Heaven Knows Mr. Allison (1957)

Superb performances by Deborah Kerr and Robert Mitchum help make this lightweight survival pic a small gem.

As with Huston's The African Queen, there is conflict mixed with romantic tension… Here, though, the complicating factor is not fastidiousness, but vocation.

One of the more interesting love stories ever, a Marine corporal and a Catholic nun are stranded together on a deserted island in the Pacific towards the end of WWll. With Bob Mitchum as the grunt and Deborah Kerr as the nun you got yer whole blamed chemistry set right there, so much chemistry that for moments in the film the whole war itself seems puny and insignificant. John Huston's the writer/director here and he plays true to both of the lovers, never going for the easy answers or for the hearts and flowers, so respect grows, and it grows in glorious Cinescope. Don't get me wrong, there's some war in here, too, but this is not a typical war film, no, not at all. It's about two lonely people who find each other while there happens to be a war going on.

During World War II, a Marine corporal is shipwrecked on a Pacific Island, whose only other inhabitant is a Catholic nun. Essentially a two-character play set against a tropical background, this is a triumph for all concerned. Stars Robert Mitchum and Deborah Kerr give such convincing, understand performance that you almost feel as if you are an unwanted observer, especially as their two so-very-different character begin to fall in love. John Huston may have been one of the most erratic film directors, but, with the right cast and material, he could achieve greatness, as he does here.