Destination Tokyo (1943) User Reviews

Destination Tokyo-When War Films Meant Something ***

[edwagreen · 8/10 · 5 June 2011]

This engrossing film takes place on a submarine bound for Japan to do a lot of damage. It primarily deals with the personnel on board. Led by Cary Grant, a tough, but real family man, this film goes on to explain various situations, including an emergency appendectomy done by a pharmacist on board the ship.

John Garfield, as Wolfie, steals the show. He always talks of his adventures with women. In one scene, he talks about this with the music of Cole Porter's "Night and Day" as a backdrop. Ironically, Cary Grant is not in the scene. Two years later Cary was in a major biographical-picture with that title about the great Porter.

Garfield and his guys do their work on land quickly to deliver valuable information that will aid in the bombing. That bombing as well as the bombing that the sub is subjected to is very realistically done.

Grant talks of something that we can relate to today. He speaks of young Japanese children being taught at a young age to hate. It's so many years later and we hear the same thing about young Palestinians. War comes from hatred.

Good Flick

[bobbychuck15 · 8/10 · 5 August 2005]

I enjoyed the film. It was full of Amaerican propaganda, but it was produced when WWII was still being fought. I saw a in previous review, where a reader said that the movie stared Alan Hale, before he went on to Captain his own boat in Gilligan's Island. It's actually Alan Hale Sr. who's in Destination Tokyo, and Alan Hale Jr., who's in Gilligan's Island. Cary Grant does a good job as Captain, and I enjoyed the drama of Torpedoman Adams getting hit with an appendicitis while the sub is in Tokyo Bay. It also showed that people die during a war. The sub took quite a beating from depth-charges as well as discussing the fear that some men would have had. It was also interesting how they incorporated the Col. James Dolittle raid into the movie. It seemed a little more realistic than in Pearl Harbor. Overall, a pretty good movie.

Fantastic Classic 1943 Film

[whpratt1 · 8/10 · 7 July 2008]

Have not seen this film in years and it was a great experience seeing this film and the great veteran actors who made this into a great WWII story. Cary Grant, (Capt. Cassidy) plays the commander who manages to take his submarine right into the backyard of the Japanese Nation. John Garfield, (Wolf) plays a great role who charms the crew with his tales of all the women he met along with a great deal of exaggeration. Alan Hale, (Cookie Wainwright) was a cook on the submarine and was able to give a great deal of comedy to his role as the chef. This film will keep you on the edge of your seat when the sub comes under fire from the Japanese Destroyer's while one of the crew is having surgery by a man who knows nothing about appendicitis. Dane Clark, (Tin Can) gave a great supporting role in this film and this film started a great career for Dane in Hollywood. Great film, don't miss it, you can see this film over and over.

A film that still floats well!

[big_bellied_geezer · 21 August 2002]

Here is a great small war movie propelled with the talents of star Cary Grant and a fine supporting cast to boot. Not a major classic by any means but a delight that stands up to repeat viewing. This film was made in the general spirit of great 40's films with it's action/comedy pacing, there's hardly a dull moment. The film feels true to the spirit of the times it was made as well, no false notes struck here. As a footnote, I've noticed a few earlier reviewers noted the presence of "The Skipper from Gilligans Island Alan Hale"...sorry, that's not so. That man is Alan Hale Sr, a very talented actor in his own right who's the FATHER of Alan Hale Jr of Gilligan's Island fame(It's a bit confusing because they both were known as "Alan Hale" and they both looked very similar.) Pick it up for cheap and add it to your collection, you'll be glad you did!

Solid but also better seen from its original context

[secondtake · 7/10 · 11 April 2014]

Destination Tokyo (1943)

While not officially a propaganda film (it's not endorsed or paid for by the government), this is one of many films the studios put out to basically join the effort, putting their shoulder to the wheel. It's not a great film for our times mostly because it's overflowing with lessons, with the propagandistic style of persuading us the Japanese were bad and the U.S. soldiers, with all their wonderful flaws, were out to save us.

I say this first because it's a lot of baggage to wade through. The other side to this coin is an adventure war movie where Cary Grant is in charge of a submarine out for a special mission. It's well paced, generally well acted (the cast is filled with lesser actors along with the main three). John Garfield is an average sailor with a big role, and big ego that grates on some of the other sailors. But he tells ribald stories that they can't help listening to. The one older actor is the cook played by character actor Alan Hale, who is appropriately comic.

