Donovan's Reef 4K 1963 Ultra HD 2160p

John Wayne walks like a dreadnought, patrolling a convoy of rowboats, expressing his willingness to wage a little war, going from one brawl and scandal to another, confronting a gang of muzzies or a marvelous Boston beauty with similar boldness. He relies only on his muscles.
Lee Marvin, since their last excursion, has been walking Ford's beat. There was only one comic threat when a bad fear was felt. Jack Warden's role hints that he had potential in the beginning, but then it was cut, making him a harmless supporting actor.
Ford works best when steeled with unfamiliar talent and brings out the abilities of Elizabeth Allen, a dark beauty. She is delightfully played as cold as an ice cube from Boston melting away from Wayne. Caesar Romero and Dorothy Lamour fell victim to the screenwriter, though Dick Foran is sufficiently interesting as an Australian naval officer.
The visual beauty of Kauai, in North Hawaii is captured by William Cloutier. Frank Nugent's (Ford's old associate) and James Edward Grant's screenplay by Edmund Beloyne's plot has more holes in it than Liberty Valance. A paradise somewhere in the South Pacific has been created, ruled by a local princess and a French governor; protected by the Australian Navy; “all under the thumbnail” of American expatriates, and the island itself is populated by a bunch of different nationalities. A curiously light movie.

User Review
This was a beautiful film, not least because of the warm and lively music, and also because of the cool, sensual presence of Elizabeth, who died only recently. The comedy, as written above, could indeed be a little ham-handed, but there's no substitute for the scene when Amelia, riding the back of a jeep, is vaulted off the rear as it hits a bump and lands flat on her a**. John Wayne looks down at her and asks quietly, "Did you hurt your ---- self?" This is a pleasant, human drama, with a strong anti-racist message built around a great cast of characters. A solid, pleasing John Ford / John Wayne partnership, and Elizabeth Allen was a pure pleasure.

Info Video

Codec: HEVC / H.265 (89.9 Mb/s)
Resolution: Native 4K (2160p)
HDR: Dolby Vision, HDR10
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1

Info Audio

#English: FLAC 2.0
#English: Dolby Digital 2.0 (Commentary by Film Historian Joseph McBride, the Author of Searching for John Ford)
#English: Dolby Digital 2.0 (Commentary by Film Historian Dwayne Epstein, the Author of Lee Marvin: Point Blank)

Info Subtitles