Tokyo Joe

Starring: Humphrey Bogart, Alexander Knox, Florence Marly, Sessue Hayakawa, Jerome Courtland, Gordon Jones, Teru Shimada, Charles Meredith, Lora Lee Michel
Directed by: Stuart Heisler
Rating: Approved
Genre: Drama, Film-Noir
1949

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: An American (Humphrey Bogart) returns to Japan after World War II and while he tries to pick up the pieces of his life there, he finds himself caught between a criminal outfit and the U.S. government.

Review:

Tim: I'm a huge Humphrey Bogart fan and I believe he's made some of the greatest movies of all time. Tokyo Joe, on the other hand, left me feeling cold. The right elements are all here, but director Stuart Heisler can't combine them in a way that's especially compelling. There might not be anything wrong with this movie, but there's far too little that goes right. It's a perfectly decent film, but never more than that.

The premise is a good one. An American who lived and worked in Japan prior to World War II returns to the country postwar and tries to pick up where he left off. This aspect of the film is fairly fascinating. We all know that Japan was devastated during World War II, but we don't spend much time thinking about what the country was like after the war. This film gives us at least a little insight into what might have been happening. I found it intriguing to see the large presence of the U.S. military, as well as the emerging criminal enterprises. This aspect of the film at least holds our attention somewhat.

Part of the reason this film ultimately fails to reach its potential are the characters. Bogart gives a good performance as Joe, but I never really felt much of a connection to his character. Besides Bogart being cool and charismatic, Joe never really mattered to me. He's not especially likable. I wasn't invested in him regaining his bar nor his wife. His character does have a worthwhile arc in the movie and the question of his redemption is somewhat engaging. However, being with his character is a bit of a chore. Alexander Knox was fine and had a few good moments, but he doesn't give an especially memorable performance. The same can be said for Florence Marly. She didn't have a great deal of chemistry with Bogart and doesn't add nearly enough to the film. The rest of the cast is about the same- fine, but more forgettable than not. This certainly doesn't help matters.

The plot itself starts to feel a bit complicated. There's the romantic and dramatic elements of Joe, his ex-wife and her daughter. There's the plot about Tokyo Joe's and getting the business back up to speed. There's the American military and their objectives. There's the criminal enterprise and their smuggling operation. It just ends up feeling like a lot, especially considering none of it is all that interesting. The movie is thankfully short, at just 1 hour 28 minutes. Even still, I felt mostly bored towards the end and the climax didn't do a whole lot for me. Sure, I became more invested towards the end, but I was equally ready for the film to be over.

While Tokyo Joe isn't a good movie, it's still decent. It's always fun to see Bogart play this kind of role and he does put in a good effort. The friendly fighting scene with his Japanese friend was impressive. There's some melodrama, redemption, and the political intrigue isn't all bad. It's interesting to see a film set in this place and time period. Even still, it would be hard to argue this movie's merits too much. Bogart has made many substantially better movies. This is one that is very much not required viewing.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 6.5



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