So, what you get is some very talented people explaining the current events, including lots of anti-Japanese chat. The interior shots in the sub are fairly realistic (though from what I read, an actual sub is far more cramped). The outside stuff varies a lot in quality. The shots of the sub underwater are painfully crude models in water tanks. Some of the landscapes are also invented in the studio and you can tell.

What carries it at all is a sense of danger and necessity. These men have to succeed to defeat evil. Remember (of course) the audience at the time had a very black and white view of the war, and of the enemies. They were anxious for confirmation that we were capable of such things, and that the enemy (Japan, but also Germany is discussed) is fundamentally wrong—they lack freedoms, the woman are simply alive to bear children, no free press, etc.

Why did I watch it? Cary Grant. I'm curious about his range, and his being corralled into this kind of vehicle. I'm guessing he was partly interested in helping the war effort, and partly under contract. And you know what? He's great. He plays it straight, and he's smart, confident, warm, complex. If you like Grant, you might like this movie just for that reason.

Another thing to say overall: it gets better as it goes. The set up in the first half is a bit obvious and sometimes stiff or slow. But there is a medical emergency which is pretty great, and then there is the general operation in Tokyo Harbor. It's all dramatic and well done by first-time director Delmar Daves. Yeah, it's got a lot of dated script to wade through, but the best of it is great war stuff best remembered for its context.

Great follow up to Warner Brothers' earlier war epic "Air Force".

[mark.waltz · 7/10 · 7 March 2010]

I always had misgivings about this movie which I saw sometime on TV in the early 90's. For some reason to me, it didn't seem logical that Cary Grant, of all people, could successfully captain a submarine. Boy, was I wrong. Gone is "Judy, Judy, Judy", and in are mannerisms that make him perfect in this role, if not for that role. He is charming, as usual, but is extremely understated than normal. The light comedian comes out at times, of course, but his oh so recognizable speech pattern doesn't overpower his characterization. He is surrounded by a wonderful supporting cast. I always thought that Dane Clark was brought into Warner Brothers to be another John Garfield, but after seeing them bickering at each other, they were nothing alike. Garfield was cocky but likable, while Clark was a bit tougher and more cynical. Alan Hale, as the cook, is his usual gregarious self, and a very young John Forsythe is recognizable in a small role.

There are some wonderfully suspenseful moments involving Japanese mines and the plane explosions, like in "Air Force", are most frightening. One thing that made me a bit uncomfortable were a few speeches of the downside of Japanese life, particularly their treatment of women and the taking of five year old boys to begin their military training. Still, they were much more subtle than presentations of the Japanese as monsters in other World War II movies spouting such silly lines as "OK you Yankee Doodle Dandies, Come and Get Me!" To understand World War II propaganda, one must try and face the facts that not all portrayals of our enemies were totally true. The true danger in the Axis were seeing them as cultured individuals who were capable of great atrocities. Somehow, the Germans got better treatment in the movies than the Japanese did; Their villainy was always revealed to be hidden under the facade of civility and great manners. (Check out Conrad Veidt in "All Through the Night" as evidence of that.) The Japanese were unfortunately usually presented as Barbarians. But for those who like their war villains getting their just reward, take notice of the Japanese pilot who is ungrateful to his American saviors and turns to cheese in the Swiss method after making his ingratitude known to an unfortunate American soldier who has tried to pull him up out of the Pacific. Also, have fun listening to Tokyo Rose who war predictions will turn out to be absolutely false.

When Cary Grant says, "I hear that a lot of Japanese are happy to die for their emperor. A lot of them are going to be very happy", I felt a bit uncomfortable. As much as I like to see the enemy stopped, I don't like to see any civilizations being slaughtered because of political differences. Movies like this do make me proud to be an American as long as true American values of peace and prosperity are available to all people. "Destination Tokyo" has great detail of showing life during war on a submarine where men of all walks of life became brothers to fight a battle they truly believed in.

