Bedtime for Bonzo Wins the Cold War
Former Soviet Union President Mikhail Gorbachev passed away in August 2022. Part of his legacy was working with President Reagan to significantly reduce Cold War tensions during the 1980s. President Reagan’s strong anti-communist stand was a major factor in bringing the Soviet Union to the negotiating table. In British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s words, Ronald Reagan had won the Cold War without firing a shot.
During their 1986 summit meeting, President Reagan and General Secretary Gorbachev discussed nuclear disarmament and movies. Within a few years, the Soviet Union collapsed, and the Cold War was over. Is it possible that the Reagan film Bedtime for Bonzo was a factor?
Ronald Reagan
President Reagan was born and raised in Illinois. He worked as a radio sports announcer for the Chicago Cubs. During a trip to California, Reagan took a screen test and started his movie career. His career spanned four decades, acting in over 50 movies. He also served as President of the Screen Actors Guild.
Reagan entered politics in the 1960s. He won the California governorship in 1967 and 1971, both by comfortable margins. He went on to win the Presidency in 1980 and 1984 by overwhelming margins, carrying 44 states in 1980 and 49 states in 1984.
Reagan was a strong anti-communist and described the Soviet Union as an 'evil empire.' He increased defense spending, including the concept of anti-missile defense systems. Officially called the 'Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI),' the program was unofficially called 'Star Wars.'
Mikhail Gorbachev
Gorbachev had a Russian father and a Ukrainian mother. He rose through various positions in the Communist Party until he was part of the Central Committee that ran the Soviet Union. Soviet premier Brezhnev died in 1982. Yuri Andropov and Konstantin Chernenko followed him. Both were elderly and in poor health and died within two years of assuming office.
In 1985, the Soviet politburo selected the 53-year-old Gorbachev as the next premier. He embarked upon a program of reform known as 'perestroika’ (restructuring) and 'Glasnost’ (openness). To improve the Soviet economy, he wanted to reduce defense spending and entered nuclear arms reduction negotiations with President Reagan.
Bedtime for Bonzo
Bedtime for Bonzo was a 1951 comedy film starring Ronald Reagan. He played a psychology professor who tried to teach human morals to a chimpanzee, hoping to solve the "nature versus nurture" question. The movie became an embarrassment for Reagan, with some claiming that Reagan was 'out-acted by a chimp.' Other than Knute Rockne, All American, Bedtime for Bonzo is probably Reagan's most famous (or infamous) film. Click here to see a political opponent using the movie against him.
Click here for theatrical trailer.
Reagan / Gorbachev Summit Meeting
Reagan and Gorbachev met in Iceland in October 1986 to discuss nuclear disarmament. Reagan started the meeting: "…both our sides have expressed the desire to rid the world of…nuclear missiles…We both want peace…[and] to strengthen trust and reduce mutual suspicion between our peoples." *
Gorbachev agreed with disarmament: "We are in favor of a solution…which would ultimately provide for the complete liquidation of nuclear weapons…."
The parties discussed a 50% reduction of long-range missiles and a complete elimination of intermediate-range missiles. Gorbachev brought up missile defense, wanting to confine any testing to the 'laboratory,' excluding real-world tests. He stated that the strategic defense initiative ('SDI') would "destabilize the strategic situation in the world."
Reagan defended the need for SDI, explaining it was needed in case some rogue world actor developed weapons: "…when the use of chemical weapons was prohibited after World War I, we did not reject the gas mask." He said that SDI would "provide protection against the actions of any madman…who would use missiles if they had them."
The two men discussed human rights and freedom. Gorbachev complained that the Voice of America ('VOA') broadcast our point-of-view into the Soviet Union, but the Soviet Union could not transmit radio into the U.S. As a result, the Soviet Union was forced to jam the VOA. He asked if Reagan would support leasing a radio station to allow the Soviet Union to broadcast its views. Reagan agreed, and MSNBC was formed. **
And then Gorbachev complained about movies. "Almost half of the movies showing in our theaters are American. Soviet movies are hardly ever shown in the United States." It is unclear whether 'Bedtime for Bonzo' was one of those movies. Reagan responded, "We do not have any ban on your movies. The film industry is a free business, and if someone wants to show your films, he can do it. Our government cannot control the film market."
Gorbachev's following response admits the Soviet Union is totalitarian: "In your country, the most democratic country, obstacles arise to showing our movies, while in our country, a totalitarian country, almost half of the movies shown are American. How do you reconcile this paradox?"
Reagan explains, "The only thing I can answer is that the movie theaters belong to your government, and you can show what you want to them. But our government cannot compete with private business…you have the right to set up a rental organization in our country to distribute your movies."
The Iceland summit ended in failure. While there was general agreement on reducing long-range missiles and eliminating intermediate-range missiles, the parties could not agree on SDI.
Gorbachev and Reagan sign INF treat in 1987
The parties continued to negotiate, and the Soviet Union dropped its objections to SDI. In late 1987 the United States and the Soviet Union signed the Intermediate Nuclear Forces ('INF') treaty. The treaty marked the first time the superpowers had agreed to reduce their nuclear arsenals and eliminate an entire category of nuclear weapons. Due to accusations of Russian cheating, NATO and the United States withdrew from this treaty in 2019.
The countries continued to discuss long-range weapons. In 1991, under the Bush administration, the countries signed The Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty ('START'). This treaty resulted in the removal of over 80% of all strategic nuclear weapons. A follow-on treaty is still in effect.
Did Bedtime for Bonzo have any effect on these negotiations? Probably not, unless watching the film caused the Soviet Union to underestimate Ronald Reagan.
. * All quotes are from the official transcript
. ** This is ‘fake news’ - MSNBC wasn’t formed until the mid-1990 as a partnership between Microsoft and NBC. Microsoft subsequently divested its interests