This was made in 1943 and it shows it. Clearly a propaganda piece designed to stir up patriotic emotions, it was a mix of mom and apple pie and tense battle drama. Grant played a tough minded yet basically tender hearted skipper whose objective was to drive his submarine right into Tokyo Harbor. His mission was to "obtain vital data on the enemy" in order for the allies to bomb the valuable Japanese city. This picture had to many glaring inconsistencies to measure up to current war films. All the underwater shots were obviously taken in shallow water using toy boats. Another thing I dislike about movies from this era was the stock cast of characters - the bragging ladies man, the green kid, the hothead with a chip on his shoulder, and, of course, the kookie mess chief. And if that isn't enough, this sub allowed a kewpie doll, an accordion, a flute, record players, and a quartet of christmas carolers. The entire film was a plain effort at glorifying a useless war to the homefront, complete with a stirring speech by Grant on the honor of giving one's life so kids can wear roller skates instead of guns. At least the producers kept to a minimum the usual lovey dovey, home and hearth scenes. For my money the Navy can torpedo this ham and corn sub and leave it laying at the bottom of Tokyo Bay.
Review of Destination Tokyo
