The late 1940’s was a difficult time for Japanese/American relations. The world was fresh off of World War II and reeling from the true devastation of the dual bombings at Nagasaki and Hiroshima. Racial tension also rang out all over the USA against the Japanese, especially from servicemen returning from that side of the conflict. Likewise, there was resentment among many Japanese in their homeland during the years immediately proceeding the war against the constant presence of American personal, both military and civilian, in their home country. This is the backdrop on which 1949’s Tokyo Joe is set.
The film begins with Joe Barrett (Humphrey Bogart), an American previously living in Japan, returning to the country after having fled during the early parts of the war. He left behind a thriving business and a wife, Trina (Florence Marly). Joe hopes to pick his life back up where he left it but is finding the bureaucracy of post war Japan frustrating, unable to secure more than a simple 60 day travel visa. He reconnects with his business partner Ito (Teru Shimada) who has kept the business running in Joe’s absence. The reunion is tense at first but Joe manages to break through the racial tensions. When Trina shows up, however, Joe is hit with the hard facts that not only had she not been waiting for him, she had divorced him in his absence and remarried. She also has a young daughter. Joe, falling back on the selfish nature that led him to flee Japan without her in the first place, refuses to accept this and he demands that she is still his and he will be taking her back.
Having no other recourse for preventing his visa from running out and being forced to leave the country, Joe turns to Ito who connects him to someone else for financing of a small airline freight business importing frozen frogs. This turns out to be a front for smuggling in Japanese war criminals, intent on stirring up the people against the American occupation. In this midst is also a blackmail plot involving Trina who, during the war, was forced into broadcasting propaganda for the Japanese, a treasonable offense.
There is a lot to be said in this film about racial tensions. This is made abundantly clear in the first scene between Joe and Ito when Ito is cowed and timid upon Joe’s return. Joe eventually goads Ito into a playful wrestling match, breaking the ice again between the two old friends. It is clear these two have a long history and there is a brotherly live between them, yet when Joe first arrives there is a level of uncertainty on Ito’s part that supersedes that friendship and Ito doesn’t yet trust where he stands with his old friend. This is a reality of war and really makes a statement about the feelings of those involved on both sides.
Bogart has a real challenge here with the character of Joe. For one, he doesn’t have the prejudicial tendencies that many Americans at the time would have had. He clearly loves Ito and treats the man as an equal. On the other hand, he is a selfish man who begins the film thinking only of his own skin, having left his wife behind like a piece of property, then demanding “She is mine,” when he returns to find her with someone else. This could easily paint him as an unlikeable character, someone to despise, yet Bogart avoids that trapping. Sure, we dislike some of the things he does, but we never fully abandon him. We can see that he does have morals, even if they drift a little here and there.
The second half of the film gets cluttered, bogged down with blackmail, smuggling, politics and kidnapping. It’s spirals down the more gets thrown into the mix. It’s also a bit too obvious what the film’s trajectory is. We know what Joe’s arc will ultimately be and thus the conclusion isn’t much of a surprise. Even with that in mind, it still works. It’s melodramatic, but it still elicits emotions. This is not a film intent on surprising its audience but that doesn’t take away from things. If the second half had been a little less cluttered it could have been a very powerful film overall. Still, there is one moment that shines above the rest. That is a scene between Joe and Ito where Joe expounds on the real reason the Americans are occupying Japan in the years after the armistice. A simple statement made by Joe hits home and gives those on both sides some real meat to sink into.
The second half of the film gets cluttered, bogged down with blackmail, smuggling, politics and kidnapping. It’s spirals down the more gets thrown into the mix. It’s also a bit too obvious what the film’s trajectory is. We know what Joe’s arc will ultimately be and thus the conclusion isn’t much of a surprise. Even with that in mind, it still works. It’s melodramatic, but it still elicits emotions. This is not a film intent on surprising its audience but that doesn’t take away from things. If the second half had been a little less cluttered it could have been a very powerful film overall. Still, there is one moment that shines above the rest. That is a scene between Joe and Ito where Joe expounds on the real reason the Americans are occupying Japan in the years after the armistice. A simple statement made by Joe hits home and gives those on both sides some real meat to sink into.
Tokyo Joe is a timely film, taking full advantage of the state of the world shortly after the war. It tackles many great topics including race, political tension, and the struggles of a defeated country and its people trying to put themselves back together after a devastating conflict. There is no mention of the bombs that ended that war but audiences are capable of filling in those blanks without it being spelled out.
Release Date: October 26, 1949
Running Time: 88 Minutes
Starring: Humphrey Bogart, Alexander Knox, Florence Marley, Sessue Hayakawa, Teru Shimada
Directed By: Stuart Heisler
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