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 , to teach human morals to a chimpanzee, hoping to solve the "nature versus nurture" question. He hires a woman to pose as the chimp's mother while he plays father to it, and uses 1950s-era child rearing techniques. 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. The film was later referenced in connection with Reagan in the 1986 Ramones song "My Brain Is Hanging Upside Down ", and in a track on a 1984 Jerry Harrison record, sampling Reagan and credited to "Bonzo goes to Washington". A song unflattering to Reagan 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, and the 1966 Stan Freberg comedy album Freberg Underground.
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| Release date: | April 5, 1951 |
| Directed by: | Frederick de Cordova |
| Runtime: | 83 Minutes |
| Music by: | Frank Skinner |
| Screenplay by: | Ted Berkman |
| Genre: | Comedy |