What is 'Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison' about?

Is ' Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison' based on a book?

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It Might Be Paradise If It Wasn't For The Japanese

Deborah Kerr, Robert Mitchum, and Peter Ustinov in The Sundowners (1960)

Robert Mitchum and Curd Jürgens in The Enemy Below (1957)

Deborah Kerr, Robert Mitchum, and Judi Trott in Reunion at Fairborough (1985)

Richard Burton, Deborah Kerr, Ava Gardner, and Sue Lyon in The Night of the Iguana (1964)

Robert Mitchum, George Hamilton, and Eleanor Parker in Home from the Hill (1960)

Deborah Kerr and Spencer Tracy in Edward, My Son (1949)

Deborah Kerr, Burt Lancaster, Frank Sinatra, Ernest Borgnine, Montgomery Clift, and Donna Reed in From Here to Eternity (1953)

Robert Mitchum, Gregory Peck, Polly Bergen, and Lori Martin in Cape Fear (1962)

Robert Mitchum, William 'Billy' Benedict, Wally Cassell, Dorothy Coonan Wellman, Yolanda Lacca, Jimmy Lloyd, Burgess Meredith, William Murphy, John R. Reilly, and Freddie Steele in Story of G.I. Joe (1945)

Robert Mitchum and Jean Simmons in She Couldn't Say No (1953)

Ingrid Bergman and Cary Grant in Indiscreet (1958)

Deborah Kerr and Robert Mitchum in Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison (1957)

You don't have to be afraid of me, ma'am. That was just drunk talk. I'd never hurt you! I'd rather *die* first!

Robert Mitchum in Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison (1957)

Deborah Kerr in Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison (1957)

Robert Mitchum

Deborah Kerr

John Lee Mahin

John Huston

Charles Shaw

During World War II, an American marine and an Irish nun form an unlikely friendship after being stranded on a South Pacific island. They find comfort in one another while hoping for a rescue, as they try to avoid capture by the J...

Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison

Extremely impressive John Huston movie which - criminally - has been largely overlooked in recent times.

It&apos;s always interesting to hear what movie directors think of their own work, and John Huston once made a very insightful comment about this 1957 film which he made for 20th Century Fox:- &quot;Allison is seldom referred to. But I think it was one of the best things I ever made&quot;. Huston has hit the nail squarely on the head with this comment. It is - just as he states - a film that has faded into obscurity as the years have passed. It is also paradoxically one of his great works. Perhaps The African Queen, The Red Badge Of Courage, The Asphalt Jungle and Treasure Of The Sierra Madre rank in the director&apos;s very top tier of work, but Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison is definitely among the front-runners in the second tier.

The story is extremely simple, but absorbing. American marine Allison (Robert Mitchum) is washed ashore on a Pacific island during WWII. The only other person on the island is a nun named Sister Angela (Deborah Kerr). Although they are totally different types of people - and in other circumstances might well have looked down their noses at each other - they find that their mutual plight draws them together and creates a very close friendship. Their situations worsens, however, when a Japanese force arrives and stations a garrison on the island. Allison and Sister Angela find themselves in genuinely grave danger now. Initially, they were merely shipwrecked.... but the arrival of the Japanese soldiers places them in the very midst of the enemy, with nowhere to run and almost nowhere to hide.

As it was made in 1957, the filming was fraught with difficulties, because at that time the Catholic church imposed strict censorship laws on films dealing with religious situations or characters. In the original Charles Shaw book which provided the inspiration for the film, the marine and the nun fell in love.... but it would have been deemed offensive if that were to happen in a 1957 film, so Huston had to create a revised resolution in which the marine and nun gain strength, hope and determination from each other without ever physically consummating their relationship. The performances are meticulous, with Mitchum showing what depth and sensitivity he could bring to a part when asked to do more than his usual man-of-action thing. Kerr is, if anything, even better and earned a thoroughly worthy Oscar nomination (she was eventually beaten - probably undeservedly - by Joanne Woodward). Oswald Morris shoots the film splendidly, ensuring that it is always pleasing to the eye, while Huston expertly juggles the suspense and the sensitivity. Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison is a really first-rate film and how sad it is that such a likable motion picture has become virtually forgotten.

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BOTYyZGM0YTMtNmVmZi00YzY5LTk4ZTktMjNkZTYwMWUxNWEwXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNzU1NzE3NTg@._V1_.jpg

It's always interesting to hear what movie directors think of their own work, and John Huston once made a very insightful comment about this 1957 film which he made for 20th Century Fox:- "Allison is seldom referred to. But I think it was one of the best things I ever made". Huston has hit the nail squarely on the head with this comment. It is - just as he states - a film that has faded into obscurity as the years have passed. It is also paradoxically one of his great works. Perhaps The African Queen, The Red Badge Of Courage, The Asphalt Jungle and Treasure Of The Sierra Madre rank in the director's very top tier of work, but Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison is definitely among the front-runners in the second tier.

The story is extremely simple, but absorbing. American marine Allison (Robert Mitchum) is washed ashore on a Pacific island during WWII. The only other person on the island is a nun named Sister Angela (Deborah Kerr). Although they are totally different types of people - and in other circumstances might well have looked down their noses at each other - they find that their mutual plight draws them together and creates a very close friendship. Their situations worsens, however, when a Japanese force arrives and stations a garrison on the island. Allison and Sister Angela find themselves in genuinely grave danger now. Initially, they were merely shipwrecked.... but the arrival of the Japanese soldiers places them in the very midst of the enemy, with nowhere to run and almost nowhere to hide.

As it was made in 1957, the filming was fraught with difficulties, because at that time the Catholic church imposed strict censorship laws on films dealing with religious situations or characters. In the original Charles Shaw book which provided the inspiration for the film, the marine and the nun fell in love.... but it would have been deemed offensive if that were to happen in a 1957 film, so Huston had to create a revised resolution in which the marine and nun gain strength, hope and determination from each other without ever physically consummating their relationship. The performances are meticulous, with Mitchum showing what depth and sensitivity he could bring to a part when asked to do more than his usual man-of-action thing. Kerr is, if anything, even better and earned a thoroughly worthy Oscar nomination (she was eventually beaten - probably undeservedly - by Joanne Woodward). Oswald Morris shoots the film splendidly, ensuring that it is always pleasing to the eye, while Huston expertly juggles the suspense and the sensitivity. Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison is a really first-rate film and how sad it is that such a likable motion picture has become virtually forgotten.

During World War II, an American marine and an Irish nun form an unlikely friendship after being stranded on a South Pacific island. They find comfort in one another while hoping for a rescue, as they try to avoid capture by the Japanese.

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Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison

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