Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison (1957)

Director:

John Huston

Writers:

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

Release Date:

7 November 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 | Japanese Army | Church | Game Of Go | Based On Novel

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:

USA:Approved (certificate #18380) | UK:PG | West Germany:12 (f) | Canada:PG (video rating) | 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:

Continuity: At the beginning of the movie, Cpl. Allison's raft nears the island. He slowly looks over the edge of the raft and sees the island, his hair quite disheveled. Then it cuts to a shot from behind him and his hair is matted down (possibly wet from a previous take of when he jumped in the water).

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:

Featured in "The Sopranos: For All Debts Public and Private (#4.1)" (2002)

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.