Year of Release: 1963Country of Origin: USA
Director: John Ford
Cast: John Wayne, Lee Marvin, Elizabeth Allen, Jack Warden, Cesar Romero, Dorothy Lamour
Plot outline: A war veteran in the South Seas tries to salvage a buddy's reputation when the man's daughter comes calling (IMDb).
The movie was shot on extremely photogenic Kauai, Hawaii - where an icy Boston heiress has gone to search out her seemingly errant father. That staid lady not only discovers the beauties of the palm-studded island but also romance in the guise of John Wayne, an erstwhile heroic hand on a Navy destroyer who decided to stay on after the war and is now the owner of the island saloon of the title, among other properties. Mr. Ford and his devoted team are not overlooking that movies should move even though the dialogue is colloquial, funny and manly. Everyone, from Elizabeth Allen, as the starchy Bostonian whose reserve melts after being exposed to the amorous assaults of Mr. Wayne and the charms of the happy folk around her, to Miss Lamour, is constantly involved in physical action: Mr. Wayne belts Mr. Marvin; Mr. Wayne and Mr. Marvin good-naturedly take on an Australian Navy crew; the kids go water skiing; Mr. Wayne is forever tearing around the island in a jeep; and Miss Lamour is tossed into a pool. Miss Allen gets a watery greeting at the outset when she lands in the lagoon on missing her step off the schooner that brings her to her destination. She is never the proper Bostonian after that. Mr. Ford, to summarize, is kidding, but he also has his viewers in mind and he does not shortchange them. Everything ends as happily as a trite travelogue, and his cast behaves in customary but satisfying style. Miss Lamour's contribution is slight, but she obviously appreciates the free-and-easy spirit of the whole wacky affair. Jack Warden is merely serious as the dedicated doctor, and Jacqueline Malouf, Cherylene Lee and Tim Stafford, as his happy, half-caste offspring, are winning youngsters. (NYT)
My judgement: **1/2 out of 4 stars
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