Destination Tokyo (1943)

Director:

Delmer Daves

Writers:

Steve Fisher (original story)
Delmer Daves (screen play) ...
(more)

Release Date:

31 December 1943 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | History | War

Tagline:

Explosive ! . . . And As Big As The Broad Pacific !

Plot:

In order to provide information for the first air raid over Tokyo, a U.S. submarine sneaks into Tokyo Bay and places a spy team ashore.

Plot Keywords:

Submarine | Secret Mission | Japan | Appendicitis | Naval Uniform

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

Cary Grant	...	Capt. Cassidy
John Garfield	...	Wolf
Alan Hale	...	'Cookie' Wainwright
John Ridgely	...	Reserve Officer Raymond
Dane Clark	...	Tin Can
Warner Anderson	...	Andy
William Prince	...	Pills
Robert Hutton	...	Tommy Adams
Tom Tully	...	Mike Conners
Faye Emerson	...	Mrs. Cassidy
Peter Whitney	...	Dakota
Warren Douglas	...	Larry
John Forsythe	...	Sparks
John Alvin	...	Sound Man
Bill Kennedy	...	Torpedo Gunnery Officer
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
George Anderson	...	Officer (uncredited)
Warren Ashe	...	Major (uncredited)
Joy Barlow	...	Wolf's Girl (uncredited)
Harry Bartell	...	Crewman (uncredited)
Whit Bissell	...	Yo Yo (uncredited)
Carlyle Blackwell Jr.	...	Man on Phone (uncredited)
Danny Borzage	...	Crewman (uncredited)
William Challee	...	Rocky the Quartermaster (uncredited)
Cliff Clark	...	Hornet's Admiral (uncredited)
Bob Creasman	...	Sailor (uncredited)
Warren Cross	...	Sailor (uncredited)
Angelo Cruz	...	Second Japanese Float Pilot (uncredited)
Deborah Daves	...	Debby Cassidy (uncredited)
Michael Daves	...	Michael Cassidy (uncredited)
Jimmy Evans	...	Sailor (uncredited)
Benson Fong	...	Japanese (uncredited)
Wing Foo	...	Japanese at Listening Post (uncredited)
John Forrest	...	Sailor (uncredited)
Roland Got	...	Japanese Officer (uncredited)
Kirby Grant	...	Hornet's Captain (uncredited)
Herbert Gunn	...	Pete - Lieutenant (uncredited)
Eddie Hall	...	B-25 Crewman (uncredited)
William Hudson	...	'Copperfin' Intercom Man (uncredited)
Charles Anthony Hughes	...	Naval Air Officer (uncredited)
Bill Hunter	...	Market Street 'Commando' (uncredited)
Ted Jacques	...	Sailor (uncredited)
Mary Landa	...	Tin Can's Girl in Photo (uncredited)
Paul Langton	...	'Copperfin' Crewman-Barber (uncredited)
Eddie Lee	...	Japanese at Listening Post (uncredited)
George Lee	...	Japanese on Beach (uncredited)
James B. Leong	...	Japanese (uncredited)
George Lloyd	...	'Copperfin' Chief Petty Officer (uncredited)
Bob Lowell	...	Radio Operator (uncredited)
Cy Malis	...	Sailor (uncredited)
Lou Marcelle	...	Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
Ralph McColm	...	Ensign (uncredited)
Jack Mower	...	Admiral's Aide (uncredited)
Maurice Murphy	...	Toscanini (uncredited)
William J. O'Brien	...	Chief of Naval Operations (uncredited)
Frank O'Connor	...	Navy Officer in Conference (uncredited)
Eleanor Parker	...	Mike's Wife on Record (voice) (uncredited)
Paul Parry	...	Sailor (uncredited)
Hugh Prosser	...	PBY Seaplane Pilot (uncredited)
George Robotham	...	Crewman (uncredited)
Dorothy Schoemer	...	Saleslady (uncredited)
Bernard Sell	...	Sailor (uncredited)
Charles Sherlock	...	'Copperfin' Helmsman (uncredited)
Larry Steers	...	Army Officer in Conference (uncredited)
Mark Stevens	...	Admiral's Aide (uncredited)
Charles Sullivan	...	'Copperfin' Ballast Operator (uncredited)
Ya Sing Sung	...	Japanese on Beach (uncredited)
John Sylvester	...	Sailor (uncredited)
Frank Tang	...	First Japanese Float Pilot (uncredited)
Charles S. Thompson	...	Rear Admiral (uncredited)
Sailor Vincent	...	Crewman (uncredited)
Wally Walker	...	Crewman (uncredited)
Jay Ward	...	Crewman (uncredited)
Russ Whiteman	...	Yeoman 1st Class (uncredited)
John Whitney	...	Communications Officer (uncredited)
Alan Wilson	...	Sailor (uncredited)
Bruce Wong	...	Japanese Antenna Man (uncredited)
Duke York	...	Duke - 'Copperfin' Crewman (uncredited)

