| Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | John Huston |
| Written by | John Huston, John Lee Mahin Based on the novel by Charles Shaw |
| Starring | Deborah Kerr Robert Mitchum |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison is a 1957 film which tells the story of two people stranded on an island in the Pacific Ocean during World War II. Year 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1957 Gregorian calendar) World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including
The movie was adapted by John Huston and John Lee Mahin from the novel by Charles Shaw and directed by Huston. John Marcellus Huston ( August 5 1906 &ndash August 28 1987) was an American Film director and Actor. John Lee Mahin (b August 23 1902, Evanston Illinois - d April 18 1984, Los Angeles) was a prolific Screenwriter Charles Herbert Shaw ( 10 August 1900 - 1 August 1955) was an Australian journalist and novelist It was nominated for Academy Awards for Best Actress in a Leading Role (Deborah Kerr) and Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium. "The Oscar" redirects here for the film see The Oscar (film. Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS to The Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay is one of the Academy Awards, the most prominent Film awards in the United States
Contents |
Plot
Corporal Allison (Robert Mitchum), a U.S. Marine, is a survivor of a failed island scouting/reconnaissance mission in the Pacific during World War 2. Robert Charles Durman Mitchum ( August 6, 1917 &ndash July 1, 1997) was an Academy Award nominated American film Allison and his team were in the process of being deployed from a U. S. Navy submarine when they were discovered by Imperial Japanese Navy warships. In the confusion of battle the submarine captain takes his ship below the surface to evade enemy fire, leaving the scouting team behind. After days of being adrift in a rubber raft Cpl. Allison arrives on an island and finds an abandoned settlement and a chapel with one occupant: Sister Angela (Deborah Kerr), a novice nun who has not yet taken her final vows. Deborah Jane Kerr-Trimmer, CBE (30 September 1921 &ndash 16 October 2007 was a Scottish stage television and film actress A Nun is a Woman who has taken special vows committing her to a religious life
For a while they have the island to themselves, but then a detachment of Japanese troops arrives to set up a meteorological camp, forcing them to hide in a cave. When Sister Angela is unable to stomach the raw fish Allison has caught for them, he sneaks into the Japanese camp for supplies, narrowly avoiding detection. His long absence frightens the nun, who is just about to surrender herself when he finally returns. That night, they see flashes from naval guns being fired in a sea battle over the horizon.
The Japanese unexpectedly leave the island, and in both celebration and frustration, Allison gets drunk on some sake left behind. He voices his frustration that he loves Sister Angela and that he considers her devotion to her vows to be pointless, since they are stuck on the island "like Adam and Eve. Adam (אָדָם ʼĀḏām, "dust man mankind" آدم; Ge'ez: አዳ and Eve (חַוָּה Ḥawwā, "living " She runs out into a tropical rain and subsequently falls ill; Allison, now sober and contrite, finds her shivering with chills. He carries her back but sees that the Japanese are returning in much greater force, and is forced to hide them in the cave again. Allison sneaks into the Japanese camp to get some blankets for her. He kills a soldier who discovers him in the act, but that alerts the enemy to his presence. In an effort to force him out into the open, the Japanese set fire to the vegetation.
Allison and Sister Angela are left with two choices: surrender or die from a hand grenade. Sister Angela prays for Allison, who wields his Ka-bar, waiting for the inevitable attack. The KA-BAR is a 12-inch fighting and utility Bowie knife used by the United States Marine Corps and United States Navy in World War II. However, the ensuing explosion is not a grenade but a bomb; the Americans have begun attacking the island in preparation for a landing. Allison comments that the landing will not be an easy one because when they returned, the Japanese brought with them four artillery pieces whose positions are well-concealed. Artillery (from French artillerie) is a military Combat Arm which employs any apparātus machine A howitzer is a type of Artillery piece that is characterized by a relatively short barrel and the use of comparatively small explosive charges to propel projectiles
In what he attributes to a message from God, Allison decides to disable the Japanese artillery during the barrage, while the Japanese are still in their bunkers. He is wounded, but manages to sabotage all the guns, saving many American lives.
Allison and Sister Angela say their goodbyes as they await rescue by the Marine assault troops. He has reconciled himself to her dedication to Christ and she reassures him that they will always be close "companions".
External links
DVD Reviews
- Comprehensive review by Glenn Erickson at DVD Savant a part of DVD Talk
- Review by Barrie Maxwell at DVD Verdict
- Review by Mark Zimmer at digitally OBSESSED!
- Review by Randy at dvdfuture.com
- Review by Steven D. Greydanus at DecentFilms
Australia (Region 4)
- Review by Sarah Goodman at DVD Bits.com