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Bedtime for Bonzo

 
Movies:

Bedtime for Bonzo

  • Director: Frederick de Cordova
  • AMG Rating: starstar
  • Genre: Comedy
  • Movie Type: Animal Picture
  • Themes: Monkeys
  • Main Cast: Diana Lynn, Walter Slezak, Lucille Barkley, Jesse White
  • Release Year: 1951
  • Country: US
  • Run Time: 83 minutes

Plot

Forget what you've been led to believe: Bedtime for Bonzo is a most enjoyable film, and Ronald Reagan is not outacted by the chimpanzee. Reagan is cast as psychology professor whose reputation is sullied by the fact that his father was a convict. To prove that environment rather than heredity dictates a man's personality, Reagan uses Bonzo the chimp to test out his theories. The hairy little guy seems to be responding to the kindnesses lavished upon him--and then he is accused of robbery. Reagan nearly goes to jail in Bonzo's stead, but everything turns out all right in the end (we're not giving anything away; after all, everybody knows that there was a Bonzo Goes to College in 1952). While it's an uphill climb, Ronald Reagan and his able costars Diana Lynn and Walter Slezak manage to keep Bonzo from running away with the picture. And yes, director Fred DeCordova is the same guy who produced Johnny Carson's late-night show in the 1980s and 1990s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Cast

Herbert Heyes - Dean Tillinghast; Herb Vigran - Lt. Daggett; Harry Tyler - Knucksy; Joel Friedkin - Mr. DeWitt; Howard Banks - Policeman; Perc Launders - Fireman; Brad Johnson - Student; Billy Mauch - Student; Ann Tyrrell - Operator; Leslye Banning - Coed; Tommy Bond - Student; Bonzo the Chimp; Edward Clark - Fosdick; Larry Crane - Student; Elizabeth Flournoy - Miss Swithen; Edward Gargan - Policeman Bill; Jack Gargan - Teacher; Philo McCullough - Teacher; Ronald Reagan - Prof. Peter Boyd; Midge Ware - Coed; Steve Wayne - Student; Bridget Carr - Girl in car; Larry Carr - Student; Irmgard Dawson - Operator; Larry Williams - Teacher

Credit

Rosemary Odell - Costume Designer, Frederick de Cordova - Director, Ted Kent - Editor, Frank Skinner - Composer (Music Score), Bernard Herzbrun - Production Designer, Eric Orbom - Production Designer, Carl Guthrie - Cinematographer, Michael Kraike - Producer, Leslie I. Carey - Sound/Sound Designer, Joe Lapis - Sound/Sound Designer, Raphael Blau - Screen Story, Lou Breslow - Screenwriter, Val Burton - Screenwriter, Ted Berkman - Short Story Author

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Bedtime for Bonzo

original 1951 movie poster
Directed by Frederick de Cordova
Produced by Michael Kraike
Written by screenplay by
Lou Breslow &
Val Burton
story by
Ted Berkman &
Raphael Blau
Starring Ronald Reagan
Diana Lynn
Walter Slezak
Jesse White
Ann Tyrrell
Music by Frank Skinner
Cinematography Carl Guthrie
Editing by Ted Kent
Distributed by Universal Pictures
Release date(s) April 5, 1951
Running time 83 min
Country USA
Language English
Followed by Bonzo Goes to College

Bedtime for Bonzo is a 1951 comedy film directed by Fred de Cordova, starring future U.S. President Ronald Reagan. It revolves around the attempts of the central character, Professor Peter Boyd (Ronald Reagan), to teach human morals to a chimpanzee, hoping to solve the "nature versus nurture" question. He hires a woman (Diana Lynn) to pose as the chimp's mother while he plays father to it, and uses 1950s-era child rearing techniques.[1]

This movie is one of the most remembered of Reagan's acting career, although it was Reagan's least favorite; he never even saw the film.[2]

The film was referenced in connection with Reagan in the 1986 Ramones song "My Brain Is Hanging Upside Down (Bonzo Goes to Bitburg)", and in a track on a 1984 Jerry Harrison record, sampling Reagan and credited to "Bonzo goes to Washington".

It was also referenced in a Calvin and Hobbes comic strip,[3] and the 1966 Stan Freberg comedy album Freberg Underground.

An anti-Reagan song entitled "Bad Time for Bonzo" is featured on The Damned's fourth studio album, Strawberries.

A sequel was released entitled Bonzo Goes to College (1952), but featured neither lead actor from the original.

References

  1. ^ Rickey, Carrie. "Reagan's film persona: Cheerful, humble, kind." The Philadelphia Inquirer. June 6, 2004. National A22.
  2. ^ The Unlikely Life of Ronald Reagan - 1994 ABC TV special.
  3. ^ http://www.s-anand.net/calvinandhobbes.html#19861203

External links

See also


 
 

 

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