Patriotic wartime movie about submarine feats against the Japanesse Navy into Tokyo harbor

[ma-cortes · 7/10 · 16 October 2020]

A weathered WWII actioner, dealing with a Sub Commandant ,-Gary Grant, though partially miscast due to be too urban for this role- , and his brave crew : John Garfield , Robert Hutton, John Ridgely , Alan Hale , Dane Clark, Tom Tully, Peter Whitney, Warner Anderson , John Forsythe , among others . All of them carry out the search-and-destroy mission by means of an US submarine sent into Tokyo harbor. As the valiant captain Gary Grant takes his submarine to the coast of Japan , where undercover land three tough sailors : John Garfield, John Ridgely, John Forsythe . As they slip through security nets to land a key information gathering team for US bombing raids .

A propaganda piece put together by great professionals as director Delmer Daves and screenwriters as Daves himself and the black-listed Albert Malz. The film is pretty well , being decently made and with a fine main and support cast , if perhaps undue length . This attractive warlike movie results to be a blueprint for the Submarine Sub-genre - along with its British equivalent made the same year titled " We Dive at Dawn" -including ordinary frames about rousing torpedo highlights , depth-charge anxieties, underwater model work, straightforward macho heroics and regular attacks against warships . Adding character studio concerning some members of the crew and much banter among the motley mix of sailors the order of the day.

It contains an atmospheric and evocative cinemetography in Black and While by Bert Glennon. Although available in a horrible colorized version . As well as moving and thrilling musical score by Franz Waxman . The motion picture was well and professionally directed by Delmer Daves . This craftsman was a good filmmaker who directed all kinds of genres , outstanding in Western and Film Noir , though also made notorious romantic dramas , and warfare movies , such as : Pride of the Marines or Forever in love , Dark Passage , The Red House , Never let me go , The Last Wagon , Jubal, 3.10 to Yuma , Cowboy , The Badlanders , Demetrius and the Gladiators, Kings Go Forth , The Battle of the Villa Fiorita. Rating : 7/10 . The picture will appeal to Gary Grant fans and Wartime genre aficionados

A classic made-during-the-war film

[lkrieg · 9/10 · 24 March 2001]

This film is a bona-fide classic. Made during the height of the war, and before it was a foregone conclusion that the Allies would prevail, it shows a surprisingly detailed (if romanticized) portrayal of life in the "Silent Service". The characters are finely drawn with a craftsman director's skill, and are the archetypes for subsequent films, not derivative cartoons.

This, like all films made during the war, must be taken in context as a form of propaganda. But it is still a fine effort that produces lasting impressions. Remember that a large number of viewers in theaters had family or friends serving in the military, and must have been astonished to see how their loved ones were fighting the war. While many technical details were abstracted for obvious security reasons, there are sufficiently accurate scenarios to satisfy. The appendectomy performed by a pharmacists mate with no surgical training was a real incident adapted for the screen.

All in all, a memorable epic which, like Casablanca, tells a story from a sense of urgency we cannot recreate today. Invaluable, and deserving of a good DVD transfer.

Decent WW2 submarine drama

[grantss · 6/10 · 29 April 2014]

Decent WW2 submarine drama. Decent plot, not based on a true story itself but based around an actual historic event, the Doolittle Raid. The structure, commands and regimens of a submarine crew seem quite authentic and sometimes give it a documentary feel.

Can be a bit far-fetched at times though. Some episodes seem included just for glamour purposes, and, considering the movie was released in 1943, propaganda purposes.

Decent action sequences.

In keeping with the above point regarding propaganda, dialogue can also be overly bellicose and speech-like at times. Anything for a few war bonds...

Solid performance by Cary Grant in the lead role. Good support all round.

terrific movie, led by terrific leading man

[ss5921 · 9/10 · 1 August 2005]

This movie is a great example of a thriller, not looking to be a non-fiction account of a WWII sub, just a great story with a group of true professionals. Cary Grant was so compelling in this role that Tony Curtis said he based his famous part in Some Like It Hot on Cary Grant's performance in this picture, and that Curtis always wanted to do a movie with Grant on a submarine from that moment forward---and of course got his wish with Operation Petticoat. A previous reviewer slammed this movie for its anti-Japanese propaganda. Perhaps a slight bit of history would help. Statisitically, an American POW was FOUR times likely to die as a prisoner of the Japanese than of the Germans. The end of the war saved the lives of thousands of Americans because their treatment in Japanese camps was so horrifying. Six foot tall sailors weighing 100 pounds was not an uncommon site. The same Japanese military also starved its own people in places like Okinawa to feed itself, and I would hope that all people would now be familiar with the 'rape of Nanking,' so what was called propaganda was more just the way of the world at the time. This is one reason that the people who fought for America during World War II are revered and treasured so much.

