Lack of good storyline.

Fantastic!

This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

This movie is not at all what I expected. One might imagine that a the movie, Directed by John Huston, about a US Marine and Catholic nun marooned together on a South Pacific Island during World War II, to be quite different. Yet, any preconceived notions about a hardened man being schooled and converted by a strong-willed religious nun are soon laid aside as these two people slowly reveal themselves to each other as the movie progresses. Nor is this a Robinson Crusoe-type movie of discoveries and survival techniques. However, there are some modern similarities, with Japanese troops landing on the island, making survival even more challenging for the pair. The pairing in this basically two-person movie, with Robert Mitchum (as Mr. Allison) and Deborah Kerr as the nun (Sister Angela), must have seemed as unusual as the pairing of the prim and proper Katherine Hepburn character, (Rose Sayer) with the uncouth African stream boat captain, Humphrey Bogart (Charlie Allnut), were in The African Queen (1951). Yet, these unlikely pairings were part of John Huston's genius as a director. While thinking of these two John Huston movies, there ARE some comparisons to be made: 1) and handy man; 2) a war setting; and an unlikely couple thrown into an unusual situation. In this movie, Allison is washed ashore in an inflatable life raft, whereas Sister Angela had been left behind as the sole survivor of a remote island mission. Kerr's performance is also unusual in that she is so shy that she barely talks, yet she is obedient and cooperative with Mr. Allison's knowledge about survival. Mr. Allison is a polite and gentle Marine with an unusual background of being orphaned as a child and adopting the Marine Corp as the only family he had ever known. He is as uneducated about women as he is about the Catholic Church (or any religion for that matter). He gradually falls in love with Sister Angela and asks her to marry him, not realizing that, as a nun, she was already married to the church. Another thing I like about the movie is the chance to see Japanese soldiers viewed as actual people (joking and laughing with each other, drinking, eating, and playing card games), as Mitchum and Kerr watch them from a safe location while figuring out what they should do.Kerr received her 4th of 6 Oscar nominations for the movie. Mitchum and Kerr would later co-star in two more movies: The Sundowners (1960) and The Grass Is Greener (1960).

What are the chances of two people from different backgrounds developing a friendship amid the horrors of war? That's the scenario depicted in John Huston's "Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison". Robert Mitchum is a cast-away hard-ass marine who lands on an island where a pious nun (Deborah Kerr) has taken up residence during World War II. I think that the movie would have been more interesting if the Japanese troops had gotten depicted as more than simply the empty antagonists. As an adventure story it works well, showing the corporal and the sister having to figure out things like catching a sea turtle. A particularly effective scene shows Mitchum hiding amid the rocks, using the waves as cover while the Japanese search the area.So, I wouldn't go so far as to call this movie a masterpiece, but I did enjoy it. If anyone ever tells you that history is boring, use this movie to disprove that comment.

Stranded on a Pacific island together, a marine and a nun plan to wait out the end of World War II, but their platonic friendship is tested when forced to hide out in a cave after Japanese soldiers take over the island in this solemn drama starring Robert Mitchum and Deborah Kerr. The romantic tension to come is obvious from the get-go, but the film does well outlining similarities between soldiers and nuns, bringing to a light a bond between them that is far less predictable. Most pointedly, the characters draw a comparison between leaving the convent and deserting a unit, but other similarities include firm commitment and a shared belief that they act for the greater good. Despite all these attempts to equate the characters with one another, Mitchum still comes across as more open to temptation (whereas in theory they should both be equally as hesitant yet tempted). The film also does not milk the potential danger of being spotted by the Japanese for all that it is worth, save for one great sequence in which Mitchum spies on the Japanese from a building's rat-infested wings. The film still resonates though as a tale of unlikely companionship and the gradual bond that builds up between the pair is undeniable. The project also benefits greatly from Oswald Morris behind the camera; the early shots that glide over the seemingly empty island building (and a gravestone) are quite haunting, and the isolated nature of the island constantly shines throughout, highlighting how important being mutually cut off from the world is to the protagonists' gradual friendship.

When you see that a movie has John Huston as a director, you want to see it.I thought that was true till I saw Heaven knows Mr Allison. I was deeply disappointed and maybe angry after seeing it. I thought it was a cheap advertisement for US navy and for catholicism. I was doubting all movie long if it was ironical, because the nun and mitchum were so caricatured. Of course it is well filmed. Of course the actors are good, even brilliant.But the scenario has a toltal lack of impartiality. I m sorry but I can recommend this movie to no one unless you re a stubborn militar or a non-open minded catholic. PS: I am catholic