Bedtime for Bonzo
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| Bedtime for Bonzo | |
 original 1951 movie poster |
|
| 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 |
| 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 | USA |
| Language | English |
| Followed by | Bonzo Goes to College |
Bedtime for Bonzo is a 1951 comedy film directed by Fred de Cordova. 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]
The film was 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".
It was also referenced in a Calvin and Hobbes comic strip,[3] and the 1966 Stan Freberg comedy album Freberg Underground.
An anti-Reagan song entitled "Bad Time for Bonzo" is featured on The Damned's fourth studio album, Strawberries.
A sequel was released entitled Bonzo Goes to College (1952), but featured neither lead actor 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.s-anand.net/calvinandhobbes.html#19861203
[edit] External links
- Bedtime for Bonzo at the Internet Movie Database
- Bedtime for Bonzo at the TCM Movie Database
- Bedtime for Bonzo at Allmovie
