Donovan's Reef

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Donovan's Reef
1959 movie poster
Directed by	John Ford
Produced by	John Ford
Written by	James Edward Grant Frank S. Nugent
Starring	John Wayne Lee Marvin Jack Warden Elizabeth Allen Cesar Romero Dick Foran Dorothy Lamour
Music by	Cyril Mockridge
Cinematography	William H. Clothier
Editing by	Otho Lovering
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release date(s)	June 12, 1963
Running time	109 min
Country	USA
Language	English
Budget	$2,686,585 (estimated)
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Donovan's Reef is a 1963 American action/comedy motion picture from director John Ford. This film marked the last time Ford and John Wayne worked together. The film also stars Dorothy Lamour, and Cesar Romero.

[edit] Summary

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Amelia (Elizabeth Allen), a "proper" young lady from Boston, comes to a South Pacific island in search of her estranged father, Dr. William Dedham (Jack Warden), who lives there amongst the natives, other expatriates and two of his WWII U.S. Navy buddies Donovan (John Wayne) and Gilhooley (Lee Marvin).

Dr. Dedham was serving in WWII when his first wife, Amelia's mother, died. Instead of returning home, he settled on the island, which had no doctor until his arrival. He built a small hospital, and married a local princess, who died after her third childbirth. Now, a medical emergency requires him to leave the island, and his friends set in motion a scheme to present him as having led a more "acceptable" life to Amelia, who arrives before his return. His children are presented to her as the children of Donovan, with whom she begins to fall in love. As she comes to know Donovan better, she uncovers the truth about her father. Amelia's self-seeking reasons for her visit to the island are revealed. Her attitude toward her father changes, and she overcomes her racial prejudice.

[edit] Location

Donovan's Reef takes place on Haleakaloa which seems to be a play on the name of a volcano in Maui, Hawaii named Haleakalā. The movie was filmed on Kauai, another of the Hawaiian islands.