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
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
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]
