"'Destination Tokyo' runs two hours and 15 minutes, and that’s a lot of film. Set during the second World War, depicts the story of a submarine and its crew as they sail to Tokyo, Japan to sink Japanese warships. [8] According to Warner Bros records Destination Tokyo earned $3,237,000 locally and $1,307,000 domestically.[2]. This open-minded approach may make the movie more acceptable today, but the script was one of the reasons why screenwriter Albert Maltz was called in front of the House Committee on Un-American Activities in 1947, thus becoming one of the Hollywood Ten, who were blacklisted by the studios. When a Japanese ship enters the bay, Cassidy follows in its wake. In a year and a half, Morton's crew sank at least 19 Japanese ships -- more than any other submarine of the time. Much of the film is spent developing the cast of characters that populate the sub. As the submarine nears Tokyo Bay, the Copperfin has to negotiate its way through defensive minefields and anti-torpedo nets. In throwback one gets the story of his love affair with Betty, -- Betty whom he'd met in Japan, where he'd been raised, Betty whom he could not forget and had gone to America to find, whom he'd lived with and then sacrificed to his ambition to become a great diplomat, Betty who had made good in Hollywood and forgiven him to the point of marrying him just before Pearl Harbor, once again to be left behind when … Although unnecessary romantic subplots are thankfully absent, several scenes examine the difficulty of being separated from their families, especially a painful scene where the crew listens to a record from a dead seaman’s wife. Destination Tokyo is a 1943 black and white American submarine war film. Meanwhile, Raymond, who lived in Japan, discusses how the Japanese people were led into the war by the military faction. Later, as a top Hollywood talent, he co-starred with Grant as submariners in the 1959 World War II comedy Operation Petticoat, with Grant commanding the fictional USS Sea Tiger. On the way, two Japanese aircraft attack; both are shot down, but one pilot manages to parachute into the water. On Christmas Eve, the submarine USS Copperfin, under the command of Captain Cassidy, departs San Francisco on a secret mission. "[11], A later release of Destination Tokyo was a colorized version. The film was directed by Delmer Daves in his directorial debut, and the screenplay was written by Daves and Albert Maltz, based on an original story by former submariner Steve Fisher. Destination Tokyo is a 1943 wartime propaganda film directed by Delmer Daves —it was his directorial debut. Destination Tokyo Part of the ever popular submarine subgenre, “Destination Tokyo” firmly takes its place in the middle of the pack. It involves the fictional mission of of a fictional submarine, the USS Copperfin, in the Pacific theater of World War II. There is a scene on the USS Hornet where Lawson (Van Johnson), fresh from a briefing on the latest positions of the barrage balloons over Tokyo, tells his friend Bob Gray (Robert Mitchum): "You know, the changes in those balloons threw me. Skinner, Kiron K. and Annelise and Martin Anderson. His task -- to pick up a meteorologist (John Ridgely) and travel to the coast of Japan to gather weather information for the Doolittle Raid, the first air strike on Tokyo. Destination Tokyo (28 Videos) True Tokyo Part 2. The story is a good one. A mirror installation at Tokyu Plaza Omotesando Harajuku. When furious submarine commanders discovered the problem and deactivated the magnetic exploder, relying on the simpler contact pistol, they found that many of the torpedoes would not explode because the firing pin of the contact pistol hit with too little force to cause detonation. There are several stand-out scenes, including the one where the sub follows a cruiser into Tokyo Bay, and the director alternates between the increasingly tense crew, dependent on the sonar to know what is happening, and exterior visuals to show the audience what is happening. During pre-war training, torpedoes were intentionally fired underneath the targets to preserve the expensive weapons for re-use. House Committee on Un-American Activities, "The First Joint Action: A Historical Account of the Doolittle Tokyo Raid – April 18, 1942", "AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills Nominees. They are to gather information in advance of the planned bombing of Tokyo. While meeting Raymond, the crew shoot down two Japanese planes, but lose a crewman. Tokyo Story (東京物語, Tōkyō Monogatari) is a 1953 Japanese drama film directed by Yasujirō Ozu and starring ChishÅ« RyÅ« and Chieko Higashiyama.It tells the story of an aging couple who travel to Tokyo to visit their grown children. Screenplay: Delmer Daves and Albert Maltz The model of the Copperfin used 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. [4].mw-parser-output .toclimit-2 .toclevel-1 ul,.mw-parser-output .toclimit-3 .toclevel-2 ul,.mw-parser-output .toclimit-4 .toclevel-3 ul,.mw-parser-output .toclimit-5 .toclevel-4 ul,.mw-parser-output .toclimit-6 .toclevel-5 ul,.mw-parser-output .toclimit-7 .toclevel-6 ul{display:none}. I was unaware, until then, that the film had actually been produced and released during WWII for the war effort. Upon the film's release on DVD, a variation of the poster using the corrected spelling was used for the cover. Executive Producer: Jack L. Warner Destination Tokyo is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists: Inspired by Grant's role, a 17 year-old Tony Curtis forged his mother's signature to enlist in the United States Navy in 1943. [8], Some filming of Destination Tokyo took place at Portuguese Bend near Redondo Beach, California. Posters incorrectly advertised the film as "Destination Tokio" despite Tokyo's proper spelling appearing in the film's on-screen title. When the planes bomb Tokyo, the sub is able to escape in the confusion. Here is a film of superbly pooled talents. If you wanna know where submarine movie clichés come from, look no further. Released in 1943, it has to be viewed with the ongoing war as context. Meanwhile, Tommy is diagnosed with appendicitis. Production on Destination Tokyo began on June 21, 1943 and continued through September 4 of that year. The screen sub sinks two Japanese warships, but in reality American submarines were handicapped by unbelievably ineffective torpedoes, and repeatedly failed to sink enemy ships. Director: Delmer Daves. "Pills", the pharmacist's mate, has to operate following instructions from a book, using improvised instruments, and without sufficient ether to last throughout the procedure. Just click on any of the following links: French Intervention in Mexico (1861-1867), Manifest Destiny-American Age of Expansion (1815-1860), The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. Raymond and two members of the crew are landed near Tokyo to take weather readings, and return to the sub the following night. [3] The film was directed by Delmer Daves in his directorial debut,[4] and the screenplay was written by Daves and Albert Maltz, based on an original story by former submariner Steve Fisher. Commander Morton and all aboard were lost. The Doolittle Raiders[7] detailed description of the raid states that the barrage balloons seen on the raid were a negligible threat. Written by John Vogel Plot Summary | Add Synopsis As a way of saying "thank you" the chili and canned pumpkin used by "Cookie" is labeled as being made by "Lennox". There were many other possible intelligence sources for information given out at the briefings. "Outro" to Turner Classic Movies' presentation of 'Destination Tokyo'. After a Japanese pilot stabbed the sailor who was trying to help him, Cassidy explains that the pilot had been raised to fight, and was given his first knife when he was five, unlike an American five-year-old who would receive roller skates, so they are fighting the war to end the Japanese system, not the Japanese people, who have been brainwashed. , Some filming of Destination Tokyo is a 1943 wartime propaganda film directed by Delmer Daves ’ debut the... 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