A Pretty Good Submarine Movie

[Uriah43 · 7/10 · 20 December 2016]

Even though it's Christmas Eve a submarine called the U.S.S. Copperfin sails out of San Francisco in 1943 on a top secret assignment which cannot be revealed until another 24 hours at sea. The commander of this vessel is a man named "Captain Cassidy" (Cary Grant) and like many of the men who have served with him has 5 successful patrols to his credit. However, this specific assignment is far more dangerous than anything any of them could have ever realized and it will also have an immediate impact on the war against Japan. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that as far as "submarine movies" are concerned this film certainly ranks as one of the better ones out there. Be advised though that it was made during World War 2 and because of that there are some elements of propaganda here and there. Likewise, even though the plot is based on a true event it is also quite evident that there are some typical Hollywood exaggerations here as well. But even so this is still a pretty good film and I have rated it accordingly. Above average.

I fought World War Two at the Rodeo Theater

[kclark3 · 9/10 · 13 July 2002]

I saw it at age seven, and the impact on me was no different than on adults. We struck back at the sneaking enemy. We were on the road to revenge for Pearl Harbor. Aside from all that, here is what I think today. Cary Grant was the perfect hero for us. He was calm and determined. He was real. Then there was John Garfield who spoke for all of us when he branded Japan as a police state. Dane Clark was very good, if somewhat emotional And Charlie of the Angels, John Forsythe, made his debut and he too was good. There was some propaganda, but really not that much. The movie demonstrated the perfect resolve of the USA to destroy the "Japs" as we called them in wartime. It is still a good flick.

Propagannda In Depth

[writers_reign · 6/10 · 26 April 2017]

A 'war' movie with virtually no 'action' is a new one on me. Okay it was done in Mr. Roberts but the vessel in Mr. Roberts was a supply ship and, by definition, operating away from the action whilst the submarine here is definitely in combat. Despite the lack of combat it keeps us interested via the obligatory Hollywood 'bomber crew' slant which offers as many diverse types as possible. Cary Grant - still doing his best in 1943 to avoid returning to England and enlist in the REAL armed forces unlike David Niven - is excellent as the captain as is John Garfield in his signature wise guy persona and, if it comes to that, the majority of the supporting cast.

What do you mean realistic?

[deschreiber · 5/10 · 23 May 2015]

When people praise this film for being realistic, they must be thinking of how it portrays the look of the insides of a submarine, the living conditions, the military procedures, and so on. They can't be talking about the characters or dialogue. Movies made during the war have to keep the spirits of the viewers up, so the effects on the scripts are deadly. The worst part of these movies is always the interplay between the characters, so good- humoured and cheery in every situation. The "boys" (and they do act like boys) are always light-hearted and playful with each other, like puppies in a box. Even their lusts seem childlike and innocent, consisting of a few jokes about a pin-up girl. Occasionally a character will be portrayed a little differently, fearful or bitter, but we know it will work out well, and it's really only for effect, a little spice added to the dish, and a hint that "Gee, you see how realistic this movie is (wink, wink)?" The commanders don't really worry much about death -- under fire, with the possibility of death facing them at any second, their faces register the kind of concern they'd have over a flat tire or while waiting for a daughter staying out late after her prom. It's what passes for bravery in these movies.

Now in the case of "Destination Tokyo" can we really talk about realism when the submarine is usually an obvious model, when the captain sends the sub down to 150 feet and we can see the sunlight reflecting off the surface of the water a couple of feet over the model?

Enjoy the movie for what it is, but let's get rid of the pretence that these are realistic to any significant degree. Just compare them for a second with "Das Boat" and what they leave out will become apparent.

A great film

[mermatt · 8 June 2001]

With all the stir over Bruckheimer and Bay's silly PEARL HARBOR action ride, you might want to see some more realistic and gritty war films. Among them should be the historical retelling of Pearl Harbor in TORA! TORA! TORA! and the Doolittle raid in THIRTY SECONDS OVER TOKYO.

