Synopsis
After her great aunt's death, a high-society woman arrives on a Hawaiian island in search of the heir - the father she has never met.
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Cast
- John WayneMichael "Guns" Donovan
- Elizabeth AllenAmeilia Dedham
- Lee MarvinThomas "Boats" Gilhooley
- Cesar RomeroAndre de Lage
- Mike MazurkiMonk Menkowicz
- Jack WardenWilliam Dedham
- Jacqueline MaloufLelani Dedham
- Cherylene LeeSarah "Sally" Dedham
- Jeffrey ByronLuki Dedham
- Dorothy LamourMiss Lafleur
Recommendations
- 88
Chicago Tribune
Big, bright, corny, muscular, beautifully photographed. [12 Nov 2000, p.27] - 70
The New York Times
This running account of Pier 6 brawls, miscegenation, romance and religion that disrupt the idyllic life on a post-World War II South Sea island paradise is sheer contrivance effected in hearty, fun-loving, truly infectious style. - 70
Time Out
In short, a very bleak - but very funny - comedy. - 70
Village Voice
By any interpretation, Donovan's Reef is a beautiful example of cinematic art, and the atavistic desire to let the movie sweep over the spectator without disruptive analysis is at least understandable. [01 Aug 1963, p.13] - 70
Los Angeles Times
A minor but enjoyable romp. [03 Mar 1991, p.66] - 67
Austin Chronicle
Supremely goofy in tone, the film pits Wayne (in his last Ford film) and Marvin as drunken pals who careen from one friendly brawl to the next. A Pacific island paradise becomes their silly playpen. - 63
Chicago Reader
A rowdy, cheerful film on the surface, it has a disturbingly sour undertone supplied by Ford's realization that this paradise cannot be, and never was. - 60
The Telegraph
John Ford's Second World War film is a morality play that is both sentimental and comical. [02 Nov 2013, p.40]
