Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison [DVD] [1957]

Old films are the best

If John Huston went to deepest Africa to make a film as an excuse to shoot elephants, then he came out with a damn fine film in "The African Queen". He has done exactly the same thing with "Heaven Knows Mr. Allison", which was shot in exotic Trinidad and Tobago, where he was cleverly able to use blocked funds from the UK to provide British finance. Thankfully there were no elephants for Huston to shoot in the Caribbean! As other reviewers have already mentioned the film bears remarkable similarities to "The African Queen", and could almost be seen as a remake. Both films are two-person stories and involve relationships between religious women and a coarse, rugged male loner.This film has Robert Mitchum as the US marine who finds himself washed up on a remote Pacific island beach where the only inhabitant left is a young attractive Irish nun played by Deborah Kerr who was deservedly oscar nominated for her role. The two form a deepening friendship as they struggle to find food and then hide from the invading Japanese. The script by John Huston and John Lee Mahin intelligently manages to avoid the cliche of the nun and the marine. Huston was no fool, and it is why his films still tend to look fresh today! Robert Mitchum was perhaps more deserving of an oscar nomination than Kerr. Huston thought he was up there with Olivier, Burton and Brando in his autobigraphy "An Open Book", which although stretching it a bit, he does have a point. Mitchum is at his totally believable best in the role.The film compares the commitments of both characters. Mitchum to the Marine Corps and Kerr to her religious order. There is certainly more insight into why a man should join the Marines than why a woman should become a nun. Thankfully the film avoids the pitfall of any cloying sentimentality, and there are good scenes between Mitchum and Kerr. Huston said "Allison is seldom referred to, but I think it was one of the best things I ever made. It was unostentatious, had very simple dialogue and was built on a first-rate foundation". Words that I find hard to disagree with. This is not your usual war film, or stranded on a desert island film for that matter. It is a satisfying character study and a very entertaining film.

good

Robert Mitchem plays Robert Mitchem.

The DVD from Fox is an excellent transfer. Cinemascope (black bars top and bottom), good colour, clear picture, good sound and optional English Subtitles. What more could we expect from the teaming of Mitchum/Kerr/Huston...Nothing! It all works so well. Mitchum is the tough battlehardened Marine who is perhaps just a bit naive when it comes to a proper relationship with a woman, and Kerr is the nun with whom he falls in love and she with him to a lesser extent. The acting of these 2 has seldom if ever been better (that's just my opinion of course!), and their chemistry is "hot". Not a lot of traditional war film action but it makes up for any lack of action with a worthy script, great acting, and then the occasional tense interaction with the Japanese soldiers. Huston directs brilliantly and this seems to be an almost forgotten film. Pity, because it's a minor classic. Recomended

Charming film with two very good Actors, placed in a strange situation: a nun and a Marine on an Island, alone except for the presence on two occasions, of Japanese soldiers. The interaction between the soldier and the nun, young and still unaware of the world as it really is, is really fantastic. The script is very good considering that the film revolves around the two characters and how they cope with one another without giving up on their way of thinking, feeling and their future. The hard and the soft, the pure and the experienced one, their view of the world how it is and how it could be for both of them if the situation they find themselves in does not change drastically. Nice story. It never gets old.

Loved this gem which I discovered by accident and the combination of Robert Mitchum and Deborah Kerr made for a memorable film , set on a remote island in the Pacific and also used by the Japanese in WW2 adds a sense of drama to it. Mitchum an army marine and Kerr a nun sets the scene for an unusual combination and will to survive amidst the threat of discovery by the Japanese is the theme of the story, interesting and a product of it's time with great acting and storylines.

Good film from the fifties. Nice story.