I wonder if Humphrey Bogart ever traveled to Japan. Sure, the film is set there and much of it was filmed there, but in practically ever scene you see Bogart, it either was filmed in a studio or he appears to be acting in front of a projected image. So, it seems that they shot the backgrounds with one film unit and superimposed Bogie onto the backgrounds repeatedly. It is pretty noticeable and makes the film seem a tad cheap.
The film finds Bogart coming to Japan just after the war. He claims he is there to try to reopen a business he'd left behind when the war broke out--a bar. But, it's obvious that the US military (who is in charge of Japan at this point in history) is keeping Bogart ('Joe') under surveillance. When Joe finally does make his way to the closed bar, he meets with his old Japanese partner (Teru Shimada--who you may remember as a villain from YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE) for a stupid reunion scene (you just have to see it to know what I mean). It soon becomes apparent that Joe and his old friends were not so much bar owners but running their own black market business--and Bogie is there to start it up once again--along with a new partner (Sessue Hayakawa).
There is a side plot as well. Before the war, Joe was involved with a Russian lady who lived in Japan (Florence Marly) and thought she'd been killed in the war. However, when he finds her after all these years he finds that she's married and with a child...HIS child! What to do, what to do? This film finds Bogart in a more sedate role. Later in his career, he often was less of the action hero or tough guy. While he is a bit seedy here, the is not the sort to shoot or beat up people in TOKYO JOE--and many who want that super-manly Bogie may be disappointed. He made several films like this, such as SIROCCO and LEFT HAND OF GOD--all decent films but with a much more sedate sort of anti-hero. Now considering the actor's age, this sort of transition wasn't that bad an idea though they are far from his best films.
The film finds Bogart coming to Japan just after the war. He claims he is there to try to reopen a business he'd left behind when the war broke out--a bar. But, it's obvious that the US military (who is in charge of Japan at this point in history) is keeping Bogart ('Joe') under surveillance. When Joe finally does make his way to the closed bar, he meets with his old Japanese partner (Teru Shimada--who you may remember as a villain from YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE) for a stupid reunion scene (you just have to see it to know what I mean). It soon becomes apparent that Joe and his old friends were not so much bar owners but running their own black market business--and Bogie is there to start it up once again--along with a new partner (Sessue Hayakawa).
There is a side plot as well. Before the war, Joe was involved with a Russian lady who lived in Japan (Florence Marly) and thought she'd been killed in the war. However, when he finds her after all these years he finds that she's married and with a child...HIS child! What to do, what to do? This film finds Bogart in a more sedate role. Later in his career, he often was less of the action hero or tough guy. While he is a bit seedy here, the is not the sort to shoot or beat up people in TOKYO JOE--and many who want that super-manly Bogie may be disappointed. He made several films like this, such as SIROCCO and LEFT HAND OF GOD--all decent films but with a much more sedate sort of anti-hero. Now considering the actor's age, this sort of transition wasn't that bad an idea though they are far from his best films.