Brawling, leisurely-paced comedy with an island setting: typical of director Ford in its plethora of colorful characters and occasional sentimentality, but is actually a heavy-handed attempt at the Howard Hawks style (as displayed most recently in another John Wayne vehicle, HATARI! [1962] - which I've just learned, via the McLINTOCK! [1963] Audio Commentary, was critic Leonard Maltin's favorite film growing up!); this is most evident in the love-hate relationship between the Wayne and Elizabeth Allen characters.
Despite a stalwart cast, all performers are basically operating below-par (Lee Marvin's co-star credit isn't really justified, Dorothy Lamour's role is insignificant, while Jack Warden is not only too young to play Allen's father but too 'modern' to fit in this company!). All in all, it's a harmless but disappointing swansong for one of cinema's most famous and durable director-actor teams; pity they didn't part company with the elegiac THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE (1962) - also featuring Marvin - which preceded it!
Despite a stalwart cast, all performers are basically operating below-par (Lee Marvin's co-star credit isn't really justified, Dorothy Lamour's role is insignificant, while Jack Warden is not only too young to play Allen's father but too 'modern' to fit in this company!). All in all, it's a harmless but disappointing swansong for one of cinema's most famous and durable director-actor teams; pity they didn't part company with the elegiac THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE (1962) - also featuring Marvin - which preceded it!