Bedtime for Bonzo

"Bedtime for Bonzo" is a light comedy that's fit for the whole family. One doesn't have to be a child to enjoy the antics of the co-star chimpanzee, Bonzo. The plot, acting and technical aspects of this film are all good. This is a nice look at Diana Lynn who played the female lead, Jane Linden. She was a child protégé pianist at age 10. She was a very capable and promising actress whose career was cut short. After being in several movies and a number of TV films and programs, she took a short respite from acting in 1964 while raising a family with her second husband in New York. She had just returned to Hollywood in 1971 with a part in a new film, but she suffered a stroke and died before filming began. She was 45.

The adults will enjoy some of the witty dialog as well. Here are some lines that made me laugh. Professor Neumann (Walter Slezak) to Peter Boyd (Ronald Reagan): "Who expects a psychologist to think? Especially when you're so busy thinking what you think other people are thinking?" Prof. Neumann to Jane (Diana Lynn): "And now they've come to take Bonzo." Jane: "To jail?" Professor: "No, to Yale." Again, Prof. Neumann to Jane: "You're no dope, Jane. You couldn't be. You don't have a university degree, and you don't teach logic."

Watching this move again after many years, I was reminded of recent television shows about home videos. So many of those were of pets, zoo animals and animals on the farm and in the backyard. It may still be on the air – but I watch very little TV. Interest in animals in the movies and on TV seems to ebb and flow.

The decades of the 1950s and 1960s saw a number of movies and TV series made with animal co-stars. The highly successful Francis the Talking Mule made five successful movies from 1951 – 1955. Donald O'Connor was the male lead in those films, each of which had different female stars. "Mr. Ed," was a talking horse that starred in a six-year TV comedy series by the same name. Alan Young was the male lead for the series that had 144 episodes plus an unaired pilot. Many people have grown up watching Lassie or Rin Tin Tin films. Other films have had a variety of animal co-stars: horses, deer, bears, lions, wolves, and more. Of course, animation has resulted in some huge blockbuster films for kids of all ages. Judging from the comedy lines in some of those, I wonder if they aren't targeted more for older audiences.

Anyway, "Bedtime for Bonzo" should be a fun movie for folks of all ages.

RONALD REAGAN had his fair share of comedies during his stay at Warner Bros. as a contract player--but it wasn't until he went to Universal for BEDTIME FOR BONZO that he took so much kidding for appearing in what is actually an amusing comedy co-starring him with a chimp, especially after he became president. However, the film does have a good share of laughs and Reagan acquits himself in professional fashion.

What little plot there is hinges on Reagan's determination to raise Bonzo in a loving environment and prove that with nurturing and a sense of family, he can teach the chimp to respect rules and develop a moral sense of behavior. He and pretty Diana Lynn play the mama and papa roles with Diana gradually falling in love--and Reagan not realizing he's engaged to the wrong gal.

It's all very predictable but fun while it lasts, mainly because Bonzo gets to wreck havoc in a number of amusing scenes.

It's strictly for laughs and emerges as a harmless trifle in Reagan's career. Best segment is the last part of the film which has Bonzo robbing a jewelry store and then, because of his reformation by Reagan and Lynn, able to obey their command to return the necklace to the store which has everyone mystified as to how he accomplished it. It makes for a good finale--and so does the romantic happy ending.

Having never seen Ronald Reagan's acting chops, I didn't know what to expect when strapping in for Frederick De Cordova's 1951 feature, Bedtime for Bonzo. Starring the strapping future president of the United States, along with Diana Lynn, Bedtime for Bonzo tells the story of a young psychology professor trying to overcome the stigma his father's life casts over his own. Only films from the 1950's can deal with such complex issues, turn them into comedies, and still teach and reach an outcome that no textbook could duplicate. There's more than meets the eye in this film, and in its star, who I had only ever known from history books.

