Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison (1957)

A marine and a nun form an unlikely friendship. The marine is shipwrecked on a Pacific island and the nun has been left behind there; they find comfort in one another as the two wait out the war.

Director:

John Huston

Writers:

John Lee Mahin (screenplay), John Huston (screenplay)

Stars:

Robert Mitchum, Deborah Kerr

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 1 win & 5 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Deborah Kerr	...	Sister Angela
Robert Mitchum	...	Cpl. Allison, USMC

Storyline

In 1944, the castaway Corporal Allison drifts in a raft to Tuasiva Island, where he meets Sister Angela. She tells him that she is the only person on the island, having been left behind when seeking out a priest. The nun and the marine are stranded, but the island offers a bountiful supply of food. However, their paradisiacal life ends when the Japanese arrive to build a base, forcing "Mr." Allison and the nun to hide in a cave. The marine's expertise in such conditions proves to be vital to their survival, and the two grow ever closer.

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Plot Keywords:

title same as book | lifeboat | raft | 1940s | year 1944 | 

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Taglines:

They were alone on this Pacific Island... trapped behind enemy lines... the marine who had been thru Hell and Sister Angela with her supreme faith in God.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Drama | War

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA UK

Language:

English Japanese

Release Date:

13 March 1957 (USA)

Also Known As:

Der Seemann und die Nonne

Filming Locations:

Tobago, Trinidad and Tobago

Box Office

Budget:

$3,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min

Sound Mix:

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

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

After spending so much time in Trinidad/Tobago, Robert Mitchum became enamored with Calypso music, so much so that he recorded an album of the stuff. It was called Calypso - Is Like So, and was released on Capitol Records. It features him doing spot on imitations of the style and is still available on CD.

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Goofs

When Allison approaches the island and crawls ashore, the camera shot from the raft shows him at the water's edge. However, when the camera angle changes to a view from the island, he suddenly is much further up the beach and away from the water.

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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.

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Crazy Credits

Opening credits prologue: 1944 SOMEWHERE IN THE SOUTH PACIFIC

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Connections

Referenced in Robert Mitchum: The Reluctant Star (1991)

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Soundtracks

Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree (with Anyone Else but Me)
music by Sam H. Stept, lyrics by Lew Brown & Charles Tobias
performed by Robert Mitchum

User Reviews

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

One of the great injustices of Hollywood history is the fact that Deborah Kerr was nominated for Best Actress while Robert Mitchum got nary a mention for Best Actor in Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison. Kerr had several nominations, but never came up a winner. Mitchum was nominated once at the beginning of his career in the Best Supporting Actor category in The Story of GI Joe and then never again.

In Mitchum's case I think that some of his irreverent comments offended a few people. Sometimes Bob was a bit too candid about what he thought of the film industry and his chosen profession. Otherwise he might well have gotten nominations for this, Night of the Hunter, Cape Fear, Ryan's Daughter, The Sundowners, The Friends of Eddie Coyle and a few others.

This film is always and rightly compared to The African Queen with a female in the religious missionary profession and a hell-raising outsider thrown together in war time. The African Queen was in World War I and this film is set on a backwater Pacific island in World War II.

Corporal Allison, USMC arrives on a rubber raft after the Japanese opened fire on a submarine he was on. The only other person on the island is a nun who has seen all the others die or flee the island. It's a small island, but apparently strategically located.

The film is about these two mismatched people thrown together and what they have to do to survive. Deborah Kerr is a nun who hasn't yet taken her final vows and being alone on the island with Mitchum is a temptation no doubt.

Mitchum though has his own code. He's a foundling kid who took the name of Allison because that was the street in Milwaukee he was dropped off on. He was a juvenile delinquent until he joined the Marines and they gave his life a meaning. The Marine Corps manual is his Bible as much as the Scripture is Kerr's.

I can identify with that because in fact I had a cousin who was in the Marines who did in fact straighten him out. He was a hell raising kid in his youth and he became if not a solid citizen after his service, at least a respectable one.

John Huston got unforgettable performances out of his credited cast of two. Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison has not dated one single bit since its release.

We all need something to believe in to get us through in this world.