Donovan’s Reef (1963) - Starting in 1939 with “Stagecoach”, John Wayne starred in 17 movies directed by the great John Ford. With the exception “The Quiet Man”, which is arguably the best film these two film giants made together, for the most part these films were either westerns or had a military theme. "Donovan’s Reef" is the last film Ford and Wayne did together, and it is more or less the exception to this rule. "Donovan’s Reef” abandons the usual Ford/Wayne Monument Valley western setting, and instead is set on an island in French Polynesia in the south Pacific.
The basic setup to this movie is that the characters played by John Wayne, Lee Marvin, and Jack Warden were all in the U.S. navy during World War II and were shipwrecked on this island, during which time they conducted guerrilla operations against the Japanese occupiers. The movie takes place after the war and after their military service. For various reasons the three chose to stay and live with the native population on the island, with Lee Marvin at the start of the movie returning after an absence to live on the island again, at which point Marvin and Wayne resume their long standing tradition of brawling on the birthday they share. The film really gets going when Jack Warden’s millionaire daughter from Boston played by Elizabeth Allen arrives on the island to seek out the father she has never seen in her life.
John Ford films often make good use of supporting characters, and this film is no exception. Caesar Romero, Marcel Dalio (the croupier in Casablanca), and Dorothy Lamour all make good use of their bit roles in this film. This is especially true of Romero, who plays the French governor of the island. In 1963 Romero is just a few years off from his run at playing the Joker in the 1960’s Batman television series. As for Dalio, I always enjoy getting a chance to see him in old movies, no matter how small the role is.
John Ford movies generally contain quite a bit of pageantry and music, and this film is no exception to that. Ford's use of pageantry and music in this film highlights very well the local culture of the island. Ford movies generally have a fair amount of humor in them no matter how serious they are, however, "Donovan’s Reef” is definitely more of a comedy and more light weight than most Ford movies. It is hardly unusual for fights and brawls to break out in a John Ford movie, and this one is no exception. My main complaint about this film is that it really over does the brawling, which often seems to take place with no real reason to advance the plot. Aside from that, I rather enjoyed this film, it grew on me as time went on. "Donovan’s Reef” is nowhere near the best of John Ford’s films, but it is solid and very watchable.
