Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison (1957)

Director:

John Huston

Writers:

John Lee Mahin (screenplay) and
John Huston (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

13 March 1957 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Drama | War

Plot:

A Marine and a Nun, both shipwrecked on a Pacific Island, find solace in one another as the two wait out the war.

Plot Keywords:

Nun | Church | Beautiful Woman | Game Of Go | WWII

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 1 win & 5 nominations

Cast

Deborah Kerr	...	Sister Angela
Robert Mitchum	...	Cpl. Allison, USMC

Runtime:

108 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (RCA Sound Recording) | 4-Track Stereo (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

West Germany:12 (f) | USA:Approved (certificate #18380) | Canada:PG (video rating) | UK:PG | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Tobago, Trinidad and Tobago

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

The knife used by Cpl. Allison is a Ka-Bar. It is standard issue for the US Marines since 1942.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Robert Mitchum is shown throughout the movie wearing a metal expansion bracelet for his wristwatch. Such bracelets were introduced by Speidel in the 1950s.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Cpl. Allison, USMC: Let's just keep it quiet, ma'am. You speak English?
Sister Angela: Yes.
Cpl. Allison, USMC: Are there any Japs around?
Sister Angela: You're... You're an American.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Newhart: Heaven Knows Mr. Utley (#1.19)" (1983)

My favorite WW2

This movie stands out as my favorite WW2 film. It not only explores the nature of honor, but also male female relations and faith in such things. I give it my highest marks with the caveat that it is NOT an action film. This is primarily a drama.