Watch Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison For Free

Too much of everything

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

Excellent movie. Great acting, cinematography, editing, music, script, dialogue. It's got it all.After watching a bunch of low life garbage movies, mostly modern nonsense, this movie is highly welcome.They don't make movies like this anymore. Why? Because the writers don't exist, or if they do they are not given the chance. What we get now days is action nonsense with cliche dialogue.

You have a pretty good idea where the dynamic between the principals is going shortly after the shipwrecked Corporal Allison (Robert Mitchum) meets Catholic Sister Angela (Deborah Kerr) on a tropical island somewhere in the Pacific. What you might not expect is the intelligent handling of their situation without actually having them commit to a physical relationship. The story line did leave room for that when Ma'am Angela stated she hadn't taken her final vows yet, but staying true to her vocation, was able to let Allison down in a way that allowed him to keep his dignity and not look foolish.One of the things in their many conversations that perked my ears was when Sister Angela mentioned a former friend of hers named Sister Fidelis - I had one of those in Catholic high school! I found that kind of interesting. The story no doubt has similarities to the much better regarded "The African Queen" with Bogart and Hepburn, but the one I thought of instead was another Bogie flick from 1955 called "The Left Hand of God". In that one, Bogart's impersonating a priest to save his skin, and winds up falling for a missionary portrayed by Gene Tierney. As in this story, the romantic tension between the players is broached but never fully played out.I haven't seen Deborah Kerr in as many vehicles as Robert Mitchum, who I think is one fine actor. Here he plays somewhat against type, showing a rare sensitive side compared to some of the tough guy roles he's usually associated with. Nevertheless, Kerr demonstrates a resourceful resilience to the character of Sister Angela. This is one of those few movies that left me contemplating what might happen to the characters once they were rescued and returned back to the world, seeing as how they might have been made for each other under entirely different circumstances.

Marvelous WW II film, set in the South Pacific in 1944, on an island three hundred miles from Fiji. Mr. Allison (Mitchum), sole survivor of from his submarine, washes up on an island. He meets Sister Angela (Kerr), who was left behind when the ship that was supposed to take her from the island left without her. A Japanese plane flies over while on a reconnaissance mission. I'll let you watch and see where the film takes it from there.Mitchum and and Kerr (she was nominated for an Oscar) are both excellent and have chemistry, as the film gradually turns into a love story/comedy. Mitchum's encounter with a turtle and Kerr's introduction to sushi are especially memorable. On paper, you would think this teaming would never work - Kerr playing one of her various governess/nun personalities, Mitchum being one of his various hard guy types with a soul, but they play off of each other marvelously and are paired in three more films after this, the last one being in the 1980s.Oswald Morris did the fine cinematography. John Huston wrote the Oscar nominated screenplay, and four different composers were responsible for the musical score, which verges on being cute. Very worthwhile.

THE FILM:In 1957, Robert Mitchum is in Tobago, filming Fire Down Below. He arrives back in the United States, and he finds out that he has another gig. A marine and a nun stuck on an island. The island: Tobago.The film is called, Heaven Knows, Mister Allison. The plot alone draws comparisons to The African Queen. And there is Deborah Kerr, playing a nun. Again.THE PLOT: Corporal Allison was boarding a raft on a scouting mission, off of a submarine in 1944's Pacific. The Japanese bombed him, and he was left alone in the raft. When he came to, he was alone in the raft, in the middle of the Pacific. After a while, he drifted to an island. After checking out some abandoned shacks, he found Sister Angela, a nun, in the church. He falls asleep, and when he wakes up, Sister Angela is praying.After initially meeting awkwardly, the two soon become comfortable together, and come close to being friends. It is when the Japanese land on the island, that the strange relationship is put to the test. THE CRITICISM: Just to make myself clear, I thought that this film was a pale imitation of The African Queen. It's not a bad film, just not as good as that film. That said, it does have it's entertaining moments. I feel that it lacks that magic that was captured with The African Queen. Kerr and Mitchum have absolutely terrific chemistry, so the blame rests rather on the screen play. The film has a terrific setup, and then after a while, there is only so much you can do with a Marine and a Nun, without delving into some nasty business.Unfortunately, because of the production code, you can only go so far. So then we are fed multiple moments of Mitchum acting macho while Deborah Kerr gets to sit on the sidelines and pray. There are only two characters for the whole film, and if they begin to get tiresome, you have a serious problem. Don't get me wrong, Deborah Kerr can act the part, and Mitchum is certainly very macho, but again, only to a point until it becomes tedious. Then the Japanese decide to make the island a base, and Mitchum falls for the nun. She of course, is engaged to Jesus.The film is beautifully shot, in Colour and Cinemascope (widescreen). The lush island of Tobago never looked better. I spoke of the performances above, but to recap, Mitchum and Kerr were good, not great. The screenplay was awkward, and it felt forced at points, but the problem was the limitations of the production code.Huston's direction was good (notice good, not great). I couldn't help but imagined how he felt whilst directing it. It feels rushed, the shots get the story told, but he doesn't add much visually. Overall I feel that it felt kind of like he was doing it for the money, and he was frustrated about it. You can tell that he was limited, and it made him frustrated.It was not bad, but not great. Overall, the word I would use to describe the film is limited. Limited in plot options, performances, direction and screenplay.Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison, 1957, Starring: Robert Mitchum and Deborah Kerr Directed by John Huston 7/10 (B-)(This is part of an ongoing project to watch and review every John Huston movie. You can read this and other reviews at everyjohnhustonmovie.blogspot.ca)