Life is going well for young Professor Peter Boyd (Ronald Reagan). He is enjoying a fulfilling career at the university, he is engaged to the dean's daughter, Dr. Valerie Tillinghast (Lucille Barkley) and has a great friendship with Professor Hans Neumann (Walter Slezak). All is right until the rug is pulled out from under his life by a former associate, well, a cellmate of Peter's father. Revealing to the dean that Peter's father was imprisoned, he instantly believes that Peter is destined to descend into criminal behavior. Believing the common theory of the time that criminal behavior is genetic rather than a learned trait, Dean Tillinghast (Herbert Heyes) instantly calls off the engagement between Peter and his daughter. Disgusted by the actions of the dean, and eager to prove himself worthy of his daughter, all the while seeking to prove that environment dictates criminal behavior rather than genetics, Peter vows to conduct an experiment in which even a monkey will learn right from wrong, as long as his environment is fulfilling. A monkey is exactly what he gets too, as Professor Neumann has a chimpanzee in his care to conduct experiments with at the college. Quickly realizing that he needs help, and a mother figure to make the experiment work, Peter puts out an add for a caretaker for Bonzo. When a young Jane Linden (Diana Lynn) answers the add and is undaunted by the task of caring for a monkey instead of a child, she is instantly hired and the experiment begins. As the experiment progresses, so do feelings between Peter and Jane, as Peter becomes more distraught that he has to prove himself to his prospective father-in-law. Valerie also reveals what her environment and genetics have resulted in her as she becomes more engrossed with status and what people are thinking about Peter and his work. Environment proves to be a more important factor for the people in Bonzo's life than it ever was for Bonzo, and the experiment yields wonderful results beyond expectations.

What an intro to Ronald Reagan! A looker to rival contemporaries such as Cary Grant, one quickly wonders what would have become, had Reagan not veered into politics. Something I very much enjoy about movies from the 1950's is the depth of plot they implore. It's not as common today to deal with something as complex as genetics theory or learned traits such as in this film. Sprinkling in some comedy, movies from this decade towed the line with their ability to bring such topics to full attention while still creating an enjoyable film. What is better than classic film scores? Bedtime for Bonzo was filled with the harmonic sounds so seminal to films from this era, which are always a joy to revisit. A wholesome film with a potent message, Bedtime for Bonzo is a film that can be enjoyed with the whole family, even 65 years after its initial release.

When Ronald Reagan, B picture actor became the 40th president of the United States on the way there he took a lot of criticism about his former profession as thespian. He always preferred his identification with the motion picture industry to be symbolized by playing George Gipp in Knute Rockne, All American. His supporters always referred to him as the Gipper. But his detractors always used Bedtime For Bonzo as the quintessential Reagan film.

It's both the title and the fact that Reagan is playing second fiddle to a young chimpanzee in the film that seem to resonate. Professors Reagan and Walter Slezak are conducting experiments as to just how close are the chimpanzees to man on the evolutionary scale. Reagan takes Bonzo home to live with him and treats him like a child and not a pet. For said experiment Bonzo needs a mother and Diana Lynn answers an advertisement for a chimp's mom.

It works out well on the scientific end, but plays havoc with Reagan's love life as he's slightly engaged to Lucille Barkley, daughter of college dean, Herbert Hayes. And Hayes just got an offer from Yale for Bonzo, but neither Reagan or Lynn want to part with him.

As a pet owner I can understand that, but the film does try to sell the point of view that Bonzo is more than a pet. That's a bit much for me to swallow.

Still Bedtime For Bonzo is an innocuous and pleasant comedy and could probably be remade today. Can you see Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie being Bonzo's parents?

I found this to be a rather cute comedy, which has gotten a bit of a strange reputation owing to the fact that the "Gipper" plays an unusual role. But Reagan does play comedy well (it's unfortunate that he didn't make more comedies in his day), and Walter Slezak is amusing in a nice, if a bit stereotypical kind of part as his German professor/mentor.