Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison

Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison_360P

source: Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison

I have just watched this film's debut on TCM. Robert Mitchum is one of my favorites, and there is no doubt that Deborah Kerr was a fine actress. Who can doubt John Huston's prowess? This script seems like an African Queen knock-off. A "crude" man discovers an unworldly religious woman in the middle of nowhere. They survive primitive conditions and great hardship and come to love and respect each other. The characters are one-dimensional. Apparently the script was altered from the original novel to placate the codes of the Roman Catholic Church at the time. Whatever the reasons, this is not a film I would see again.

I thought that Robert Mitchum is an boring actor.But after this movie I certainly changed my view!Mitchum is great!The way he talks and acts are just great!And the script is quite well also.Well some historical mistakes are in the film, but thats not the point.The point is the relationship between soldier and Nun.Director John Huston great director, just like Capra and Wilder he never makes an bad film.The only downside in this film is Deborah Kerr as Nun.She's not the best actress for that part.So that drops this movie from my Top-ten "All time greatest movies"-list, but certainly a good movie and worth of watching.

Picture a film like this made today. For starters it wouldn't be called Heaven Knows, Mr Allison! Possibly just Heaven Knows...but even that's a stretch. The characters would be cardboard, impossibly-beautiful celebrities. There'd be a bad nun joke. There'd be tacked-on, unnecessary action scenes, lots and lots of sexual innuendo, and to top it off a run-of-the-mill love scene...oh and before I forget, the two leads would have gotten together in the end, no doubt about that. This film is one of the reasons I love old cinema (by old I mean from 1930 to say, 1980 (was born in '79). This is a fun movie to relax with on a cold Sunday night. The camera lingers on scenery and the performers, we're never in any real "hurry" to get to the big climactic showdown. The relationship between the two leads goes so far beyond today's "ooh she's HOT...ooh he's HOT" kind of thing, it is REAL, and dramatic on its own terms without the need for a heavy musical score or "insert emotion here" film-making. Well done movie I can watch over and over, which to me is the sign of movie magic.

When you see that a movie has John Huston as a director, you want to see it. I thought that was true till I saw Heaven knows Mr Allison. I was deeply disappointed and maybe angry after seeing it. I thought it was a cheap advertisement for US navy and for catholicism. I was doubting all movie long if it was ironical, because the nun and mitchum were so caricatured. Of course it is well filmed. Of course the actors are good, even brilliant.But the scenario has a toltal lack of impartiality. I m sorry but I can recommend this movie to no one unless you re a stubborn militar or a non-open minded catholic. PS: I am catholic

Walter Huston loved to film on location; all his great movies reflect this predilection. It helps too, that Mr. Huston and John Lee Mahin produced a great screen play and the bonus was the casting of the two stars. Since it's a two character film, the director couldn't gamble with any light weight actors and it pays tremendously by the incredible performances Mr. Huston got from them. The story of the nun who is left behind in a Pacific island and the arrival of the shipwrecked Capt. Allison, brings two people together from such different backgrounds, that under another direction wouldn't have played so well as it does in this movie. There aren't any false moments in the film. It is a credit to Mr. Huston the pairing of Deborah Kerr with Robert Mitchum, who are amazing in their roles. There's an aura of sex between both of the actors without it being obvious, or on your face. It's the subtlety that makes this film work they way it does. Both Ms. Kerr and Mr. Mitchum would appear not to be ideal for these two characters, but they have the right chemistry to make us care for these two people stranded in the Pacific.

Cpl Allison (Robert Mitchum) washes ashore on an island in the South Pacific inhabited only by Sister Angela (Deborah Kerr). It is World War 2 and the Americans are fighting the Japanese. Will they survive capture when the Japanese land on the island?.......and will they fall in love....? The film starts slowly and just doesn't get any faster. The first half hour is an attempt to build a relationship between the two main characters but is actually just a boring waste of time. Then the Japanese arrive and you begin to think that something exciting is going to happen. But it doesn't. Robert Mitchum talks like a Marine who just loves being a Marine (irritating) and Deborah Kerr is a nun who, very predictably, has an Irish accent (something she makes a complete mess of). While Mitchum convinces us that he wants to look after her on the island, there is no sexual chemistry between the two and so it seems rather contrived when Mitchum declares his love. Mitchum gives the audience a few laughs towards the end of the film while Kerr is insipid. I was disappointed in her performance, so, not surprisingly, she got an Oscar nomination! Nice scenery but it's a boring film.

First off, Bob Mitchum is the most under-rated actor of all time. He put everything he had into every role and made it look natural. This movie was no exception. He became "Mr. Allison" and made us believe he had been ship wrecked like this before. Having been a combat Marine myself there were so many details I noticed that he was able to incorporate naturally into his part. This allowed viewers of any knowledge level to enjoy the most authentic portrayal of this character. This is one of my favorite movies of all time. It is a real treasure and a good indicator of Bob Mitchum's work.

I'm wondering if Robert Mitchum ever play in a bad movie. This one is another winner from this great actor. There's a lot of tension in this movie especially when the Japaneses arrive and set up their campement in the island. The marine and the nun spend a lot of their time in a little cave, trying to steal some food to the Japaneses, and waiting with the hope of the end of the war. I've never heard of this movie before, it seems to be a forgotten classic, it deserve to be shown for a large audience.