The Love Bug (1968)

A race car driver becomes a champion with a Volkswagen Beetle with a mind of its own.

Director:

Robert Stevenson

Writers:

Bill Walsh (screenplay), Don DaGradi (screenplay)

Stars:

Dean Jones, Michele Lee, David Tomlinson

1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Dean Jones	...	Jim Douglas
Michele Lee	...	Carole Bennett
David Tomlinson	...	Peter Thorndyke
Buddy Hackett	...	Tennessee Steinmetz
Joe Flynn	...	Havershaw
Benson Fong	...	Tang Wu
Joe E. Ross	...	Detective
Barry Kelley	...	Police Sgt.
Iris Adrian	...	Carhop
Andy Granatelli	...	Association President
Ned Glass	...	Toll Booth Attendant
Robert Foulk	...	Bice
Gil Lamb	...	Policeman at Park
Nicole Jaffe	...	Girl In Dune-buggy
Wally Boag	...	Flabbergasted Driver

Storyline

Meet Jim Douglas, a down-on-his-luck race car driver who lives in an old run-down fire house in San Francisco with his friend Tennessee Steinmetz, a occasional drunk mechanic. One day, Jim goes to a luxury car dealer and sees a strange Volkswagen Beetle with a unusual problem: it tends to drive on its own, as if it were sentient. The little Bug follows Jim home but Jim believes that the owner of the car dealership, Peter Thorndyke, is playing a trick on him. Jim decides to try out the car, and experiences its magical nature, fahrvergnügen, if you will, for himself. Jim repairs the little car and Tennessee names the him "Herbie". Behind the wheel of Herbie, Jim becomes more successful in racing. Thorndyke wants Herbie back, but Jim refuses and Thorndyke decides to race against him. Thorndyke sabotages Herbie before a big race known as the "El Dorado" - an obvious parody of the then-new "Baja 1000" race in Mexico. Jim and Tennessee along with Thorndyke's former assistant (and ...

---

Plot Keywords:

hippie | vehicle driving by itself | attempted suicide | car | car accident | 

---

Taglines:

Catch the Bug!

---

Genres:

Comedy | Family | Sport

---

Certificate:

Approved

Details

Official Sites:

Disney's Official Site

Country:

USA

Language:

English Cantonese Spanish

Release Date:

13 March 1969 (USA)

Also Known As:

Car-Boy-Girl

Filming Locations:

Cuddy Valley, California, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$51,264,000

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$51,264,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Walt Disney Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.75 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Dean Jones, who played Jim Douglas in the movie and Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo (1977), also plays the role of the hippy in the drive-in restaurant. The actress, that acted as the waitress, is Iris Adrian. Iris Adrian and Dean Jones were together in another Disney movie, two & a quarter years earlier, in the feline comedy, That Darn Cat! (1965). Dean Jones' role was an leading FBI agent, Zeke Kelso and Iris Adrian's role was a firm, unnamed managing landlady of an apartment building, with door-to-door rooms (like a miniature hotel suite) in or near San Francisco, California, with kidnapped bankteller Margaret Miller, Grayson Hall & her kidnappers Dan, was acted by Neville Brand & Iggy was acted by Frank Gorshin.

---

Goofs

When the second wheel comes off Herbie on the first day of the El Dorado, it goes over the cliff. As it falls it is just a tire, but then after it lands halfway down the mountain and starts rolling again, it is a full wheel and tire.

---

Quotes

[first lines]
Jim Douglas: I'd like another shot at that prize money. Okay for next Sunday?
Bice: No, Jim, it ain't okay.
Jim Douglas: Now, look, Bice, I know...
Bice: No, *you* look. All my drivers are eighteen, nineteen... You're too old for these kid sports. You're liable to get hurt in there.

---

Crazy Credits

At the end of the end credits, the words "The End" turn into an animated bug which drives away from the screen.

---

Alternate Versions

When originally released theatrically in the UK, the BBFC made cuts to secure a 'U' rating. All cuts were waived in 1986 when the film was re-rated with a 'U' certificate for home video.

---

Connections

Referenced in Aladdin: The Love Bug (1994)

---

Soundtracks

Die Fledermaus
(uncredited)
Written by Johann Strauss

User Reviews

60's Disney fluff.

Ah, remember when Disney was that all-powerful company that could do no wrong. I do. Disney had so much power in Hollywood that they could force the censors to give this movie a G rating despite the scenes where the late Buddy Hackett was clearly intoxicated and still boozing it up. Yes kids, we're introducing you to the wonders of alcohol in this family film.

Still, this film about a race car driver and his Volkswagon Beetle is a good film. Herbie the Love Bug is a car with his own personality, even more than the General Lee or KITT. You couldn't hate Herbie. The story is the usual, Dean Jones somehow acquires this magical car and uses it to fame and fortune while stereotypical bad guys hatch a plot to steal it away from him for their own greedy reasons. Still, decent acting, that infamous Buddy Hackett scene, great racing scenes, and seeing Michelle Lee's bad haircut are enough to warrant a viewing. They also made three sequels, but this is the best of the bunch.