Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison

There was a time when movie theatres were so unlike many of the faceless, homogenous ones that we have today. The theatres of my youth were like churches to me—churches where a special kind of flickering magic happened. Even the modest theatres of the 1950s and 60s were grand, in their way. The bold colors on the lighted marquees. The ornate Art Deco flourishes on the carpets and walls. The movie screens that were hidden behind heavy curtains until it was time for the show to begin. And then the curtains would sweep open, often with a fanfare of music, and a world of Technicolor and Cinemascope dreams would burst forth.

Growing up in Baltimore, my family and I went to many of the movie theatres around town. But the Ambassador Theatre on Liberty Heights Avenue was a favorite, probably because it was close to our home. Considered a sister theatre to The Senator on York Road because it was designed by the same architect, The Ambassador was modest by the standard of other movies palaces in the city, but it was one of the cradles where my love of movies was born. In fact, my mother took my older brother Rick and I there to see my very first movie in a theatre. It was 1957 and I was all of four-years-old. That film was Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison.

Sure-fire entertainment from the later golden age of Hollywood.

I have no doubt that my fondness for this film is partially tinted by the warm memories it evokes for me. How could it not? But I have seen Mr. Allison so many times in my life that I can tell you, without question, that it’s stellar, sure-fire entertainment from the later golden age of Hollywood.

Directed by John Huston, the story follows a battle-hardened Marine, played by Robert Mitchum, who finds himself stranded on a remote island in the Pacific during World War II. He discovers that the Japanese forces had once occupied the island. He also finds an evacuated religious settlement. Except there’s one occupant who was left behind—a Catholic nun, played by Deborah Kerr. And so, the two of them are thrown together in a fight to survive…and to prepare their defenses in the event that the Japanese return to the island. And return they do.

I give Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison a strong three out of four stars.  It’s a great two-character adventure story, not unlike another John Huston film classic, The African Queen. With powerful performances, a muscular narrative, and beautiful cinematography, the story of the Marine and the nun and the island that holds them together is vivid…one to remember.