The Doolittle raid would not have been possible without the scouting job of the submarine that snuck into Tokyo bay to guide the plains in over the city. This film gives a rousing account of that mission as well as a beautifully done propaganda job to keep the troops and folks back home energized during the war.

The film still stands up well as a genuine action adventure. Definitely a movie for those who enjoy great film.

blueprint

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 15 June 2019]

Captain Cassidy (Cary Grant) leads his submarine USS Copperfin on an important mission. He delivers meteorologist Lt. Raymond to Tokyo Bay to gather weather intelligence for the Doolittle Raid.

This is an early submarine movie. It has the great Cary Grant in the lead. It spends too much time with the crew's stories. At the very least, it has the setting that future movies look to as a baseline. While they do tip the whole set, it's not quite the extreme angles that really exaggerate the tension. It needs a tighter setting to break out the claustrophobic paranoia. The miniature work is fine. This lays out the blueprint for a submarine thriller which those who follow are able to improve upon.

This is our ticket to the feeding grounds

[sol-kay · 7/10 · 31 May 2006]

***SPOILERS*** On Christmas Eve 1941 some two weeks after the Japanese sneak attack on Pearl Harbor the US attack submarine Copperfin slips out of San Francisco Bay on a secret mission that even it's office in charge Capt.Cassidy, Cary Grant, has no idea what it is. 24 hours out at sea Capt. Cassidy opens up, as he was ordered to before he took off,the safe in his cabin where there's a letter of instructions to where he and the crew of the Coppenfin are headed for; Destinaion Tokyo.

Highly charged war action/drama with Capt. Cassidy, who despite being a native of Oklahoma City sounds as if he's from Birmingham England, and his all American crew consisting of the womanizing, mostly in his mind, and wise cracking Wolfie, John Garfield, who found out after his tour at sea that the sub Copperfin was the best girl that he ever had a date with. There's Tin Can, Dane Clark, a sarcastic and disillusioned young sailor who doesn't believe in a heaven life after death or a higher power but becomes religious after his experience, or spiritual awakening, in surviving the hell on earth that was Tokyo Bay.

Together with the rest of the sub's crew that includes "Cookie" (Alan Hale) the sub's cook, I guess that why he's called "COOKie", and young Tommy Adams, Robert Hutton, out on his first tour of sea duty and the on boat "doctor" Pill, William Prince, who doubles as the ships pharmacist, or is it the other way around. The Copperfin travels to the icy waters of the North Pacific off the Aleutians Islands in order to pick up Reserve Officer Raymond, Jon Ridgely,who grew up in Japan and is needed to get, and broadcast back to the US carrier Hornet, all the vital information about the Japanese defenses and the changing weather conditions in and around Tokyo Bay in Japanese. This is to be done so that the Japs wouldn't get suspicious, for the planned moral boosting Jimmy Dolittle raid on Tokyo.

Very tense and exciting war movie with the Copperfin under strict orders to avoid any action, and maintain strict radio silence with the US fleet, in order not to expose the mission that she's on. The she sub both cautious and skillfully, due to Capt. Cassidy's and the sub's crew expert handling slips past the Japanese Navy, as well as an impregnable submarine net, by shadowing, underwater a Japanese heavy cruiser and it's destroyer escort into the heavily defended Tokyo Harbor.

In conjunction with the US bomber attack on the city the Copperfin again shadowing a number of Japanese war ships quietly sails out of Tokyo Bay as the action there get hot and heavy. The Copperfin then runs into a large Jap naval task force slated to engage the US carrier group defending the USS aircraft carrier Hornet who's responsible for all the havoc caused in the Pearl of the Rising Sun, Tokyo.

Nerve-racking Japanese attack, with an almost inexhaustible supply of deadly depth charges, on the Copperfin after it deep-sixth a Jap flat-top (aircraft carries) thus exposing it's presence,and position. Capt. Cassidy throwing caution to the wind, after taking everything that the Japanese Navy could throw on his sub and crew, and submerging to battle or torpedo depths starts to slug it out toe to toe with the Japanese destroyer, who's been relentlessly depth-charging his sub, and finally puts it out of commission for good.

