| Bedtime for Bonzo | |
|---|---|
 Original 1951 film poster | |
| Directed by | Fred de Cordova |
| Screenplay by | Val Burton Lou Breslow |
| Story by | Ted Berkman Raphael David Blau |
| Produced by | Michael Kraike |
| Starring | Ronald Reagan Diana Lynn |
| Cinematography | Carl E. Guthrie |
| Edited by | Ted Kent |
| Music by | Frank Skinner |
| Color process | Black and white |
Production company | Universal International Pictures |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 83 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $1,225,000 (US rentals)[3] |
Bedtime for Bonzo is a 1951 American comedy film directed by Fred de Cordova and starring Ronald Reagan, Diana Lynn, and a chimpanzee named Peggy as Bonzo.[4] Its central character, psychology professor Peter Boyd (Reagan), tries to teach human morals to a chimpanzee, hoping to solve the "nature versus nurture" question. Boyd hires Jane Linden (Lynn) to pose as the chimpanzee's mother while he plays father to it and uses 1950s-era child-rearing techniques.[5]
A sequel was released titled Bonzo Goes to College (1952), but it featured none of the three lead performers from the original film. Peggy, who had also appeared in My Friend Irma Goes West (1950), died in a fire on March 4, 1951,[6] so another chimpanzee was hired for the second film. Reagan did not want to appear in the second film as he thought that the premise was unbelievable.[7]
- ^ "'U' Sets Premieres For First Quarter". Motion Picture Daily: 2. February 7, 1951.
- ^ Bedtime for Bonzo at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
- ^ 'The Top Box Office Hits of 1951', Variety, January 2, 1952
- ^ "Francis Awarded Humane Society's Top Prize". Spokane Daily Chronicle. 1951-03-07. p. 8.
- ^ Rickey, Carrie. "Reagan's film persona: Cheerful, humble, kind." The Philadelphia Inquirer. June 6, 2004. National A22.
- ^ "A 5-year-old chimp named Peggy made a monkey out of her human co-star Ronald Reagan". www.latimes.com. Archived from the original on June 23, 2014. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
- ^ Bergan, Ronald (September 19, 2001). "Frederick De Cordova: Film director famed for embarrassing Ronald Reagan with a chimp".