Donovan's Reef (1963) Reviews

This is a complete departure from the typical western you'd see from The Duke. This movie is set in post WWII French Polynesia and tells the story of a few men of character. Three men who became adopted members of an island community after having been shipwrecked during the war. Jack Warden and Lee Marvin were a perfect compliment to an ensnaring performance from Wayne. A nice balance of comedy and skulduggery. Definitely a must see!
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It was nice watching the Duke once more doing all his Duke stuff in this tale form Hawaii. It was a long time since I've seen this ffilm - the first time to see it on DVD. But I always loved the beautiful scenery and the lovely music soundrack too. Other than that there really wasn't much else to say about it. The typical Duke Stuff, the brawling, the drinking and the putting the ladies in their place, is just so typical of "John Wayne" movies it was not only "passee" it was downright corny and embarassing to watch. All-in-all the storyline doesn't even make much sense. I almost forgot what I liked about the film. It was wonderfully filmed on location. And the singing was absolutely memorable. So, it was a pretty good one after all. Jim C.
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Anytime in film history you put three great legends together, John Ford, Lee Marvin, and John Wayne, it's an automatic 5-star. Ok, they didn't win any Oscar's, but these are thoroughly good and enjoyable movies that are the classics of their time.
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