Destination Tokyo
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| Destination Tokyo | |
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| Directed by | Delmer Daves |
| Produced by | Jerry Wald Jack L. Warner |
| Written by | Delmer Daves Steve Fisher Albert Maltz |
| Starring | Cary Grant John Garfield |
| Music by | Franz Waxman William Lava |
| Cinematography | Bert Glennon |
| Editing by | Christian Nyby Vladimir Barjansky |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
| Release date(s) |  December 15, 1943 |
| Running time | 135 min |
| Country | US |
| Language | English |
| All Movie Guide profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Destination Tokyo is a war film produced and distributed by Warner Bros. in 1943. It was directed by Delmer Daves and starred Cary Grant and John Garfield. Production began on June 21, 1943 and continued through September 4, 1943. It premiered in Pittsburgh on December 15, 1943, and was released generally on January 1, 1944.
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[edit] Synopsis
The Captain Cassidy, played by Grant, of the fictitious submarine USS Copperfin and his crew accept the secret mission of infiltrating Tokyo Bay in order to supply intelligence for the up-coming Doolittle Raid, (see Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo. Made during the early phase of World War II when the US Navy was on the defensive, the film was effective propaganda.
[edit] Plot
On Christmas Eve, the submarine USS Copperfin leaves San Francisco Bay under sealed orders. Christmas morning, the holiday is celebrated onboard and some of the crew are introduced:
- Tommy Adams - a new recruit
- Tin Can - a Greek American who fervently hates the Nazis
- Wolf - who is always talking about his female conquests
- Pills- a former science student who is now the medical officer
- Mike - a quietly religious man
- Captain Cassidy
After twenty-four hours at sea, Cassidy opens the orders, which direct him to proceed to Tokyo, by way of the Aleutian Islands. As the submarine approaches the Aleutians, a plane is spotted overhead. It is an American plane carrying Raymond, a meteorologist, who is traveling with the crew to Tokyo.
Then two Japanese planes are spotted, and a battle ensues. Both planes are shot down, but the pilot of one of them parachutes to safety. When Mike tries to help him out of the water, the pilot stabs him to death and is killed in turn by Tommy. Because he was slow to shoot the pilot, Tommy blames himself for Mike's death and volunteers to defuse an unexploded bomb that has lodged under the boat's deck.
After the bomb is successfully defused, the men bury Mike at sea. Tin Can does not attend the service, which infuriates the other men, but he explains that his favorite uncle, a philosopher, was killed by the Nazis, and every Allied death causes him great pain.
As the submarine nears Tokyo Bay, Cassidy informs the men that the ship must negotiate the mine fields on the bay's perimeter. When a returning Japanese cruiser and two destroyers approach the bay, Cassidy decides to follow them into the bay and thus avoid the mines. That night, Wolf, Raymond and Sparks go ashore to make the observations necessary for a future air attack on Tokyo.
While the men are away, Tommy is discovered to have a ruptured appendix, and Pills operates with the help of an instruction book and improvised scalpels.
When the men on shore finish their observations, Raymond, who was reared in Tokyo, broadcasts their findings in Japanese. Despite this precaution, the Japanese decide to investigate the broadcast location, and the men narrowly escape discovery. Using the radioed information, the air attack on Tokyo begins, and the men of Copperfin watch it through their periscope.
After the attack, the submarine again slips through the mine fields by following a Japanese ship. The submarine's position is later revealed when the crew torpedoes a Japanese aircraft carrier. Other Japanese ships bomb Copperfin, which is badly damaged. When the submarine is unable to evade the destroyer that is following it, Cassidy orders the men to attack. The destroyer is sunk, and the submarine heads back to San Francisco, where Cassidy's wife and children are waiting at the dock.
[edit] Cast
- Cary Grant as Captain Cassidy
- John Garfield as Wolf
- Alan Hale as Cookie
- John Ridgely as Reserve Officer Raymond
- Dane Clark as Tin Can
- Warner Anderson as Exec Officer
- William Prince as Pills
- Robert Hutton as Tommy Adams
- Tom Tully as Mike
- Faye Emerson as Mrs. Cassidy
- Peter Whitney as Dakota
- Warren Douglas as Diving Officer
- John Forsythe as Reynolds "Sparks"
- John Alvin as Sound man
- Bill Kennedy as Gunnery Officer
- Ralph McColm as Ensign
- William Challee as Quartermaster
- Whit Bissell as Yoyo
- Stephen Richards as Admirals's aide
- Jack Mower as Admiral's aide
- John Whitney as Communication Officer
- George Lloyd as Chief of boat
- Maurice Murphy as Toscanini
- Joy Barlowe as Wolf's girl
- Bill Hunter as Market St. "commando"
- Hugh Prosser as Pilot
- Frank Tang as Japanese pilot
- Angel Cruz as Japanese bombardier
- Pierre Watkin as Admiral
- Cliff Clark as Admiral on "Hornet"
- Charles Thompson as Rear Admiral
- Russ Whiteman as First Class Yeoman
- Tony Hughes as Navy air officer
- Deborah Daves as Debby Cassidy
- Michael Daves as Michael Cassidy
- Bob Lowell as Radio operator
