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

Key Largo (1948) - Film-Noir

Starring Humphrey Bogart, Edward G. Robinson, Lauren Bacall,  with director John Huston, the film takes place on a sweltering day during the hurricane season. Bogart is passing through Florida to say hello to the relations of a dead war buddy. In the process he and the others at the hotel are held hostage by the mobster Johnny Rocco (Robinson). Bogart seems to back away from conflict but he is only biding his time with the villainous gangster. Through a series of events the war veteran is supposed to pilot the mobsters to Cuba, however he ultimately turns on them and brings justice. This is a fairly good film with Lionel Barrymore, Claire Trevor, and Jay Silverheels in support. It must be mentioned that this was the final film pairing of Bogey and Bacall. Get ready to sweat it out in Key Largo.

4/5 Stars

In honor of Lauren Bacall

The Best Films of John Huston

1. The Maltese Falcon
2. The Treasure of Sierra Madre
3. The African Queen
4. The Man Who Would be King
5. The Asphalt Jungle
6. Key Largo
7. The Misfits
8. Fat City
9. The Dead
10. Chinatown

The African Queen (1951)

With the ultimate pairing of Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn, this film throws together two starkly different people in extraordinary circumstances. Hepburn is a prim and proper missionary in Africa whose brother dies after a confrontation with German soldiers. Bogart is the rough-edged pilot of an old steamboat christened The African Queen. Together they take on the dangerous task of going down the river in order to sink a German ship. At first they are both at odds with each other and struggle to cope with their situation. However, with no one else to turn to, over time, they become close. Their bond is so great that they are willing to die rather than to be separated. This is truly a heartwarming story of love and loyalty with two legends who literally light up the screen.

                                     5/5 Stars

The Treasure of The Sierra Madre (1948)

Putting Humphrey Bogart in his element once again, The Treasure of The Sierra Madre is another wonderful adventure film. Directed by John Huston, it tells the story of three men who join together in their search for an elusive treasure in Mexico. At the beginning, they are in good spirits eager to become wealthy. However, when they finally strike it rich they find it is not all it is cracked up to be . The situation escalates and they become paranoid of each other. Finally, Bogart's character Dobbs is pushed over the edge and commits a malicious act out of desperation. Seemingly as an act of karma, he meets with another form of justice. However, it seems that by the end no one actually wins. A surprisingly good film, Sierra Madre takes your usual treasure hunt and realistically depicts man's greed which often can overpower everything else. Bogart was supported nicely by Walter Huston (the father of the director) and Tim Holt.

5/5 Stars

The Maltese Falcon (1941) - Film-Noir

This archetypal film-noir directed by John Huston, stars Humphrey Bogart as the detective Sam Spade. After an initial conversation with a mysterious woman, that same night two men end up dead. As Spade tries to understand what is going on, it puts him in contact with a paranoid little man and another man who is trailing him. All of them have something to do with a black bird and the situation gets more complicated when Spade meets the fat man. Rather surprisingly Spade ends up with the falcon but of course there has to be a twist. Soon enough the truth comes out of Brigid O'Shaughnessy and Spade coldly does his work. This film has great characters played by Mary Astor, Peter Lorre, Sidney Greenstreet, Ward Bond, and Elisha Cook Jr. The directing is good as well as the cinematography. This is the film that finally made Bogart a star and he would never look back.

5/5 Stars

The Asphalt Jungle (1950) - Film-Noir

* May contain spoilers
Directed by John Huston and starring an ensemble cast headed by Sam Jaffe and Sterling Hayden, this was the first great noir heist film. Jaffe has just recently been released from prison and he has contrived an intricate jewel robbery. He teams with a multi-talented safe cracker, a small time thug with dreams of owning a farm, and an invalid driver. The whole operation is to be backed by an attorney who is in a difficult situation. Initially the procedure begins well enough but soon things go haywire with alarms, misfired guns, and then police. Now Jaffe is wanted again, Hayden is slowly dying, a bookie loses his nerve, and the attorney tries to pull a fast one. The perfect conception turns out to be far from it in the end. This film reminded me strikingly of The Killing which I saw earlier. Both are heist films starring Hayden and they end disastrously. For her part Marilyn Monroe steals the screen in her first prominent role which was a foretaste of what was to come.


                                                          4/5 Stars