John Huston had a flare for dynamic pairings in unlikely locations. Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison (1957) isn't one of his best films, but its beautiful scenery and excellent stars make it worthwhile.During World War II, Marine Corporal Allison (Robert Mitchum) washes up on a remote Pacific Island. Its only inhabitant is Sister Angela (Deborah Kerr), a novice nun whose priest has recently died. Isolated from the outside world, they live comfortably enough until the Japanese establish a weather station. The Corporal and the Nun dance around their mutual attraction while struggling to avoid detection.
Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison draws on a Charles Shaw novel, but plays like a landlocked The African Queen. Huston again has the mismatched quasi-romantic leads; Angela's back story even resembles Kate Hepburn in Queen. There's little overt sparring, just curiosity between the affable American and rigid nun. Huston and cowriter John Lee Mahin: Allison's a reform school boy who found his calling in the Marines Corps; Angela's devout but cracks jokes and sustains herself. Romantic tension is always present, but Huston gives both characters dignity. No Two Mules for Sister Sara sleaziness here.
Robert Mitchum lands somewhere between a dumb brute and honorable man. Deborah Kerr's steely dignity makes Angela credible: her toughness is leavened by warmth and humor. (She's no Sister Clodagh, that's for sure!) The stars have interesting chemistry, less conventionally sexual than two pros sharing mutual respect. Mitchum and Kerr reteamed three times, most notably in Fred Zinnemann's The Sundowners (1960).
Heaven Knows does best focusing on its leads. By necessity, the dialogue's heavy with exposition, which makes some passages a chore. If the movie drags, Huston enlivens things with periodic set pieces. There's a tense sequence where Allison's trapped in the Japanese camp, an amusing sea turtle hunt, while periodic air raids and marine landings allow for some colorful action. Yet the finale, with Allison aiding an American attacking force, feels somewhat anticlimactic.
Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison suffers from uneven pacing and occasionally static dialog. But middling John Huston is still enjoyable, especially with such pros in the lead roles.
