SimilarScreen
Donovan's Reef

Donovan's Reef

Gangway...For This Year's BIG Adventure!

19636.21h 49m

Overview

After her great aunt's death, a high-society woman arrives on a Hawaiian island in search of the heir - the father she has never met.

Directed by John Ford
Written by James Edward Grant, Edmund Beloin, Frank S. Nugent
Produced by John Ford
Box OfficeBudget: $2.7MRevenue: $6.6M

Top Cast

John Wayne

John Wayne

Michael "Guns" Donovan

Elizabeth Allen

Elizabeth Allen

Ameilia Dedham

Lee Marvin

Lee Marvin

Thomas "Boats" Gilhooley

Cesar Romero

Cesar Romero

Andre de Lage

Mike Mazurki

Mike Mazurki

Monk Menkowicz

Jack Warden

Jack Warden

William Dedham

J

Jacqueline Malouf

Lelani Dedham

C

Cherylene Lee

Sarah "Sally" Dedham

Jeffrey Byron

Jeffrey Byron

Luki Dedham

Dorothy Lamour

Dorothy Lamour

Miss Lafleur

Themes & Keywords

birthdayhalf-brotherpriestveteranmission clinicpolynesiabar brawlchristmaspianohalf sistertiki culture

About Donovan's Reef

Donovan's Reef is a adventure, comedy, romance film released in 1963 exploring themes of birthday, half-brother, priest, veteran, mission clinic, polynesia. Directed by John Ford, it stars John Wayne, Elizabeth Allen, Lee Marvin. After her great aunt's death, a high-society woman arrives on a Hawaiian island in search of the heir - the father she has never met.

Movies Similar to Donovan's Reef

Discover titles like Donovan's Reef — ranked by similarity and community votes

We found 15 movies similar to Donovan's Reef

If you enjoyed Donovan's Reef, you'll love these handpicked recommendations. Each title below shares similar themes, tone, and storytelling style. Our algorithm analyzes genres, keywords, director filmography, and cast connections to find the closest matches. Whether you're looking for the same emotional depth, narrative structure, or visual style, these picks are curated to deliver the best viewing experience for fans of Donovan's Reef.

Judge Priest
23% Match

Judge Priest, a proud Confederate veteran, restores the justice in a small town in the Post-Bellum Kentucky using his common sense and his great sense of humanity.

The Hurricane
22% Match

A Polynesian sailor is separated from his wife when he's unjustly imprisoned for defending himself against a colonial bully. Members of the community petition the governor for clemency but all pretense of law and order are soon shattered by an incoming tropical storm.

Blue Hawaii
17% Match

Chad Gates has just been discharged from the Army, and is happy to be back in Hawaii with his surf-board, his beach buddies and his girlfriend.

Sixteen Candles
17% Match

With the occasion all but overshadowed by her sister's upcoming wedding, angst-ridden Samantha faces her 16th birthday with typical adolescent dread. Samantha pines for studly older boy Jake, but worries that her chastity will be a turnoff for the popular senior. Meanwhile, she must constantly rebuff the affections of nerdy Ted, who is unfortunately the only boy in school who seems to take an interest in her.

The Apartment
17% Match

Bud Baxter is a minor clerk in a huge New York insurance company, until he discovers a quick way to climb the corporate ladder. He lends out his apartment to the executives as a place to take their mistresses. Although he often has to deal with the aftermath of their visits, one night he's left with a major problem to solve.

The Wedding Date
16% Match

With the wedding of her younger sister fast approaching, Kat Ellis faces the undesirable prospect of traveling alone to London for the ceremony. While this is bad enough, Jeffrey, the man who left her as they moved closer to marriage, happens to be the groom's best man. Determined to show everyone -- most of all Jeffrey -- that her romantic life is as full and thrilling as ever, Kat hires a charming male escort as her date.

Six Days Seven Nights
16% Match

In the South Pacific island of Makatea, career-driven magazine editor Robin Monroe is on a week-long vacation getaway with her boyfriend, Frank Martin. An emergency work assignment in neighboring Tahiti requires Robin to hire the cantankerous pilot Quinn Harris who had flown them to Makatea on a small transport plane. While flying, a powerful storm forces Quinn to make an emergency landing on a nearby deserted island. The dissimilar pair avoid each other at first, until they're forced to team up to escape from the island -- and some pirates who want their heads.

Angel and the Badman
15% Match

Notorious shootist and womanizer Quirt Evans' horse collapses as he passes a Quaker family's home. Quirt has been wounded, and the kindly family takes him in to nurse him back to health against the advice of others. The handsome Evans quickly attracts the affections of their beautiful daughter, Penelope. He develops an affection for the family and their faith, but his troubled past follows him.

Moana
15% Match

Moana(2016)

Movie7.6/10

In Ancient Polynesia, when a terrible curse incurred by Maui reaches an impetuous Chieftain's daughter's island, she answers the Ocean's call to seek out the demigod to set things right.

About a Boy
14% Match

Will Freeman is a good-looking, smooth-talking bachelor whose primary goal in life is avoiding any kind of responsibility. But when he invents an imaginary son in order to meet attractive single moms, Will gets a hilarious lesson about life from a bright, but hopelessly geeky 12-year-old named Marcus. Now, as Will struggles to teach Marcus the art of being cool, Marcus teaches Will that you're never too old to grow up.

The Harvey Girls
14% Match

On a train trip out west to become a mail-order bride, Susan Bradley meets a cheery crew of young women traveling out to open a "Harvey House" restaurant at a remote whistle-stop.