63 Years of "Donovan's Reef"

I am surprised that I missed this one. But it's better late than ever!

Yesterday marked 63 years that the John Wayne, Jack Warden, Lee Marvin, Cesar Romero and Elizabeth Allen feature, Donovan's Reef was released. It was the last feature Wayne was directed by John Ford. 

I remember seeing it at the old Balboa Theater in the Vermont Ave./Manchester Blvd. section of Los Angeles with my parents and a couple of friends. It was paired with King Kong vs. Godzilla. 

Donovan's Reef was the first movie shown of the double-feature. We mainly went there to see the Godzilla movie, but we enjoyed the light comedy set in the South Seas. 

Here is the official trailer: 

61 Years of "Donovan's Reef"

Above, Lee Marvin, Elizabeth Allen and John Wayne in Donovan's Reef.

Yesterday, the official John Wayne Facebook page posted the following:

Today marks the 61st Anniversary of the release of Donovan's Reef (1963).​​​​​​​​​

“Yeah, well, frangipani and flamethrowers donʼt seem to go together, but thatʼs the way it was.” —John Wayne Michael Patrick “Guns” Donovan in Donovan’s Reef

This is the final film in which John Wayne appeared under the direction of John Ford. Duke worked on 22 films with John Ford over the course of his career. Duke began in the props department herding geese on the set of John Ford's film Mother Machree (1927).

It is hard to believe that 61 years have passed since June 12, 1963. My parents took two friends and I to see King Kong vs. Godzilla at the Balboa Theater in the Vermont and Manchester area of Los Angeles. It was the co-feature with Donovan's Reef, which played first. 

Fortunately, we weren't bored with it and found it enjoyable. I think this may have been the first John Wayne movie I saw theatrically. I was nine years old at the time. 

The Commancheros and the Battle for the American Southwest

Last night, I popped in the Blu-ray of The Comancheros (1961) with John Wayne, Stuart Whitman, Ina Balin and a pre-stardom Lee Marvin.

The movie was enjoyable and the CinemaScope cinematography is beautiful. Director Michael Curtiz became ill during production and had to have much of the movie directed by Wayne.

There are a number of extras in the disc, one was a history of John Wayne at Fox Studios and one that I found most enjoyable:

• The Comancheros and the Battle for the American Southwest (1080p, 24:13): A great, all-new documentary that examines the historical backdrop of the film, specifically the dynamic between the Comancheros, the Comanche tribe, and the Texas Rangers.

If one is a history buff on the old west and Indians, this is a very educational documentary to watch. Some of the areas the documentary covers are not too far from where I live in New Mexico, such a the Texas panhandle.

I recommend it.

Movies!

A package arrived from Amazon today of three John Wayne/John Ford classics in Blu-ray (since moving here, I've been in a John Wayne kick): The Quiet Man (with Maureen O'Hara), The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (with Lee Marvin, James Stewart and Vera Miles) and Rio Grande (with Maureen O'Hara).

These will keep me occupied for three evenings (at least, not counting repeat viewings).

John Wayne Mini Film Festival

For some unknown reason, I've been in the mood for watching John Wayne movies.

Last night, I went to El Paso Barbecue for dinner. A few doors away is the CD Trader, where new and used CDs, DVDs, Blu-rays and LPs can be bought. Before going to dinner, I decided to go over to CD Trader after dinner to see if I can get two specific John Wayne movies: Donovan's Reef (1963) and McLintock! (1963). I have both on VHS, but I need to re-connect my VCR and stuff in order to use it.

So, after dinner, I headed over to CD Trader and I was in luck. They had both movies. They were used DVDs and Donovan's Reef was priced at $3.99 and McLintock! was priced at $5.99. I bought both and headed home for a "mini-John Wayne film festival".

Donovan's Reef was set in the South Pacific and it had a number of stars whose heydays were back in the 1940s such as Dorothy Lamour and Dick Foran. It was the last movie John Ford directed John Wayne in. It also co-starred Lee Marvin, Jack Warden, Cesar Romero and Elizabeth Allen. It was filmed on location in Hawaii.

McLintock! is a version of The Taming of the Shrew in a western setting with Wayne and Maureen O'Hara. McLintock! was a big box office hit when it was released. It co-starred Chill Wills, Patrick Wayne, Yvonne DeCarlo and Robert Lowery (who once played Batman in a movie serial). A new actress, Stefanie Powers, played Wayne's daughter.

Both Donovan's Reef and McLintock! were light comedies, I first saw Donovan's Reef at the Balboa Theater in Los Angeles. The second feature of the double-bill was King Kong vs. Godzilla.