O Céu é Testemunha

Marvelous WW II film, set in the South Pacific in 1944, on an island three hundred miles from Fiji. Mr. Allison (Mitchum), sole survivor of from his submarine, washes up on an island. He meets Sister Angela (Kerr), who was left behind when the ship that was supposed to take her from the island left without her. A Japanese plane flies over while on a reconnaissance mission. I'll let you watch and see where the film takes it from there.

Mitchum and and Kerr (she was nominated for an Oscar) are both excellent and have chemistry, as the film gradually turns into a love story/comedy. Mitchum's encounter with a turtle and Kerr's introduction to sushi are especially memorable. On paper, you would think this teaming would never work - Kerr playing one of her various governess/nun personalities, Mitchum being one of his various hard guy types with a soul, but they play off of each other marvelously and are paired in three more films after this, the last one being in the 1980s.

Oswald Morris did the fine cinematography. John Huston wrote the Oscar nominated screenplay, and four different composers were responsible for the musical score, which verges on being cute. Very worthwhile.

One of Huston's buried treasures,this offbeat tale of a nun and a marine stuck on an island.They say it was to be directed by Wyler,but he turned it down and went to make "desperate hours".

Deborah Kerr had already played a nun in Powell-Pressburger's excellent "Black narcissus",and the part was tailor-made for her.The same goes for Robert Mitchum as a crude,simple,but with a golden heart marine.People cannot help but be struck with the analogies between "heaven" and "African queen" :both feature an odd couple,in jeopardy;that's why the former is overlooked today which is totally unfair.

The two characters are extremely endearing and,when the movie is over,it seems we've always known Sister Angela and Corporal Allison.I dig the line:"it's a gourmet's dish" when the nun is eating turtle soup.I love the way the scenarists show the analogies between a nun's and a marine's lives.The Garden of Eden metaphor is obvious,but the story subtly progresses,and the Snake's temptation happens late in the movie.

The cinematography is splendid,with a superb use of cinemascope,and Georges Delerue's score deserves admiration.Yes "heaven knows..." is certainly one of Huston's sleepers.But I wonder what Luis Bunuel would have done with such a screenplay.

This film is among the best of my collection, when I like to see a good film, this is always in the first line. Robert Mitchum acted here extremely well as a marine with a very poor, not to say vulgar, background in his life. He confessed he was born orphan, he never knew who were his parents, and after 14 years old he escaped from the orphanage and was put in jail several times. His life changed once he was recruited by the US Marine. The always brilliant Deborah Kerr is here a nun with a very character and humor, always able to understand the behavior of Mr. Allison (Mitchum). It is normal that when two persons of opposite sex are together some strange feelings may appear, the mariner obviously may some hints in his favor, but the nun politely said no. In conclusion, excellent film with an interesting plot and wonderful acting, a real good film forever.

This movie stands out as my favorite WW2 film. It not only explores the nature of honor, but also male female relations and faith in such things. I give it my highest marks with the caveat that it is NOT an action film. This is primarily a drama.

One of the great injustices of Hollywood history is the fact that Deborah Kerr was nominated for Best Actress while Robert Mitchum got nary a mention for Best Actor in Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison. Kerr had several nominations, but never came up a winner. Mitchum was nominated once at the beginning of his career in the Best Supporting Actor category in The Story of GI Joe and then never again.

In Mitchum's case I think that some of his irreverent comments offended a few people. Sometimes Bob was a bit too candid about what he thought of the film industry and his chosen profession. Otherwise he might well have gotten nominations for this, Night of the Hunter, Cape Fear, Ryan's Daughter, The Sundowners, The Friends of Eddie Coyle and a few others.

This film is always and rightly compared to The African Queen with a female in the religious missionary profession and a hell-raising outsider thrown together in war time. The African Queen was in World War I and this film is set on a backwater Pacific island in World War II.

Corporal Allison, USMC arrives on a rubber raft after the Japanese opened fire on a submarine he was on. The only other person on the island is a nun who has seen all the others die or flee the island. It's a small island, but apparently strategically located.

The film is about these two mismatched people thrown together and what they have to do to survive. Deborah Kerr is a nun who hasn't yet taken her final vows and being alone on the island with Mitchum is a temptation no doubt.

Mitchum though has his own code. He's a foundling kid who took the name of Allison because that was the street in Milwaukee he was dropped off on. He was a juvenile delinquent until he joined the Marines and they gave his life a meaning. The Marine Corps manual is his Bible as much as the Scripture is Kerr's.

I can identify with that because in fact I had a cousin who was in the Marines who did in fact straighten him out. He was a hell raising kid in his youth and he became if not a solid citizen after his service, at least a respectable one.

John Huston got unforgettable performances out of his credited cast of two. Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison has not dated one single bit since its release.

We all need something to believe in to get us through in this world.