Although the island of “Haleakaloha” is meant to be French Polynesia in the movie “Donovan’s Reef,” for Kaua‘i people, it shows Ahukini landing, a pristine Hanama‘ulu Beach Park, Hanalei Bay, Kong Mountain, the Coconut Coast (with no hotels) and the
Although the island of “Haleakaloha” is meant to be French Polynesia in the movie “Donovan’s Reef,” for Kaua‘i people, it shows Ahukini landing, a pristine Hanama‘ulu Beach Park, Hanalei Bay, Kong Mountain, the Coconut Coast (with no hotels) and the gorgeous green hills of Wailua. A site near Po‘ipu Beach, now a part of the National Tropical Botanical Garden, is the main home for many scenes. It is a Kaua‘i that is hard to imagine to any of us under the age of 60.
This movie is historic on two-fronts. It captured Kaua‘i as it looked 50 years ago. This movie should be viewed by anyone who loves the island. On the cinema front, the historic collaboration of John Ford and John Wayne was ending.
These two men had made a number of the most influential American films to date, from Westerns like “Stagecoach” and “The Searchers” to the Oscar-winning drama “The Quiet Man.”
An Iconic American director, Ford was known for capturing his world on film. Ford captured Oklahoma in Depression-era America in “Grapes of Wrath,” and we journeyed into the lives of miners in “How Green Was My Valley.” Nothing changed 20 years later when he arrived on Kaua‘i for “Donovan’s Reef.”
The film co-stars Lee Marvin (“Dirty Dozen”), Cesar Romero (the original Joker from the “Batman” TV series) and Jack Warden (“12 Angry Men”).
Here is the synopsis: The film is a morality play in the guise of an action comedy. It deals harshly, though not in an obvious way, with issues of racial bigotry, corporate connivance and greed, American beliefs in societal “superiority” and hypocrisy. For example, a Boston shipping company considers carrying rum to be immoral, so the company euphemistically refers to it as “West Indies goods.”
The recently filmed “The Descendants” was a small form of history repeating itself. Alexander Payne and George Clooney worked here. To me, Alexander Payne (“Sideways”) is as influential as John Ford and, currently, movie stars aren’t more famous than George Clooney. John Wayne was twice as famous as Clooney is today.
• Paul Booth of Lihu‘e is a Kaua‘i Community College graduate, film producer and consultant. He can be reached at pkb_1@hotmail.com.
