Star John Wayne and director John Ford team up for the Hawaiian-set comedy Donovan’s Reef. New to 4K UHD from Kino Lorber.
The Film
Donovan’s Reef may be the most random of outliers of John Ford’s career. The last collaboration between Ford and star John Wayne has the duo making a comedy about a family set in Hawaii. At first glance, this may be the slightest of the duo’s filmography but it’s by no means any less worthy of a film. Entertaining with a pinch of progressiveness and message the film is more entertaining and meaningful.
The film isn’t about Donovan (Wayne) but rather the Denham family; Dr. Denham (Jack Warden), his daughter Amelia (Elizabeth Allen), and his half-Polynesian children Sally, Luke, Lelani (Cherylene Lee Jeffrey Byron, Jacqueline Malouf). Amelia has come to snuff out if Denham has had any moral improprieties that will nullify the current will that would allow her to inherit the family fortune. Denham’s friends Donovan and Gilhooley (Lee Marvin) concoct a play to make it appear that Donovan is the father of Sally, Luke, and Lelani. Hijinks ensue as Denham leaves the island to help other islands infirm leaving Elizabeth in the hands of the jaunty expatriate citizens of the small island.
Minus a few hiccups of casual Asian racism in the form of one-liners and visual gags, the film is progressive in its thoughts on race and blended families. Ford’s film teaches the uneducated that family is family – something that may seem downright condescending now to some but was a radical notion in the early 1960s. Ford’s film is an amiable family dramedy that is all around a harmless bit of travelogue beauty mixed in with the occasional bar brawl. Ford never could resist a good fisticuffs mano-a-mano set piece – here is no different with Ford and Marvin going toe to toe not once but twice.
Wayne and Marvin are as excepted charming in their respective roles. One appreciates Dorothy Lamore’s appearance but wishes that Ford gave her more to do. Same with Jack Warden who disappears for almost half the movie. Elizabeth Allen is delightful as Amelia but her romance with a 55-year-old Wayne is a false note. One does wish they had more Asian and Hawaiian actors in the forefront rather than background players and even worse as visual sight gags.
Donovan’s Reef is entertaining, charming, and fun and is lighter than anything Ford did in his career.
The Transfer
The all-new HDR/Dolby Vision Master – From a 4K Scan of the 35mm Original Camera Negative is drop dead gorgeous almost perfect representation of the film’s Technicolor origins. More than just being a flawless image, the Dolby Vision manages to imbue the transfer with a luster in the color reproduction that mirrors the film’s original look, of the film shot on location in Hawaii in an era that Hawaii remained relatively untouched. The clarity and sharpness look only more refined on a larger screen accentuating the beautiful grain structure making the image look more like a freshly struck 35mm print than an actual transfer. Bravo to Kino and Paramount for providing a truly revelatory 4K transfer.
The Extras
They include the following;
DISC 1 (4KUHD):
- NEW Audio Commentary by Film Historian Joseph McBride, the Author of Searching for John Ford
- NEW Audio Commentary by Film Historian Dwayne Epstein, the Author of Lee Marvin: Point Blank
DISC 2 (BLU-RAY):
- NEW Audio Commentary by Film Historian Joseph McBride, the Author of Searching for John Ford
- NEW Audio Commentary by Film Historian Dwayne Epstein, the Author of Lee Marvin: Point Blank
- The Growler Story: 1957 Short Film Directed by John Ford (21 Minutes)
- Theatrical Trailer
The all-new Audio Commentary by Film Historian Joseph McBride, the Author of Searching for John Ford begins with his bonafides before diving into one of John Ford’s last films. Some of the details include details include the song that opens the film; how this came to be with John Wayne’s love of Hawaii; Ford’s military career including a discussion of Ford’s part in WW2 and his work OOS (the precursor to the CIA) – including documentaries he made; Ford’s sense of humor and the constant brawling – Ford’s personal life that informs on his unique comedic sense; Ford’s love of baseball and how that turned into a directorial fashion statement and a character bit in the film; a discussion of the various boats in the film – including Wayne’s own boat that he rented out to Paramount for the production; an interesting piece of writing that a President did for McBride’s first Ford book; the work and personal history of cinematographer William H. Clothier – and his collaborations with John Ford; a larger discussion of McBride’s personal interactions and interviews with Ford; a larger discussion of the various locations they used to film the film; a larger discussion of the various actors that appear in the film; and much more.
The second all-new Audio Commentary is by Film Historian Dwayne Epstein, the Author of Lee Marvin: Point Blank. Epstein begins the track with Ford’s bonafides as a director and that Ford was the greatest director in American Cinema – including his reasons why. Some of the details include Ford’s beginning in Hollywood in Silent Pictures as both an actor and director – eventually transitioning to just directing, specializing in Westerns, but not just Westerns; a discussion of the military history of Lee Marvin – including his service; Marvin’s post-WW2 career in acting; a great discussion of the first fight between Marvin and Wayne – and a few anecdotes about the filming itself; the racism in the film but how it rubs against the themes of inclusion; a larger discussion of the costuming by Edith Head; the casting of Lee Marvin and the reasons he didn’t want to do the film; how Elizabeth Allen was cast in the film – including a discussion of how Edith Head did not want to work with Allen; a crazy production note of where both Ford and Wayne stayed during the production; Betty Marvin (Lee’s wife) account of who she felt Wayne was and how different he was than Marvin; an interesting story of how Marvin got his first film role; Betty Marvin’s account of Lee’s PTSD and how it affected him on this film relocation – including going into rehab and because of the location how he would have delusions; a wild story about Marvin going from Hawaii to Los Angeles during the production of the film; a discussion about the various actors that appear in the film; and much more.
The Growler Story: 1957 Short Film Directed by John Ford (21:03) – a non-fiction film about the submarine Growler and its Lt. Commander Howard W. Gilmore and how the Commander won the Medal of Honor during the events that transpired in the South Pacific in February 1943. The film feels very documentary though it is not a documentary. The film itself definitely has those Ford touchstones, especially with the camera work. However, its acting feels less refined and polished. All the same, it is a fascinating piece of Military Filmmaking by one of the greatest Film Directors.
Rounding out the special features are trailers for Donovan’s Reef (2:40); The Sands of Iwo Jima (1:53); The Horse Soldiers (2:39); Hatari! (3:01); Sergeant Ryker (2:05); Paint Your Wagon (1:06); Prime Cut (2:34)
The Final Thought
Kino Lorber gives us a beautiful 4K UHD edition of Donovan’s Reef. Recommended!!!