Above average World War II drama featuring Cary Grant and John Garfield

[jacobs-greenwood · 7/10 · 6 December 2016]

Heretofore screenwriter Delmer Daves directed his first film, and assisted Albert Maltz with the screenplay of this Steve Fisher story about a submarine crew charged with infiltrating Tokyo bay in order to provide valuable information to the first Allied bombing mission of that city.

There's an interesting reference to this real mission in a movie about that James Doolittle-led bombing mission, Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944), which was made by a different studio (MGM). Fisher's Original Story was Oscar nominated. Unusual casting and the human aspects of its personnel mark this above average (not P.C.) World War II (Warner Bros.) film.

Cary Grant plays the decorated Captain of the sub, John Garfield plays its heroic gunner, Alan Hale its sentimental cook, Dane Clark a crewman with an ax to grind, and Robert Hutton its newest member "The Kid". William Prince plays the sub's "medical" staff, who's called upon to perform a miraculous operation when Hutton's character comes down with an appendicitis (based on a true story!).

John Ridgely plays a Naval Officer who was raised in Japan, that's needed for the mission, and is picked up en-route. John Forsythe (who with Hutton was making his credited film debut) plays the radio operator who, along with Garfield and Ridgely, goes ashore in Japan under cover of darkness to fulfill the task at hand.

Cary can skipper my sub any day

[RNMorton · 10/10 · 19 December 2008]

Grant is sent to Tokyo Bay in early days of Pacific WWII to assist in Doolittle's B-25 raid. Along the way we experience the traditional nervous wartime banter, Hutton getting emergency surgery from a pharmacist's mate, Garfield as the charismatic ladies man, and the senior Alan Hale (father of the Skipper but otherwise pretty indistinguishable from him) serving up his best grub. If it's a wartime navy film you have to bet on either the senior Hale or the junior Hale showing up somewhere on the boat. There's not a lot of heavy-duty battle action until the last half hour or so, but then we get enough torpedoes and depth-charges for any sub junkie. Grant is the best Hollywood sub captain ever, I think anyone would be proud to serve under him. There's something special about the movies made when the outcome of the war was still in doubt. Top notch flick, with the sort of innocence and faith which would not be attempted today. Our loss. 10 out of ten.

Americans and Japs exchange ordinance in Tokyo Bay

[helpless_dancer · 6/10 · 26 August 1999]

This was made in 1943 and it shows it. Clearly a propaganda piece designed to stir up patriotic emotions, it was a mix of mom and apple pie and tense battle drama. Grant played a tough minded yet basically tender hearted skipper whose objective was to drive his submarine right into Tokyo Harbor. His mission was to "obtain vital data on the enemy" in order for the allies to bomb the valuable Japanese city. This picture had to many glaring inconsistencies to measure up to current war films. All the underwater shots were obviously taken in shallow water using toy boats. Another thing I dislike about movies from this era was the stock cast of characters - the bragging ladies man, the green kid, the hothead with a chip on his shoulder, and, of course, the kookie mess chief. And if that isn't enough, this sub allowed a kewpie doll, an accordion, a flute, record players, and a quartet of christmas carolers. The entire film was a plain effort at glorifying a useless war to the homefront, complete with a stirring speech by Grant on the honor of giving one's life so kids can wear roller skates instead of guns. At least the producers kept to a minimum the usual lovey dovey, home and hearth scenes. For my money the Navy can torpedo this ham and corn sub and leave it laying at the bottom of Tokyo Bay.

excellent "sub" picture that stands out from the norm

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 14 February 2006]

There were a lot of war pictures made during WWII, though this one stands out as being far better than average. Part of this is the excellent acting and direction and part of this must be the result in writing an unusual plot for a submarine movie. Instead of just blowing up Japanese ships, the crew is ordered to sneak into Tokyo Bay. The tension, as a result of this slow covert mission, is incredible. About the only negative I can think of for the film is that there are more shots of toy subs AND the sides of the back lot pool in it than usual. Most sub films, if you look carefully, were filmed in these pools and the sides of the pool can occasionally be seen. However, the number of times you see the shot is fake is higher than normal, so it reduces my rating slightly.

FYI--try watching OPERATION PACIFIC (1951) after you see this film. In this sub movie, the crew trades movies with another sub crew so they can be entertained on their long missions. They trade a cowboy flick and are given DESTINATION TOKYO. Later, one of the crew members remarks that he liked the film, but it was REALLY SHORT ON REALISM!! That's funny, huh?!

