Bedtime for Bonzo

Released Apr 5, 1951

1h 23m

Comedy

List

67%

Tomatometer

12 Reviews

37%

Audience Score

1,000+ Ratings

A professor (Ronald Reagan) hires a nanny (Diana Lynn) to help him raise a chimp, hoping to decide nature vs. nurture.

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Sara Michelle Fetters

MovieFreak.com

Bedtime for Bonzo is funny enough, and as dated as elements of the film may be, overall it’s pretty harmless.

Rated: 2.5/4

Dec 5, 2022

Full Review

Bosley Crowther

New York Times

As is, it is a minor bit of fun yielding a respectable amount of laughs but nothing, actually, over which to wax ecstatic.

Rated: 3/5

Mar 25, 2006

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Dave Kehr

Chicago Reader

A dim sitcom of the kind Universal turned out by the dozens in the early 50s, distinguished -- if that's the word -- by the presence of Ronald Reagan.

Jan 1, 2000

Full Review

TV Guide

For once Reagan is in synch with his costar, but Bonzo the chimp proved the more able farceur.

Rated: 2.5/4

Aug 2, 2011

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Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

Its bland star, Ronald Reagan, survived playing second banana to a chimp to become the 40th President of the United States.

Rated: C+

Aug 24, 2007

Full Review

Sean Axmaker

Turner Classic Movies Online

... you might be surprised to discover that the modest little comedy is actually an enjoyable piece of light entertainment.

Jul 29, 2007

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Audience Member

The best comedy movie ever made!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/26/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Funny, cute and loveable. A good family film.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/14/23

Full Review

Audience Member

The Ronald Reagan classic, Bedtime for Bonzo is a wacky goofball comedy that's full of laughs. When Professor Peter Boyd's father-in-law to be objects to his heredity, Peter attempts to prove nurture trumps nature by raising a chimp named Bonzo to have good morals; and to assist him he hires a nanny to care for Bonzo as she would a child. Reagan gives a strong performance as a straight-man and Diana Lynn has a natural charm and charisma. But of course Bonzo has to carry the film, and you couldn't ask for a cuter, funnier chimp than Peggy (aka Bonzo). Most of the comedy relies on physical slapstick, and the writers come up with a number of wild and crazy antics for the chimp to get into (without seeming overly contrived). For what it is, Bedtime for Bonzo is incredibly entertaining and fun.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/08/23

Full Review

Audience Member

It's funny that you can take a hot button topic like whether criminal behavior is learned or innate behavior and make possibly the most innocuous comedy imaginable out of it. No matter where you stand on the controversial issue, I guarantee you won't care how this movie turns out. That said, it's not exactly a bad movie. It's the kind of live action comedy Disney made in the 60s and 70s ... extremely bland, but entertaining. Like everyone else in the movie, Reagan is extraordinarily uninteresting.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/01/23

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Audience Member

Funny and silly moie. Pure family entertainment.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/16/23

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Audience Member

<a href="http://cooltext.com"><img src="http://images.cooltext.com/2049307.png" width="144" height="31" alt="My Review" /></a></a> <b><i>"You're no dope, Jane. You couldn't be. You haven't a university degree and you don't teach logic."</b></i> Prof. Peter Boyd is engaged to brainy dean's daughter Valerie but the Dean wants the engagement ended when he finds that Peter's father was a crook. To prove that environment is more important than heredity, Peter adopts lab chimp Bonzo and vows to "teach this monkey the difference between right and wrong". He hires young nursemaid Jane Linden to "mother" Bonzo, but will Valerie understand if she finds Jane about the house? This is the funniest idea on film ever since <i>Francis</i>. Released on September 28, 1951, <i>Bedtime For Bonzo</i> recently appealed to me when I was looking for good black and white titles for me to watch at the moment. Almost 60 years ago today this came out and I've actually heard of a movie with Ronald Reagan costarring with a monkey before I even seen it. It was also my first movie title featuring the late politician when he still had an acting career back in the day. He was really good in his acting performance of a father figure to Bonzo who was the real star for his funniest of his antics. That's real monkey business I'm talking about. Costarring with Reagan and Bonzo in their finest of performances included Diana Lynn as Jane Linden and Walter Slezak as Prof. Hans Neumann. <div style="width:500px;"><a href="http://www.flixster.com/photos/ronald-reagan-bedtime-for-bonzo-bedtime-for-bonzo-13099498"><img src="http://content8.flixster.com/photo/13/09/94/13099498_gal.jpg" border="0"/></a><div style="text-align:center;font-size:10px;"><a href="http://www.flixster.com">Flixster</a> - Share Movies</div></div> Overall, I can say that <i>Bedtime For Bonzo</i> is a great comedy movie of its time. Enjoy it if you like old black and white classics or anything with simians in it.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/04/23

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Frederick De Cordova

Director

Ronald Reagan

Prof. Peter Boyd

Diana Lynn

Jane Linden

Walter Slezak

Prof. Hans Neumann

Lucille Barkley

Valerie Tillinghast

Jesse White

Babcock

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Synopsis

A professor (Ronald Reagan) hires a nanny (Diana Lynn) to help him raise a chimp, hoping to decide nature vs. nurture.

Director: Frederick De Cordova
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Production Co: Universal/Universal Int
Genre: Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Apr 5, 1951, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 30, 2016
Runtime: 1h 23m

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