Bonzo Goes to College
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Frederick De Cordova
Maureen O'sullivan
Edmund Gwenn
Charles Drake
Gigi Perreau
Gene Lockhart
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
Bonzo, the world's most educated chimpanzee, earns money by correctly answering questions at a fair. When he misses a query put to him by hucksters Lefty Edwards and Wilbur Crane, however, his owner, Dick, does not realize the question was fixed and chastises Bonzo for losing their money. That night, Bonzo sneaks onto a passing truck and ends up in the town of Pawlton, where Pawlton College football coach Ted "Pop" Drew is desperately searching for a quarterback. Pop's other concern involves his beloved granddaughter Betsy, who has no other children to play with and, as a result, feels dejected. Pop hides a bicycle in her room to cheer her up, but when she finds Bonzo, who has crawled up the trellis and into her bed, she assumes the chimp is her mystery present and thanks Pop effusively. By the time Betsy's parents, Marion and Malcolm Drew, discover the mix-up, Betsy is so attached to clever Bonzo that they decide to let him stay. The next day, Betsy takes Bonzo to Pop's friend, Judge George Simpkins, to ask if she can adopt the chimp. Although the judge is skeptical, Pop convinces him to pretend that the adoption is legal for Betsy's sake. When Malcolm calls him that night to question the paperwork, the judge continues the deception. Soon after, Betsy writes a letter to her maternal grandfather, millionaire Clarence B. Gateson, telling him she has a new brother. Gateson, who has never visited because he wanted a grandson instead of a granddaughter, excitedly cancels all his plans and flies to Pawlton. Pop and Malcolm learn of this debacle and attempt to hide Bonzo, but he slips into the living room window as soon as Gateson arrives and pelts the older man with fruit. Gateson is furious and denounces Malcolm for tricking him into changing his will. Betsy confronts her grandfather, telling him she only wrote the letter because she thought it would make him happy, and that she is disappointed in him for judging them all. That night, a contrite Gateson enters Betsy's room and kisses her while she pretends to be asleep. When she wakes the next morning, she discovers that Gateson has taken Bonzo golfing. Gateson soon observes the chimp's stellar athleticism, and he and Betsy, now fast friends, bring Bonzo to watch Pop's football practice. Bonzo stuns everyone by passing the ball with champion instincts. Gateson then leads the campaign to have Bonzo appointed quarterback and learns that Bonzo must take an entrance exam and be enrolled in the college. To the chagrin of the professors, Bonzo scores straight A's on his exam. His status as quarterback makes all the local news programs, and the night before the big championship game, Edwards and Crane see a report on Bonzo and hatch a plan to switch him with a lookalike chimp and bet all their money on the rival team, Owen College. They steal Bonzo that night and replace him with an ornery chimp named Pam. At the game, Bonzo mopes in a hotel room while Pam loses play after play and Betsy tries to tell the disappointed fans that the quarterback is not Bonzo. When the kidnappers leave at halftime to collect their projected winnings, however, Bonzo slips out and races to the locker room. He quickly takes control and wins the game at the last moment by making the winning catch. As Betsy races to congratulate him, she sees a football scout offering him vast sums of money to play for a professional team. Everyone gathers to gravely inform Bonzo that the choice is his, and he responds by embracing Betsy.
Director
Frederick De Cordova
Cast
Maureen O'sullivan
Edmund Gwenn
Charles Drake
Gigi Perreau
Gene Lockhart
Bonzo
Irene Ryan
John Miljan
Frank Nelson
Jerry Paris
Guy Williams
Richard Garrick
Tom Harmon
Raymond Greenleaf
Dave Janssen
Jack Drummond
Larry Steele
Herbert Lytton
Don Kohler
Paul Birch
Amanda Randolph
Billy Newell
Hal K. Dawson
William Haade
George Lynn
George Eldredge
Phil Tead
Lee Millar
Jack Daly
Lorin Raker
Lester Dorr
Mike Ross
Ralph Montgomery
Frank Marlowe
Richard Grayson
Gail Bonney
George Meader
Donald Kerr
Bill Mark
Howard Banks
Dick Fortune
Bob Wehling
Frankie Van
Wally Walker
Clay Bennett
Betty Tyler
Jim Nusser
Gayne Sullivan
Pat Combs
Alice Richey
Carl Sklover
Eddie Magill
Jimmy Gray
Jack Mower
Mary Donovan
Jack Gargan
Forrest Burns
Tyler Macduff
Glen De Jong
Chuck Courtney
Shirlee Allard
Tom Royal
Bob Spencer
Al Cantor
Abe Androff
Crew
Gene Anderson
Hilyard Brown
Leslie I. Carey
Russell A. Gausman
Carl Guthrie
Jack Henley
Bernard Herzbrun
Jesse Hibbs
Corson Jowett
Joe Kenny
Ted Kent
Leo Leiberman
Ruby Levitt
Leo Lieberman
Ted Richmond
Frank Skinner
Joan St. Oegger
Bill Thomas
Henry Tindall
Bud Westmore
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
Bonzo Goes to College was a follow-up to Universal's successful 1951 film, Bedtime for Bonzo, but the studio did not make any other films featuring the chimpanzee. After the chimp who originally played "Bonzo," Peggy, died in a fire, "Bonzo II" was cast in this film, according to reviews.
Miscellaneous Notes
Released in United States 1952
Released in United States 1952
