Destination Tokyo

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?!

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.

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.

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.

Great propaganda film for WWII. However, can anyone really believe that Cary Grant is from Oklahoma City? Since the Doolittle raid was in April of 1942, the movie has to begin on Christmas day 1941 - a little less that three weeks after the US got into the war. But the Captain says that this is their 5th tour. Cookie says that the previous Christmas (1940) they spent getting depth charged. Unless they decided to get into the war before it was declared. By the way, the actor who played Cookie is not the Alan Hale who went on to become the Skipper in Gilligan's Island. Alan Hale died in 1950. The Skipper was his son, Alan Hale, jr.