Bedtime for Bonzo (1951)

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:

Environment Vs. Heredity | Gestalt Theory | Home Movie | University | Environment

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: I'm going to make that old man change his attitude if it takes till I'm 90.
Hans Neumann: Good, Peter. Good, good.
Peter Boyd: Of course, Valerie probably won't be interested in me when I'm 90.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Article 99 (1992)

this movie is better than all the negative hype makes it sound

Am I going to say this is a fantastic movie or high art? Of course not. However, over the years a sort of lore has emerged that is WAY OUT OF PROPORTION to the quality of the movie. Mostly because of Johhny Carson's repeated jokes at the expense of the movie during the Reagan years, people have incorrectly assumed it is a bad flick and that is far from true! It is, in fact, a cute family movie that's amazingly good for what it is. The story is very simple and engaging despite it being a chimp movie. A professor (Reagan) wants to show that people are a product of their upbringing not genetics. This is because the professor's father was a criminal and he desperately wants to prove that goodness is a learned choice, not pre-determined. He gets the idea to bring a chimp into his home and try to teach him right from wrong BUT because he is just a single man, he hires a woman (Diana Lynn) to pose as the mommy and he becomes Bonzo's surrogate dad. It's actually quite well-made fluff, and the President had no reason to be ashamed of this movie (though there were several films that I would argue might have brought him SOME shame).