Main Cast: Maureen O'Sullivan, Charles Drake, Edmund Gwenn, Gene Lockhart
Release Year: 1952
Country: US
Run Time: 78 minutes
Plot
Bonzo Goes to College is the one that Ronald Reagan isn't in. The focus, of course, is on brainy chimpanzee Bonzo, who escapes a seedy sideshow and hides out on a college campus. Here he is adopted by Betsy Drew (Gigi Perreau), the daughter of nonplused professor Malcolm Drew (Charles Drake). Eventually, Bonzo joins the football team, and becomes the star player. A pair of bad guys kidnap Bonzo on the eve of the Big Game, but it isn't difficult to guess how things will turn out. More gimmicky than its predecessor Bedtime for Bonzo, Bonzo Goes to College is constructed more along the lines of Universal's "Francis" pictures (except that Bonzo doesn't talk). Outside of the chimp, there are a few good supporting performances by Maureen O'Sullivan as Drew's wife, Gene Lockhart and Edmund Gwenn as Betsy's feuding grandfathers, and young Jerry Paris as one of the crooks. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Bill Thomas - Costume Designer, Frederick de Cordova - Director, Ted Kent - Editor, Frank Skinner - Composer (Music Score), Hilyard M. Brown - Production Designer, Bernard Herzbrun - Production Designer, Carl Guthrie - Cinematographer, Ted Richmond - Producer, Jack Henley - Screenwriter, Leo Lieberman - Screenwriter
Bonzo Goes to College (1952) is the sequel to Bedtime for Bonzo. Like Bedtime for Bonzo, it was directed by Frederick De Cordova; however, it has different writers (Jack Henley and Leo Lieberman) and lacks Ronald Reagan and Diana Lynn's presence.
