Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison

John Huston skippers this retread of his classic adventure film The African Queen as if it were the maiden voyage. Despite the familiary of the story (crusty man's man teams up with religious virgin in remote locale to do their part in a World War), there's enough energy and enthusiasm to make it feel wholly original and you can't help but get wrapt up in all the nailbiting tension. Huston uses the unusual pairing of a nun and a WWII marine to explore notions of duty in the face of extenuating hardship. Heaven Knows Mr. Allison was very well received at the time of its release, both a commercial and critical hit, and it remains a classic war film that errs more on the side of a character-driven adventure. A big part of this is bolstered by Kerr and Mitchum's highly rounded performances, with the two basically holding up the entire film between them for most of the runtime.

Corporal Allison (Robert Mitchum) is a shipwrecked American marine who washes up on a South Pacific Island at the height of Japan's oceanic presence during WWII. The sole inhabitant of this island is Sister Angela (Deborah Kerr), a nun left alone after the death of her colleague and the evacuation of the islanders. Together they begin working to escape the island, but a devastating typhoon puts these plans to rest. Soon their primary mission becomes one of simple survival as Japanese troops land on the island and set up an occupation force. Can they wait out the war? Or will they need to be more proactive?

Much of the joy of this movie comes from the dynamic between Kerr and Mitchum. Allison is a poorly educated but well-meaning soldier, an orphan and wildchild of the streets who found salvation in the regimented discipline of the U.S. Marine Corps. Through his relationship with Sister Angela he begins to question certain prejudices and assumptions he has about nuns, an educating process that moves from friendship to strong feelings of affection. Sister Angela is a deferential but highly intelligent woman, not the typical portrait of naivete that usually accompanies the stereotypical nun. Her calling to Catholicism mirrors the faith that Allison holds in his military lifestyle, and no matter what feelings she may harbour for -him her exclusionary duty is to God. The film is careful to be a bit ambiguous about her own affection for Allison... due to the Hays Code it was a big no-no to depict any kind of romantic attachment on her side of the relationship. This creates a curious loophole in '50s filmmaking where a feminine and non-threatening leading actress actively resists categorisation as a love interest. Allison fights for her (mostly with his own inner feelings) to become a love interest, but the rules of the era forbade it and so the film plays out in a very uncliched fashion in respect to their relationship. Their parting words to each other are surprisingly touching as a result.

Mitchum is great as Allison, he's so non-aggressively ignorant yet manly that it breaks your heart to see him so vulnerable and sensitive with this nun. Kerr is wonderful in her role too, radiating a real sense of strength without falling into traps of hardening the character or making her seem too cold. I recommend this film a lot, it's a pure piece of '50s Hollywood excitement - daring and emotional and unafraid to riff on the genre to create a warm sense of familiarity.

DIRECTOR: John Huston
WRITER/SOURCE: Screenplay by John Huston and John Lee Mahin. Based on the novel by Charles Shaw.
KEY ACTORS: Robert Mitchum, Deborah Kerr

RELATED TEXTS
- The novel Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison by Australian novelist Charles Shaw, published in 1952.
- As mentioned in the above review, see also The African Queen, also directed by John Huston.
- Huston's WWII service involved the filming of two documentaries, Report from the Aleutians and the controversial The Battle of San Pietro.
- Hell in the Pacific, John Boorman's WWII classic, is also set on a Pacific island and features only two characters.
- More films about nuns and/or religious duty: The Nun's Story, The Bells of St Mary's, The Song of Bernadette and The Thorn Birds.

AWARDS
Academy Awards - nominated for Best Actress (Deborah Kerr) and Best Adapted Screenplay.
BAFTAs - nominated for Best Film and Best Foreign Actor (Robert Mitchum)
Golden Globes - nominated for Best Actress - Drama (Kerr).