Donovan's Reef

We love this film. Great story. Great setting. Great cast. A real gem!

I love this movie and this was a good purchase. I've had it before on vhs.

Great movie, packaged well and arrived on time

We were still watching the VHS tape version occasionally, and then wondered why we never upgraded to DVD, this being one of our favorite Duke movies. This DVD upgrade was an excellent difference for sight and sound of the movie. Plus, for $5.99, that makes it completely worth the upgrade.

This movie is not typical John Wayne, but a nice post WW2 Christmas holiday story set in a remote Hawaiian village. The bar fights that break out are hilarious. So is Lee Marvin, who rarely has a comedic role as this. Filmed in Hawaii. Entertaining all the way through.

One of my favorite Duke movies!

John Wayne is not known for his comedies but he did do some fine work. The same could be said for Director John Ford. This film is proof of their talents. It is not something to be taken seriously but it is at once fun, sweet, dated and a precious Hollywood relic.John Wayne stars as Michael Donovan, a saloon keeper and shipping owner on a South Seas paradise island. Lee Marvin plays Gilhooley, a brawling friend who shows up every birthday for a ritual fight. Jack Warden rounds out the trio as the Doc. What all of them have in common is that they were shipwrecked on the island durnign WWII while it was under Japanese occupation and led a resistance movement but all of that is in the past. Now the war is over and each has carried on with life. In the case of the Doc, he married the hereditary princess of the island and had three wonderful kids. The problem is that he has a daughter from a prior marriage back in Boston who is scheming to be heiress of a major shipping line there and who comes out to the island to get evidence against her father she can use to show he is unfit. She arrives while the doc is making house calls to other islands and John Wayne steps in to protect the doc by claiming the kids as his own. Naturally, the Duke and the heiress fuss and feud but we all know that she is destined to be his lady.Much of this film is silly but that does not stop it from being fun. The film tries to be racially diverse in a style that would never go over today but was quite a step forward in the 50s. There is little or know physical danger beyond that which is alluded to from the war. The barroom brawls are handled as entertainment for all concerned. As I said, it is silly but it works.John Wayne plays himself as he does in all of his films. Lee Marvin plays a buffoon who manages to be fun even when he is being insulting. Jack Warden does little himself but what he does do, he does well and believably. Caesar Romero plays the French governor of the island and is fun as a good hearted, light villain scheming to marry the heiress himself. He too contributes to the success of this south seas romp. Perhaps the most fun is had from the 3 kids. They are not "actors" but they are first quality hams and they tend to steal the show with their campy lines.Sit back and enjoy this one.

I was very happy with this order because it arrived in my mailbox a day early.

This was a disaster I bought for the right country when it arrived the label on the dvd said it was for the USA DVD player not value for money

this dvd is a very good to see and watch

Another Duke classic performance set not long after WWII he and Lee Marvin turn in great performance bouncing off one another wonderful story line had to be a hit and is still worth a watch

A beatiful tropical island, colourful characters a cast that clearly enjoys what they are doing, slapstick, comedy, romance and a tiiiny bit of intrigue.What more could one wish for in an old classic?

Came in time to play at my dad's wake, he loved John Wayne but we could find his copy, but you came to our rescue. It was sad but it is our fave John Wayne film as a family. Brilliant send off. Thankyou