Herbie Rides Again (1974)

Director:

Robert Stevenson

Writers:

Bill Walsh (screenplay)
Gordon Buford (story)

Release Date:

6 June 1974 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Family | Fantasy | Romance

Tagline:

A little SQUIRT makes a big SPLASH!

Plot:

The living Volkswagen Beetle helps a old lady protect her home from a corrupt developer.

Plot Keywords:

Volkswagen Beetle | Wedding | Window Washer | Glass Shattered Vocally | Nightmare

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe.

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Helen Hayes	...	Mrs. Steinmetz
Ken Berry	...	Willoughby Whitfield
Stefanie Powers	...	Nicole
John McIntire	...	Mr. Judson
Keenan Wynn	...	Alonzo Hawk
Huntz Hall	...	Judge
Richard X. Slattery	...	Traffic Commissioner
Raymond Bailey	...	Lawyer
Dan Tobin	...	Lawyer
Elaine Devry	...	Secretary
Liam Dunn	...	Doctor
Vito Scotti	...	Taxi Driver
Don Pedro Colley	...	Waiter with Cake
Chuck McCann	...	Loostgarten
Larry J. Blake	...	Police Officer

Runtime:

88 min | Argentina:90 min | Spain:84 min (DVD edition)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.75 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Photophone Sound Recording)

Certification:

Australia:G | Iceland:L | Canada:G (video rating) | Argentina:Atp | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl | USA:G | Spain:T | UK:U

Filming Locations:

Paramount Ranch - 2813 Cornell Road, Agoura, California, USA

Company:

Walt Disney Productions

Trivia:

The GAF Viewmaster reel set shows a picture from a deleted sequence where one of Alonzo Hawk's nightmares has him being treated by VW Beetle doctors. The "doctors" have a red cross on the hood and the headlights have "pupils." The "doctors" have mechanical arms that hold welding torches and other mechanical tools. The scene was probably deleted because it would have been too scary for kids.

Goofs:

Continuity: Towards the end of the movie when Alonzo Hawk and his crew are ambushing the firehouse, the shot of the jukebox playing is obviously a recycled shot. You can clearly see the rope across the jukebox used to secure it to the trolley when the clan reclaimed their furniture earlier in the film.

Quotes:

Willoughby Whitfield: [at the end of his rehearsal speech to his uncle] Please do not send us any more fruit for Christmas.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Troldspejlet: (#35.1)" (2006)

Soundtrack:

Carnival of the Animals - The Swan

Little charm

The looong opening sequence of buildings being demolished, followed by a looong sequence of a corporate meeting, should have clued me in that this entry would have little charm that was in the original. (Phantom Menace, anyone? Trade disputes are always so exciting.) I hadn't seen it since it first came out, and only recalled a few things from it. Whereas The Love Bug kicks things into gear from the get-go, this thing drags on interminably. Herbie shows little personality in this one, and is merely a vehicle for bad process-shot special effects. (Most of the ones in the original were done practically, i.e. live.)

The original characters Jim and Tennessee are disposed of with throw-away lines. I find it hard to believe that Jim would "go off to Europe to race foreign cars" (and leave Herbie?) when it was practically the entire premise of The Love Bug that Herbie was just as good, and better, than any of them.

It may be "good for kids" but a good movie can get adults to enjoy it just as much.