Wayne and Warden, two ex-Navy men, have stayed on in the Pacific islands following WW II, Wayne to operate a saloon called Donovan's Reef, Warden to raise a Polynesian family, despite the fact that he has a mature daughter in Boston. Joining Wayne to celebrate his birthday (December 7)
is Marvin, who jumps ship and swims ashore to Haleakaloa. There, he and Wayne renew old friendships by beating each other to pulps, but all in the vein of roughhouse comaraderie. Into this raucous atmosphere comes grownup Allen, in search of her father, Warden. Wayne and Marvin busy themselves
with protecting their friend's image by pretending that Warden's three Polynesian children are Wayne's. A comedy of fumbling errors ensues which Warden puts to an end when he finally returns from a trip, confessing to Allen that Stafford, Lee, and Malouf are really his children. Allen, who
suspects the fact all along, tolerantly accepts her younger sisters and brother and is united with them in a beautiful Polynesian ceremony at film's end.
This is one of Ford's weaker efforts, which he directs as a lark, though there is plenty of gusto in the brawls staged by Wayne and Marvin. Wayne and Marvin stumble about mouthing sentimentalities that Wayne would have punched a man for uttering a decade earlier. Marvin is just plain awful,
enacting a part suited to any tongue-tied heavy. Warden is his usual phlegmatic self, but Romero and Dalio, two veteran actors, spice up the film with colorful portrayals. It's as if Ford wanted to film a story about his old drinking and poker-playing parties with as little story as possible. The
verdant, lush Hawaiian setting is visually stunning but the slapstick is forced and unbecoming. leave a comment
