Kiwis will find this story especially interesting as it's an MGM take on life in their country during colonial days - "New Zealand, where English laws won't reach you". There's two fugitives, a murderer on the run (Van Heflin) who goes into timber, then years later a drunken English navy officer (Peter Lawford) who worries about being busted for desertion. They wind up working together, drunken bum drunkenly writers to the wrong sister (Lana Turner) who comes out to see him who the other guy secretly loves and forces drunken bum to marry despite fact that drunken bum actually loves the woman's sister (Donna Reed) who becomes a nun.
Utter codswallop done which doesn't feel vaguely New Zealand-ish, but fascinating - there are talks of Maoris not liking the British, Heflin is down with the Maoris, Lawford and Turner own "the most fancy house in Dunedin". Heflin and Turner are solid - Lawford's weak voice and poor performance are indicative of why he never became a big star.
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