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
Michele Lee	...	Carole
David Tomlinson	...	Thorndyke
Buddy Hackett	...	Tennessee Steinmetz
Joe Flynn	...	Havershaw
Benson Fong	...	Mr. 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 ...

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Plot Keywords:

hippie | 1960s | vehicle driving by itself | attempted suicide | motor vehicle | 

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Taglines:

Can Herbie, a clean-living, hard-working small car find happiness in today's hectic world?

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Genres:

Comedy | Family | Sport

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Certificate:

G

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, 31 December 1969

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

The yellow "Thorndike Special" was an Apollo GT. Apollos were built in Oakland, California. The body shells were fabricated in Italy and shipped to the US, where aluminum Buick 215 CID V8 engines were installed. The same company later made another sports car called the Intermeccanica Italia. One of these appears in the Disney movie The Million Dollar Duck (1971). Dean Jones had the lead acting role, in the movie.

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Goofs

Shortly before Thorndyke drives Herbie off the road and into a tree, the external view shows Thorndyke's car moving up on the right side of the road to be parallel, yet in the interior shot with the Thorndyke car, his rear window view shows Thorndyke to be clearly on the right lane of the road.

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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.

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Crazy Credits

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

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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.

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Connections

Referenced in Rémy Julienne: 50 ans de cascades (2013)

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Soundtracks

Tik-Tak-Polka
(uncredited)
Written by Johann Strauss

User Reviews

Fun and occasionally sad live-action cartoon

Dean Jones plays a race car driver who meets a pretty young woman (Michelle Lee) he sees working in the window at a fancy car dealership. He pretends to be interested in a car, but the dealer has nothing he can afford. Well, actually, that's not true. There is one little Volkswagen Beetle that was purchased by a woman who also bought a Bentley. She bought it for her maid but brought it back because the car misbehaved. Jones isn't interested in the car, but it follows him home. Cops show up at his place accusing him of stealing the car, which of course he didn't. Jones blames the sleazy car dealer for this, and for the strange behavior the car exhibits when he tries to drive it. The car has a mind of its own, and its special qualities make it good for racing. A romance develops between Jones and Lee when Lee tries to convince Jones the car is normal but soon finds out the truth. Lee can't stand Jones at first, of course.

Eventually Jones decides to keep the car and race it, but the car dealer wants in on the action, offering to buy this special car. Jones won't sell to him, but he eventually sells to a Mr. Wu (some people may be offended by stereotypical portrayals of Chinese people, and Wu starts out as a stereotype but later seems quite sophisticated). The car dealer tries his best to keep Herbie from being a success.

Jones and Lee did well in their parts but they seemed like they were acting. Buddy Hackett was quite good as an artist who creates works out of car parts and later served as Jones' crew. Hackett named the car Herbie because it reminded him of his uncle. And the actor playing the car dealer was delightfully evil. The special effects were amazing for the era in which the movie was made. It really looked like the car could do some amazing things. And of course the car seemed to have a personality, one that made us like it. The racing scenes were quite well done, and it's hard to believe there were not more wrecks. Maybe the cars were filmed at slower speeds than what we saw. While quite funny, the movie also had its tender moments and could even be sad: Herbie tried to jump off the Golden Gate Bridge, for example. I didn't really see anything to concern parents, though maybe it was a little violent for the littlest ones.