(There may be Spoilers) Pretty good Humphrey Bogart flick that has the distinction of being the first US made movie filmed in post-war Japan with a beautiful rendition of the song "These Foolish Things" sung by co-star and Bogie's love interest in the movie the exotic and hauntingly beautiful Florence Marly, Trina Pechinkov Landis, that rivals the song "As Time Goes By" in the Humphrey Bogart classic WWII movie "Casablanca".

Joe Barrett, Humphrey Bogart, who owned a nightclub in Tokyo, the "Tokyo Joe Cabaret" before the outbreak of the war between Japan and the USA goes back after the war to start where he left off in the nightclub business. Discharged from the US Army Joe finds it almost impossible to have a business in Japan without the approval of the US Military Occupation Government and is given only a 60 day visa to stay in the country.

Finding out from his friend and co-owner of the "Tokyo Joe" Ito, Teru Shimada, that he wife Trina, Florence Marly, and singer at the nightclub is alive not that she died during the war as Joe thought, makes Joe want to stay over his allowed 60 days. Joe is in for a big surprise when he finds out that Trina had married a top US lawyer working in Japan Mark Landis, Alexander Knox. Joe even more shocked when he finds out from Barom Klmura, Sesssue Hayakawa, an air freight owner whom Joe is fronting for to extend his visa that she also did propaganda broadcasts during the war for the Japanese government making her a traitor to America. Trina is an American citizen and libel to be prosecuted by the US Military Government in Japan.

Things get far more complicated for Joe when he discovers that Trina has a seven year old girl Anya, Lora Lee Michel, who was born after Joe left her for the USA in 1941 and who he's the father of. The fact that Trina did broadcasts for the Imperial Japanese government was because they took Anya away from her as she, like all Americans stranded in Japan during the war, was thrown into a Japanese prison camp.

While Joe is struggling with this dilemma his working for Kumura is unknowing helping him smuggle dangerous Japanese Communists and dreaded Black Dragon leaders into the country to start an open and bloody revolt against the occupying American Military Government.

Better then you would expect Bogart film since it's almost unknown when you compare it to Bogie's many great movies.The movie also has one of the most exciting fight as well as shoot-out sequences you'll ever see in an Humphrey Bogart movie.

The great photography of post-war Japan in the film as well as the fine cast make "Tokyo Joe" more then worth watching but the most intriguing thing about the movie is it's very interesting story-line that was in a way really prophetic. That had the Communists who were trying to overthrow the US installed democratic Japenese Government working out of South Korea. A country that was invaded by the North Korean Communist on June 25, 1950 a year after the movie "Tokyo Joe" was released.

"Tokyo Joe" takes place in post WWII Tokyo, at a time when the city was still under marshal law and controlled by the American occupation forces.

Joe Barrett (Humphrey Bogart),an ex pilot returns home to Tokyo. He goes to his now closed nightclub, "Tokyo Joe's" which he owned and operated with his partner Ito (Teru Shimada). Barrett learns from Ito that his wife Trina (Florence Marly) whom he believed to be dead, is alive and living nearby.

Barrett rushes to meet her only to discover that she has divorced him and re-married businessman Mark Landis (Alexander Knox). Determined to win her back, Barrett looks for ways to extend his 60 day visitor's visa.

Ito brings him to local Japanese "businessman", Baron Kimara (Sessue Hayakawa) who offers to finance a small freight airline which will carry food delicacies, such as frozen frogs into Japan for export abroad. When Barrett declines the offer, Shimara reveals that Trina had made propaganda broadcasts during the war for the Japanese. Trina explains that she had been coerced into making the broadcasts because the Japanese had taken her daughter from her. She tells Barrett that the seven year old Anya (Lora Lee Michael) is really his daughter.

In order to be allowed to remain in the country, Barrett decides to accept Shimara's offer and hires two American crewmen, Danny (Jerome Courtland) and Idaho (Gordon Jones) to fly the airplane. Several shipments of frozen frogs later, Barrett suspects that Shimara is about to smuggle Japanese war criminals into the country. To ensure that Barrett carries out the mission, Shimara kidnaps Anya and..............................

This was Bogart's second film made by his Santana production company for release by Columbia following the end of his Warner Bros. contract in 1948. Bogey gives his usual excellent performance although his ju-jitzu match (courtesy of stunt men) with Ito, is a little hard to imagine. Sessue Hayakawa had been around films since the early silents, but is probably best remembered for his role as the camp commandant in "The Bridge on the River Kwai" (1957). Alexander Knox who usually played sophisticated villains, is wasted here as Landis.

Entertaining, but not among Bogie's best.

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.