lorene's plan was to save up a lot of money working as a prostitute, then go back to the States and marry a rich, respectable guy.

[–] momur (107) 3 years ago

She says something to that effect in the film too, when she's telling Prewitt why she won't marry him. Basically, her situation is that she was in love with a guy back in Oregon who was too rich for her, she heard from another girl about a way to earn a lot of money in Hawaii, and basically put two and two together.

As to the whole brothel situation, the film made it as obvious as it could that it was a brothel but this was still during the time of the Hays Code, so coming right out and just saying it was a definite no-no. But between the girl telling Prewitt when he joins that they offer members "gentlemanly relaxation with members of the opposite gender" and categorising that separately from dancing and drinking, Lorene taking Prewitt into a private room that she specifically mentions is for special members (and then later showing her in said private room fixing her earrings while Prewitt is lying on the couch and smoking), and the fact that the work the girls actually do in the club is never given any specific details... As I said, it's as obvious as it could be. The film also had to remove a substantial amount relating to homosexuality and the general awfulness of the army officers - in the book, Maggio gets sent to the stockade after being caught "rolling queers" (i.e. essentially "cleanly" prostituting himself to gay men in exchange for drinks) and is beaten to death by Fatso and his cronies; the Hays Code effectively forbade the film from including either of those things.