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The US military oversaw the government of Japan from 1945 to 1952, presaging later such adventures around the world with varying levels of success. By 1949, when this film appeared, some people in the US, and probably many in Japan, were starting to wonder if this occupation was still necessary, but Humphrey Bogart explains to a Japanese character in this film "You think we're the real enemy because we're occupying Japan. You know why we're doing it? To help the Japanese people to stand up on their hind legs like men and women have a right to." Now you know.

Bogart's character, "Tokyo Joe" Barrett, lived in Tokyo and ran a gambling joint before the war, but after Pearl Harbor joined the US Air Force where, as one might expect, he rose to the rank of colonel. In 1949 he returns to Japan to found an airline.

There are many other surprises in this film, most of which are introduced by characters revealing some fact at an unnaturally late date just to add to the suspense.

It turns out that some bad Japanese people are threatening to take over the Japanese government. Will they succeed or will the US military, aided by Tokyo Joe, foil their evil maneuvers? You'll have to watch to find out.

Bogart, dissatisfied with some of his roles at Warner Brothers, left to found Santana Productions, which produced this film, which could have been done at least as well by Warners.

His intent seems to have been to replicate the success of "Casablanca," with himself as an American running a gambling joint in a foreign country where everybody loves him, then running into his old flame with a foreign accent, now married to another man. There's even an attempt to make the song "These Foolish Things" take the place of "As Time Goes By" in "Casablanca." It doesn't work. American military occupation of Japan isn't as soul-stirring an issue as resisting Nazi occupation of Morocco.

The documentary "Hitler's Reign of Terror" debuted in April 1934 and is considered the first anti-Nazi film. "Are We Civilized?" debuted two months later. It's probably the first fictional anti-Nazi film, which gives it some historic interest. OK, the country where it takes place is never identified as Germany but it's pretty obvious. Unfortunately the writing is pretty stilted, the plot isn't really credible, and about half of it is a simplistic lesson in human history illustrated by clips from old silent films.

The plot concerns an ex-German soldier from World War One, with a metal plate in his head , who somehow by 1934 has moved to the US and become owner of the world's larges newspaper syndicate, with his adult son as second in command. The son is engaged to the daughter of the father's boyhood best friend, who now has become the head of Germany's propaganda and censorship bureau. At a state dinner is his honor, the refugee news magnate naively launches an attack on German state censorship and things go downhill from there.

Adding to the unintentional humor is that everyone in Germany speaks only English with a variety of attempts at German accents, when the actors remember, although some cops who invade the press syndicate's palatial offices to burn books sound straight from the Bronx.

Unlikely you'll want to sit through the whole movie if you can find it, but film history buffs should enjoy browsing through it. The film makers at least deserve some credit for their boldness in bringing it out at a time when many in the US were quite opposed to criticism of Hitler.

People on the left who don't like Reagan, people on the right who think the movie is degrading to Reagan. In either case I wonder if they bothered to watch it. Historic note: back in the 70s anti-Reagan people scheduled showings of this film in the belief that it made Reagan look foolish, until they realized that he was quite engaging and likable in the movie.

In case you're worried that a movie about raising a chimp like a human child in an experiment to prove that environment is more important than heredity might be a bit too heavy or gloomy, don't be. This is strictly comedy all the way with a little romance thrown in.

Reagan and colleagues are all fine but Bonzo steals the show. I'm not claiming he's an actor but he shows off the mental and physical abilities of chimps that we've since become more familiar with, while being cute and endearing.

I realize that the chimp playing Bonzo was just a child and adult chimps are a bit too hard to handle to keep as pets but this is the kind of movie that makes you wish that you could.