The film is especially poor in production value when it shows U.S.S. Copperfin in underwater sequences. It is so obvious the scenes were shot with a model submarine in a water tank that in certain frames one can actually see the sides of the water tank curving up in the background! It is a testimony to the low expectations of the WW2 movie going public that the director (Delmer Daves) did not even bother to re-shoot such scenes.
When he was late to the set one day, Cary Grant was bent over and spanked by a paddle by Director Delmer Daves in order to set a clear precedent for the other staff who were also showing up late.
The film featured Robert Hutton (as Tommy Adams, "The Kid") and John Forsythe (Sailor) in their first feature roles ever. Cary Grant pulled a prank on the whole crew pretending he was walking off the set in protest of the "too many" close-ups allowed for the rookie Robert Hutton. Cary and Hutton actually became close friends at the set and remained so throughout their lives. Cary Grant ended up marrying Robert's cousin, the super-wealthy socialite Barbara Hutton -- the heir to the Woolworth fortune.
Jack Warner, the head of Warner Brothers, sent the script of Destination Tokyo to Pentagon to get clearance from the Navy. Warner also had to assure President Roosevelt that the film would not mention anything about radar or advanced military electronics of the day.
A forgettable work. A minor footnote to Grant’s amazingly long film career. You haven’t missed anything if you haven’t seen it. And if you’d like to see what a tense nail-biting submarine warfare movie feels like, go rent “Das Boot.” It's a bit too long but infinitely better than Destination Tokyo.
Ugur Akinci is a writer with 20 years of experience. Visit his web site http://www.writer111.com for more information.
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