Too much of everything

Nice effects though.

Excellent but underrated film

Crappy film

Producer: Jerry Wald. Copyright 1 January 1944 by Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc. New York opening at the Strand: 31 December 1943. U.S. release: 21 December 1943. Australian release: 8 March 1945. U.S. running time: 135 minutes. Australian length: 9,332 feet. 103½ minutes.SYNOPSIS: One U.S. submarine takes on the entire Japanese Navy in Tokyo Bay.NOTES: Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Story, Steve Fisher lost to William Saroyan's The Human Comedy. Bosley Crowther included Destination Tokyo in his New York Times Ten Best Films of the Year.COMMENT: Disappointingly dated war heroics - over-talkative, embarrassingly clichéd, juvenilely characterized, tediously familiar hokum.Mind you, I thought it excellent when I first saw it on TV 25 years ago. In fact, I found it exciting enough to justify every minute of its length - and this of course was the full 135 minutes, being shown for the first time in my beck of the woods.I commended the incident-packed script, enacted by a capable cast under Daves' proficient direction. My only criticism concerned the obvious over-use of models in the studio tank. More money could have been spent on special effects.Alas, the screenplay that seemed fresh and exciting in my early youth, well before my army career, no longer interests me to-day. These service types with their cheery horseplay, their lowbrow minds and their one-dimensional loquacity are just so many tediously talking cut-outs with as much resemblance to real servicemen as a dog kennel to a Nissan hut. The materials may be the same and the resultant building may satisfy a dog (or a child) but an adult finds it lacking size, comfort and breadth.True, solid acting can often transform unintentional caricature into a believable dimension - but that doesn't happen in Destination Tokyo. Cary and his comrades are all eagerly heroic, but fail the test of life. As for John Garfield, he is dismayingly wasted in a role far below his charisma and ability.Daves' first film as a director - but the direction does not impress me now either. It's as dull and flat-footed as his script. The other credits are likewise lacking in luster.All I can say in the film's praise is that some of the incidents are still moderately exciting, there are a few snatches of believable dialogue (principally from Tom Tully) and the movie does have curiosity and nostalgia value.Just how much entertainment Destination Tokyo offers depends on how lenient or unsophisticated you're prepared to be. At least we are spared the two heroes fighting for the same girl story - or the one about the new commander the crew resents. But negatives do not necessarily make for positive excitement. So far as submarine pictures go, I much prefer John Ford's Submarine Patrol (1938) or John Farrow's Submarine Command (1951).

Sub movies up to recent times are one way or another seeking to borrow the formula Delmer Davies conceived for this timeless war picture. First, careful attention was paid to technical accuracy. So consistent was the movie to the procedures of WW2 subs, it was shown as part of the instructional program at the Groton Sub School. Second,the picture is punctuated by great action sequences quickly followed by personal profiles of the crew or the officers--but especially the crew. Alan Hale is memorable as Cookie. John Garfield nails it as the more-talk-than-action with the dames "Wolf." Dane Clark hits a homer as a transfer from the surface navy to the special world of the submariner. He gets dubbed "Tin Can" by Torpedo man and 1st Class Petty Officer Mike (Tom Tully) who is the older guy that rookie Robert Hutton ("Slim") gains guts and spiritual sustenance from on his first patrol. Of course Cary Grant is his magnetic self as the skipper of the USS Copperfin. A young Tony Curtis saw this movie and enlisted in the Navy during the war in hopes of becoming a submariner too (he didn't but years later he played one in Operation Petticoat along with his idol Cary Grant). Third, the movie respects the heck out of the sailors for what they do and their loved ones for the allegiance they bear them. Those three factors make the formula that--if adhered to--will invariably produce a submissible addition to the genre. Now, the movie is not without its flaws. The chronology is anti-historical. We are told that it is Christmas 1942 and the guys are about to assist in executing Doolittle's Raid. Problem is the raid went off 8 months earlier in April. The physical environment of the sub is too big, too comfy, and too dry. But these and other nit picks aside, check it out. I watch it 3 or 4 times a year--especially at Christmas time. I got the colorized version a few years before they went off the market. Contrary to the naysayers and purists, I am a fan of colorizing.When you watch it, try to put yourself in the desperate days just after Pearl Harbor when the nation was aching for some scrap of good news. From December '41 through March of '42, it was a succession of gloom, doom, and defeat in the Pacific. These guys are off to give the nation something to cheer about. Go along with that ride. Suspend disbelief. Acquire the climate of opinion that prevailed at that time. If you can do it: you will be transfixed.

Gripping WW2 film with Cary Grant as the captain of a Navy submarine tasked with a scouting mission ahead of the Dollittle Raid in April of 1942. Grant gives an effortless performance heading a terrific ensemble. The crew of the sub includes John Garfield, Alan Hale, Dane Clark, Tom Tully, and William Prince. Second movie of both John Forsythe and Robert Hutton, cousin to Cary Grant's then-wife Barbara Hutton.A classic war movie, well directed by Delmer Daves with a smart script that focuses heavily on character more than action. Although there is plenty of that. Reading some of the other reviews, much is made of the use of model subs and planes. Obviously special effects were limited back then. It doesn't bother me but, if you're someone who is particular about such things, consider yourself warned. Speaking of warnings, this is a film made when we were at war with Japan. So there is some politically incorrect language, for those easily offended types out there.

Good entertainment. Loved it when I was a kid. Historically inaccurate but a good story line. If anyone is historically inclined see if you can figure out what I mean. Alan Hale has always been a favorite actor of mine as is Cary Grant. Grant's role reminds me of an officer I served with. It is obviously made to support the war effort of the time and has no negative tones towards US servicemen. It must have been good because John Wayne used a clip from it in one of his movies later on. Some of the props used were not standard US issue but the way they filmed kept them from being obviously out of place. Just a good all round fun flick to watch and share time with family over.