Directed by
Delmer Daves

Writing credits
Steve Fisher		(original story)
Delmer Daves		(screen play) and
Albert Maltz		(screen play)

Produced by
Jerry Wald	....	producer
Jack L. Warner	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Franz Waxman

Cinematography by
Bert Glennon		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Christian Nyby		(as Chris Nyby)
Vladimir Barjansky		(uncredited)

Art Direction by
Leo K. Kuter

Set Decoration by
Walter F. Tilford		(set decorations) (as Walter Tilford)

Makeup Department
Perc Westmore	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Chuck Hansen	....	unit manager (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Arthur Lueker	....	assistant director (uncredited)
Fred Scheld	....	second assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
John Beckman	....	assistant art director (uncredited)
Harper Goff	....	set designer (uncredited)
John More	....	props (uncredited)

Sound Department
Robert B. Lee	....	sound

Special Effects by
Lawrence W. Butler	....	special effects director (as Lawrence Butler)
Willard Van Enger	....	special effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Benny Cohan	....	assistant camera (uncredited)
Joe Cramer	....	best boy (uncredited)
Owen Crompton	....	grip (uncredited)
Frank Flanagan	....	gaffer (uncredited)
Ed Henderson	....	stills (uncredited)
George Gordon Nogle	....	camera operator (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Roe Ramsey	....	wardrobe (uncredited)
Leon Roberts	....	wardrobe (uncredited)

Music Department
Leo F. Forbstein	....	musical director
Leonid Raab	....	orchestral arrangements (as Leon Raab)
William Lava	....	composer: additional music (uncredited)

Other crew
Phillip Compton	....	technical advisor (as Lt. Comdr. Phillip Compton)
James Leicester	....	montages
Andy Lennox	....	technical advisor (uncredited)
Dudley Walker Morton	....	technical advisor (uncredited)
Florence O'Neill	....	script clerk (uncredited)
Ken Whitmore	....	unit publicist (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Warner Bros (A Warner Bros.-First National Picture)

Distributors

• Warner Bros (1943) (USA) (theatrical) (presents) (as Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1998) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Living Colour Entertainment (2007) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• M.P.E.A. (1949) (Austria) (theatrical)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

135 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Japanese

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Australia:PG | Finland:S | Sweden:15 | Australia:G (TV rating) | USA:Approved (certificate #9521) | Canada:G (video rating)

Filming Locations:

Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Company:

Warner Bros

Trivia:

Apparently, President Franklin D. Roosevelt mandated that this movie make no explicit reference to either military electronics or radar.

Goofs:

Continuity: The deck gun shifts from the foredeck to the afterdeck.

Quotes:

Capt. Cassidy:[Attempting to sneak into heavily-guarded Tokyo harbor by concealing the sub under a warship overhead] Can we hug the cruiser any closer?
Sound Man:We're just about kissing her now, sir.
Capt. Cassidy:[Ponders the situation for a second] If we kiss her bottom, we get an "ash can" right down our neck.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Hollywood Hist-o-Rama: John Garfield" (1962)

Soundtrack:

The Japanese Sandman

excellent "sub" picture that stands out from the norm

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?!