Bedtime for Bonzo (1951)

User Rating:

5.1/10   

Director:

Frederick De Cordova

Writers:

Ted Berkman (story)
Raphael Blau (story)

Release Date:

28 September 1951 (Finland)

Genre:

Comedy | Family | Romance

Tagline:

The funniest new idea on film since "FRANCIS!"

Plot:

College prof Peter Boyd tries to salvage his professional and personal reputation by using a lab chimp to prove that environment trumps heredity in behavioral development.

Plot Keywords:

Dean | Environment | Engagement | Heredity | Genetics

Cast

Ronald Reagan	...	Prof. Peter Boyd
Diana Lynn	...	Jane Linden
Walter Slezak	...	Prof. Hans Neumann
Lucille Barkley	...	Valerie Tillinghast
Jesse White	...	Babcock
Herbert Heyes	...	Dean Tillinghast
Herb Vigran	...	Lt. Daggett (as Herbert Vigran)
Harry Tyler	...	Knucksy Breckenridge
Edward Clark	...	Professor Fosdick (as Ed Clark)
Edward Gargan	...	Policeman Bill (as Ed Gargan)
Joel Friedkin	...	Mr. DeWitt
Brad Browne	...	Chief of Police
Elizabeth Flournoy	...	Miss Swithen
Howard Banks	...	Policeman
Perc Launders	...	Fireman

Runtime:

83 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Finland:S | Sweden:Btl

Filming Locations:

Backlot, Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company:

Universal International Pictures (UI)

Trivia:

During the 1980 US Presidential campaign when Ronald Reagan was the Republican nominee; this film suddenly became extremely popular again and was frequently shown on television. The joke in Washington was that "Bedtime for Bonzo" was a "favorite of old movie buffs and Democrats".

Goofs:

Continuity: When Bonzo is passed through the window, he has a skirt on that soon disappears.

Quotes:

Peter Boyd: Look, I might as well tell you now. He's a monkey.
Jane Linden: They all are.
Peter Boyd: A real monkey.
Jane Linden: You should have seen my brother Gus.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Reagans (2003) (TV)

Featherweight fare

Lightweight comedy of a college professor (Ronald Reagan) trying to teach a chimpanzee right and wrong (with the aid of pretty Diana Lynn and fellow professor Walter Slezak) to prove an experiment in environment vs. genetics. Hardly anyone's finest hour as an actor, but "Bedtime For Bonzo" still entertains in a Saturday afternoon matinee sort of way. Totally innocuous and harmless film, passable acting, generally no better or worse than the many other "B" movies cranked out by Universal in the 1950's.