Back in 1963, John Wayne starred in adventure comedy Donovan’s Reef, opposite Lee Marvin, Jack Warden and Elizabeth Allen.
Set in French Polynesia but filmed in Hawaii, Duke once again teamed up with four-time Oscar-winning director John Ford.
The filmmaker was in ill-health, meaning Wayne ended up directing most of the movie himself, while Ford kept out of his usual drinking sessions with the actor.
Instead, Duke would go out boozing with heavy drinker Lee Marvin, who was so hungover most mornings that filming was often rescheduled.
When returning to his hotel one night, a drunk Wayne launched an attack on the Catholic Church after spotting a group of priests.
Wayne was 55 to Allen’s 33 at the time of filming and had asked Ford to cast his regular collaborator Maureen O’Hara in the role of Amelia instead. However, the cranky old director refused, replying: “Are you going to be the one who tells her she’s perfect because she’s old?” After Donovan’s Reef release, Wayne decided his future on-screen romantic interests would only be mature women. It’s strange Duke was bothered by the age gap given that during filming his third wife Pilar Pallete (who is still alive at 96) was the same age as Allen.
