DESTINATION TOKYO

US, 1944, 135 minutes, Black and white.
Cary Grant, John Garfield, Alan Hale, John Ridgely, Dane Clark, Warner Anderson, William Prince, Robert Hutton, Tom Tully, Peter Whitney, Faye Emerson, John Forsythe.
Directed by Delmer Daves.

Destination Tokyo is an interesting propaganda war film of 1944. It speculates on the bombing of Tokyo - and there were the historical ironies later of the bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima. The film is a Cary Grant vehicle - an unusual role for him as the commander of a submarine. John Garfield and Dane Clark lead a supporting cast of regular sailors. Audiences at the time could identify with them. The film is a psychological drama, has quite an amount of action and some suspense as the submarine enters into Tokyo Harbour for espionage purposes and then for the destruction of Japanese ships.

The film is long, sometimes slow-moving, shows its studio origins and sets. However, the cast carry it along and it is an interesting look at the type of propaganda film made in the '40s. It was written and directed by Delmer Daves, a screenwriter who was to move to directing and the work of such thrillers as the Bogart- Bacall 'Dark Passage', many westerns including 'Broken Arrow' and the Glenn Ford films like '3.10 To Yuma' and finally the romantic melodramas of 'A Summer Place' , 'Susan Slade'.

1. The impact of this war film in its time? Morale-boosting, the picture of submarine warfare? Propaganda? The anti-Japanese tone - yet the hopes for harmonious relationships with Japan after the war?

2. The conventions of the war film - the establishing of the setting on the submarine, the audience understanding the workings of the submarine and its mission? The range of men from the Captain, to the various ranks of the crew? Serious characters, humorous? The potential for clash? The officer taken on board with the special mission? The tensions on board, the active service in the Aleutians? The Japanese attack and the killing of Mike? The morale boosting? The discussions about war and the war effort? The details of the mission, its dangers, success? The final crisis and successful completion of mission and happy ending? The return home - the return to families? How well used were the expected conventions? How do they seem in retrospect?

3. Black and white photography, use of studio and sets? Franz Waxman's score and its impact, atmosphere? The special effects especially for the aerial attack, the submarine and its sailing, the gate in Tokyo Bay, the destruction of the warships?

4. The reality of the plot - the people involved in war, their backgrounds, their behaviour under fire? Realism? How contrived for the purposes of propaganda?

5. The choice of Cary Grant as Captain Cassidy? His personal manner and style? His authority in the submarine? His knowledge, reputation, relationship with the men? His decisions during the mission? The human touch with the memories of his wife and children? His decisions, especially for the bomb which did not explode, the action in the aerial attack in the Aleutians, the going into Tokyo Bay under the destroyer, the picking up of the men? The torpedoing of the ships and the final escape? Meeting his family at the end? The upright American hero - strengths rather than weaknesses?

6. Wolf as the ordinary sailor, his tall stories, relationships with the men? His volatile attitudes? The humour of the false radio broadcast on the ship? His being chosen for the special mission? His achievement?

7. The variety of sailors on the ship: Tin Can and his Greek background, his not going to the funeral, his explanation of his family - the occasion for morale boosting talk? Mike and his taking care of the younger men - his kindness to the Japanese and his being killed? The occasion of his funeral? Sentimental touches? The young boy and his knowledge of bombs, his appendicitis? The sceptical surgeon and his believing in prayer after the operation? The range of men and their jobs? The cook and his humour? The officer with his knowledge of Japanese and his contribution to the mission?

8. The importance of the aerial attack in the Aleutians and the effect on the crew? The sailing to Japan? The entry into Tokyo Bay? The surveillance and the deception with the speaking of the message in Japanese? The narrow escape? Leaving Tokyo Bay, the destruction of the Japanese ships? War action sequences?

9. The tensions on the ship - and the way these were presented? The nature of a submarine and its crew? Being under water? The tension of the depth charges etc.?

10. The overall impact of the film? A portrait of men in war - for popular consumption in the '40s?