Bedtime for Bonzo
| Bedtime for Bonzo | |
|---|---|
 Original 1951 film poster |
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| 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 Brad Johnson Jacqui Johnston as "Bonzo" |
| 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 | United States |
| Language | English |
Bedtime for Bonzo is a 1951 comedy film directed by Fred de Cordova, starring future U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Diana Lynn. 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 and renewed his popularity as a movie star for a while, although it was Reagan's least favorite; he never even saw the film until 1984.[2]
The film was later 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". An anti-Reagan song entitled "Bad Time for Bonzo" is featured on The Damned's fourth studio album, Strawberries. It was also referenced in a Calvin and Hobbes comic strip,[3] and the 1966 Stan Freberg comedy album Freberg Underground.
A sequel was released entitled Bonzo Goes to College (1952), but featured neither lead performer from the original.
[edit] References
- ^ Rickey, Carrie. "Reagan's film persona: Cheerful, humble, kind." The Philadelphia Inquirer. June 6, 2004. National A22.
- ^ The Unlikely Life of Ronald Reagan - 1994 ABC TV special.
- ^ http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1986/12/03
[edit] External links
- Bedtime for Bonzo at the Internet Movie Database
- Bedtime for Bonzo at the TCM Movie Database
- Bedtime for Bonzo at AllRovi
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