Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison (1957)

From John Huston comes another film about a woman of principle and a man who seems to be everything she is not. This time instead of Katharine Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart aboard The African Queen in WWI, we have Deborah Kerr and Robert Mitchum stuck on a desert island together during WWII.

Kerr is Sister Angela who was on the island only a few with a priest before he passed away. Now she is alone taking care of herself in solitude. That is until castaway Marine Mr. Allison washes up on her shore in a raft. For a time it is just the two of them as the Sister offers the marine food after his long arduous journey. But after getting rest and some nourishment, he returns the favor proving his resourcefulness at scrounging up food on the island. For awhile they live in relative ease like this.

But they are reminded that the war is still going when the Japanese set up camp on the island. The unlikely pair find themselves living in a cave together. Allison invades the camp on the sly to acquire food for them and they continue to manage in hiding. Once the enemy are gone the exuberant marine gets drunk on some sake and professes his love to the novice nun. Although the situation had never quite been awkward up to that point, it quickly becomes so. Sister Angela in a tizzy flees out in the pouring rain and winds up getting sick as a result.

To add to the predicament, the Japanese forces return, and back to the cave it is. This time Mr. Allison must kill a soldier in order to get a blanket for Sister Angela. Soon the Japanese are burning the underbrush in pursuit of the culprit. It's dire straights certainly, but then help comes.

Mr. Allison once again proves himself and regains the faith and admiration of Sister Angela. Once the marines roll in Mr. Allison is able to leave the island on a stretcher with the faithful novice by his side. They are a strange pair, but their relationship makes this story actually engaging. In a way the life of a marine and a nun have some similarities although they fall at completely different ends of the spectrum. In the same way Mitchum and Kerr are adept at playing their roles to that degree. Allison is rough around the edges, a Joe Palooka type, and yet he means well. The nun is devoted to her calling, proper, and it never seems as if she could ever approve of Mr. Allison. And yet in the midst of all the divides that seem in place, a true bond forms. It's a fun relationship and these two stars as well as John Huston made it thoroughly enjoyable.

4/5 Stars