Robert Mitchum and Deborah Kerr adored working together; you can see their mutual regard in "The Sundowners," and you can see it here, in this straightforward, somewhat sanitized adaptation of a wartime novel. He's a capable but. not-very-bright marine who washes up on a deserted South Pacific island, she's an Irish nun who's been living there alone since the recent death of her aged priest, and their adventures in subverting the arriving Japanese make for a beguiling "African Queen"-esque narrative. The locations are eye-filling, John Huston's direction is careful and unshowy, and who doesn't love watching these two. It's a somewhat familiar role for her, but she creates a full character, with limited dialogue. He's flat-out wonderful, carefully navigating this likable jerk's journey through bafflement, affection, self-pity, and nobility. Not, as many posters have noted, a well-remembered movie, but a very pleasurable and satisfying one to re-encounter.
Review of Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison
