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Destination Tokyo

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Destination Tokyo
theatrical release poster
Directed byDelmer Daves
Screenplay byDelmer Daves
Albert Maltz
Story bySteve Fisher
Produced byJerry Wald
Jack L. Warner
StarringCary Grant
John Garfield
CinematographyBert Glennon
Edited byChristian Nyby
Vladimir Barjansky
Music byFranz Waxman
William Lava
Production
company
Distributed byWarner Bros.
Release dates
  • December 15, 1943(1943-12-15)(Pittsburgh,premiere)
Running time
131 or 135 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$1,516,000[2]
Box office$4,544,000[2]

Destination Tokyois a 1943black and whiteAmericansubmarinewar film.[3]The film was directed byDelmer Davesin his directorial debut,[4]and the screenplay was written by Daves andAlbert Maltz,based on an original story by former submarinerSteve Fisher.[5]The film starsCary GrantandJohn Garfieldand featuresDane Clark,Robert Hutton,andWarner Anderson,along withJohn Ridgely,Alan Hale Sr.andWilliam Prince.

Destination Tokyohas been called "the granddaddy of submarine films likeRun Silent, Run Deep(1958),Das Boot(1981), andU-571(2000) ".[4]

Produced during the height of World War II, the film was used as propaganda to boost morale back home and to entice young men to join the Submarine Service of theU.S. Navy.

Plot[edit]

On Christmas Eve, the submarine USSCopperfin,under the command of Captain Cassidy, departsMare Island Naval Shipyardon a secret mission. At sea, Cassidy opens his sealed orders, which direct him to proceed first to theAleutian Islandsto rendezvous with aPBY Catalinaand take meteorologist Lt. Raymond aboard. He is then to proceed toTokyo Bayto obtain vital weather intelligence for the upcomingDoolittle Raid.

After picking up Raymond, theCopperfinis attacked by two Japanesefloatplanes.Both are shot down, but one pilot manages to parachute into the water. When Mike, aCopperfincrewman, goes down the hull to pull the Japanese aboard, he is stabbed to death by the downed pilot. New recruit Tommy Adams shoots the Japanese, but because he was slow to react Tommy blames himself for Mike's death. At least partly to expiate his mistake, Tommy volunteers to defuse an unexploded bomb stuck under the deck under the direction of Captain Cassidy.

When Mike is buried at sea, Greek-American "Tin Can" does not attend the service. This angers the other men until he explains that every Allied death causes him great pain. Meanwhile, Raymond, who lived in Japan, discusses how the Japanese people were led into the war by the military faction.

As the submarine nears Tokyo Bay, theCopperfinhas to negotiate defensiveminefieldsand anti-torpedo nets. When a Japanese ship enters the bay, Cassidy seizes the opportunity and follows in its wake. That night, a three-man party, including resourceful womanizer "Wolf", goes ashore to make weather observations.

Meanwhile, Tommy is diagnosed with appendicitis. "Pills", the pharmacist's mate, has to operate following instructions from a book, using improvised instruments and without sufficientetherto last throughout the procedure. The operation is successful, and "Cookie" Wainwright begins to prepare the pumpkin pie he had promised to bake for Tommy.

Raymond broadcasts the information the shore party has collected in Japanese in an attempt to avoid detection, but the Japanese are not fooled and search the bay. TheCopperfinremains undetected, allowing the men to watch part of the Doolittle Raid through theperiscope.After recovering Raymond and his team, the submarine then slips out of the bay, following an exiting ship when the anti-submarine nets are opened to let it through.

Later, theCopperfinsinks a Japaneseaircraft carrierand is badly damaged by its escorts. In desperation, after long hours and barrages ofdepth charges,Cassidy attacks, sending adestroyerto the bottom and enabling the crew to return safely home.

Cast[edit]

Production[edit]

Production onDestination Tokyobegan on June 21, 1943 and continued through September 4 of that year. Members of the cast spent time at the U.S. Navy'sMare Island Naval ShipyardinVallejo, California,to familiarize themselves with submarine procedures and operations. Technical advisors to the film included the captain of theUSSWahoo,Dudley Walker Morton,and crewmember Andy Lennox.[6]TheWahoowas reported as missing in action after production onDestination Tokyocompleted, sunk by Japanese aircraft in October 1943 while returning home from a patrol in the Sea of Japan. Commander Morton and all aboard were lost. Thanks to the efforts of the Wahoo Project Group, the wreckage was identified in 2006.[citation needed]

The existence of a submarine in Tokyo Bay relaying information to theDoolittle Raidis mentioned in the filmThirty Seconds Over Tokyo(1944), based on pilotTed Lawson's memoir. There is a scene on the USSHornetwhere Lawson (Van Johnson), fresh from a briefing on the latest positions of thebarrage balloonsover Tokyo, tells his friend Bob Gray (Robert Mitchum): "You know, the changes in those balloons threw me. Just think, a bunch of guys sweating all day in a sub down in Tokyo Bay, guys just like us, sneaking up at night to radio balloon positions..." The existence of such a submarine is not part of the participants' or historians' accounts of the raid. The Doolittle Raiders[7]detailed description of the raid states that the barrage balloons seen on the raid were a negligible threat. There were many other possible intelligence sources for information given out at the briefings.

The model of theCopperfinused for filming was based on actual American submarines, except that, to confuse the Japanese, it was given equipment and apparatus that were used on numerous different types of subs.[8]The film was accurate enough to be used by the Navy as a training tool for submariners.[4]

The incident inDestination Tokyoin which the pharmacist's mate performs anappendectomywas based on an actual event which took place on the submarineUSSSeadragon.[8]

Some filming ofDestination Tokyotook place at Portuguese Bend on thePalos Verdes Peninsula.[8]

ForDestination Tokyo,Warner Bros. borrowed Cary Grant fromColumbia Picturesin a swap which sentHumphrey Bogartto Columbia to makeSahara.[9]Grant had turned down the role that Bogart eventually played, andGary Cooperhad turned down the role of the captain of theCopperfinthat Grant played.[4]

Ad for a showing ofDestination TokyoinAllentown, Pennsylvania

Reception[edit]

Destination Tokyopremiered inPittsburghon December 15, 1943 as a benefit for crippled children.[8]According to Warner Bros. records, it earned $3,237,000 domestically and $1,307,000 internationally.[2]

The New York TimesreviewerBosley Crowtherwrote:

It has a lot of exciting incident in it; some slick, manly performances are turned in by Cary Grant (as the commander), John Garfield, Alan Hale and Dane Clark. But an essential rule of visual drama, which is to put within a frame only so much explicit action as can be realistically accepted in a space of time, is here completely violated. The Warners have a big but too extravagant action film.[10]

In contrast, the review inVarietymagazine, was effusive in its praise:

'Destination Tokyo' runs two hours and 15 minutes, and that's a lot of film. But none of it is wasted. In its unspooling is crammed enough excitement for possibly a couple of pictures. Here is a film whose hero is the Stars and Stripes; the performers are merely symbols of that heroism. Here is a film of superbly pooled talents.[11]

A later release ofDestination Tokyowascolorized.[12]

Nominations[edit]

ScreenwriterSteve Fisherreceived anAcademy Awardnomination for his original story forDestination Tokyo.[8]

Influence[edit]

Inspired by Grant's role, a 17-year-oldTony Curtisforged his mother's signature to enlist in theUnited States Navyin 1943.[13]Requesting submarine duty, he instead served aboard asubmarine tender,USSProteus.Later, as a top Hollywood talent, he co-starred with Grant as submariners in the 1959 World War II comedyOperation Petticoat,with Grant commanding the fictional USSSea Tiger.

When the crew of a World War II-submarine in the 1951 movieOperation Pacificis given the treat of watching a movie,Destination Tokyois screened. Footage from this film was reused in the 1959 filmSubmarine Seahawk.

According to his autobiography,Destination TokyoinfluencedRonald Reaganin his decision to accept the lead role of a World War II submarine captain in the 1957 movieHellcats of the Navy.[14][N 1]

References[edit]

Informational notes

  1. ^One of the film's screenwriters,Albert Maltz,was later brought before theHouse Committee on Un-American Activitieson the grounds that some of the dialogue inDestination Tokyoreflected Communist sympathies.[15]

Citations

  1. ^Destination Tokyoat theAFI Catalog of Feature Films
  2. ^abcWarner Bros financial information in The William Shaefer Ledger. See Appendix 1, Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, (1995) 15:sup1, 1–31 p. 24 DOI: 10.1080/01439689508604551
  3. ^Halliwell 1989, p. 267.
  4. ^abcdeMcGee, Scott."Articles: 'Destination Tokyo' (1944)."TCM,2019. Retrieved: August 15, 2019.
  5. ^Evans 2000, p. 56.
  6. ^"History: 'Destination Tokyo'."AFI,2019. Retrieved: August 15, 2109.
  7. ^Greening, Charles R. (November 4, 2013)."The First Joint Action: A Historical Account of the Doolittle Tokyo Raid – April 18, 1942".Doolittle Tokyo Raiders.Joyce, Todd.RetrievedMay 29,2020.
  8. ^abcdeStaff (ndg)."Notes: 'Destination Tokyo'."TCM,2019. Retrieved: August 15, 2109. "TCM
  9. ^Mankiewicz, Ben. "Outro" to Turner Classic Movies' presentation of 'Destination Tokyo'.Turner Classic Movies,May 29, 2017.
  10. ^Crowther, Bosley (January 9, 1944)."Catching Up".The New York Times.
  11. ^"Review: 'Destination Tokyo'".Variety.December 31, 1942.
  12. ^Maltin 2012, p. 348.
  13. ^"My service,"ArchivedMarch 28, 2019, at theWayback MachineTonyCurtis,2019. Retrieved: August 15, 2016.
  14. ^Skinner et al., 2004, p. 44.
  15. ^Eliot 2005, p. 226.

Bibliography

  • Eliot, Marc.Cary Grant: A Biography.New York: Aurum Press, 2005.ISBN978-0-30755-497-0.
  • Evans, Alun.Brassey's Guide to War Films.Dulles, Virginia: Potomac Books, 2000.ISBN978-1-57488-263-6.
  • Halliwell, Leslie.Leslie Halliwell's Film Guide.New York: Harper & Roe, 1989.ISBN978-0-06016-322-8.
  • Maltin, Leonard.Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide 2013.New York: New American Library, 2012 (originally published asTV Movies,thenLeonard Maltin’s Movie & Video Guide), First edition 1969, published annually since 1988.ISBN978-0-451-23774-3.
  • Skinner, Kiron K. and Annelise and Martin Anderson.Reagan: A Life In Letters.New York: Simon and Schuster, 2004.ISBN978-0-74321-967-9.

External links[edit]

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