"Men, you may all join me in a silent prayer."

[classicsoncall · 7/10 · 19 January 2019]

Submarine films generally offer a great deal of tension and suspense, because any false move or an attack by the enemy would mean virtually certain death. I didn't sense that kind of palpable danger with "Destination Tokyo", primarily because of the ease with which Captain Cassidy (Cary Grant) made it into and out of Tokyo Harbor through the submarine net. There were the depth charges hurled at the sub to be sure, but the most they seemed to do was cause big bangs, some rocking, and the attendant leaks in the boat, but it never seemed to approach a life or death situation. The toy boats weren't very helpful in maintaining credibility either, only a notch above the ones you see in an old Japanese Godzilla movie.

It's not a bad movie though. I like Cary Grant and a handful of the other principals in the story. Alana Hale seems to pop up in a lot of these kinds of pictures, and he managed to do a nice little riff on the Cowardly Lion from "The Wizard of Oz" early in the picture. The appendicitis operation was based on an actual event which took place on the submarine USS Seadragon in September, 1942. The sailor who survived that operation died two years later in a freakish submarine accident.

The most poignant scene in the movie occurs with the death of Seaman Mike Connors (Tom Tully), stabbed by a Japanese aviator on a suicide mission. Fellow sailor 'Tin Can' (Dane Clark) offers a moving reason why he couldn't attend the burial at sea ceremony, helping his crewmates understand his hatred for the enemy. The one scene that was kind of puzzling occurred when Seaman Tommy Adams (Robert Hutton) mistakenly identified an albatross for an incoming enemy plane, forcing the sub to make a dive. The young sailor was remorseful, but if you watch the earlier scene, there were other sailors on deck who could have corrected his mistake.

Right On Target

[Mpalin · 8/10 · 7 March 2007]

First I'd like to say that I could easily tell that Destination Tokyo was produced during the war rather than after due to its over the top patriotism. Every possible token character is on this submarine; the girl crazy stud, the dumb but lovable cook, the kid who becomes a man, the skipper who is all caring and wise, the guy who has a grudge to bear against the enemy, etc. etc. etc. And of course, they all love their country and miss their wives.

The one particular scene which I found made this movie rise above the rest was the scene in which Cary Grant was explaining why the downed Japanese Airman killed their favorite torpedoman with a knife. Typically in WWII era movies they would simply have said, "Them Japs are animals. Not civilized or even human." (Loosely quoted from John Wayne in "The Fighting Seebeas"), but not Cary Grant. Instead he explained how the Japanese were raised with the Bushido spirit. He didn't demonize them and even said they were not only fighting for their children but for the freedom of the Japanese children as well. I thought this was a bold statement in a time of war, especially WWII.

I really enjoyed this movie not only for the action but also because of the human story. The characters grow and change by the end of the film but also retain their strong sense of national pride. This movie worked really well as propaganda and portrayed the navy in a good light.

Daggers vs Roller Skates

[LeonLouisRicci · 7/10 · 21 August 2014]

Talky and Overlong WWII Submarine Movie that was Made in the Middle of the War and is Heavy on Sentimentality and Propaganda. These Sub Crew Members are Cut out of All Stripes from the American Flag and make No Bones about Speechifying and in One Case, John Garfield, Extreme Braggadocio about Babes.

Cary Grant Plays Against Type as a Super Serious Commander with Nerves of Steel and a Countenance of Concrete. The Overbaked Story is Ludicrous but Entertaining as the Sub Slips into Tokyo Harbor Unimpeded. The Battle Ensues on the Way Home and the Climax is Bombastic and Filmed with some Gravitas and Impressive Detail.

The Failings in the Film are the Flashbacks, Religiosity, and Norman Rockwell Portraits of these Patriots, plus the Enormous Length. This Type of Heavy Handedness is best Served in Small Doses. But Patient Viewers and Gung-Ho Types will get Their Rewards and it can be Satisfying and Enjoyable if Viewed in Context.

Chessy Dated Pablum

[Easygoer10 · 3/10 · 30 June 2021]

I like seeing Cary Grant, John Garfield and Alan Hale. Also, John Forsythe in his first credited film role. Unfortunately, the rest of this is trash. Skip this garbage.