Herbie Rides Again (1974)

User Rating:

5.4/10   

Director:

Robert Stevenson

Writers:

Bill Walsh (screenplay)
Gordon Buford (story)

Release Date:

6 June 1974 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Family | Adventure | Comedy | 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

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

Also Known As:

La pandilla de cupido motorizado (Argentina) (Mexico) [es]
A kicsi kocsi újra száguld (Hungary) [hu]
As Novas Aventuras do Fusca (Brazil) [pt]
Full speed igen Herbie (Sweden) [sv]
Herbie groß in Fahrt (West Germany) [de]
Herbie i højeste gear (Denmark) [da]
Herbie il maggiolino sempre più matto (Italy) [it]
Herbie, Um Carocha dos Diabos (Portugal) [pt]
Herbie, un volante loco (Spain) [es]
Katsaridaki... latreia mou (Greece) [el]
Riemukupla rullaa taas (Finland) [fi]
Un nouvel amour de coccinelle (France) [fr]

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 | 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:

Unlike The Love Bug (1968), in which all VW logos were removed from Herbie, Disney worked closely with Volkswagen to promote the sequel. 300,000 Herbie posters were distributed to dealers to pass on to their customers and each VW dealer had a Bug on display that was made up to look like Herbie. Plus, if a customer wanted to turn their new Beetle into a Herbie they could purchase a graphics kit from the VW parts department.

Goofs:

Continuity: The model year of Volkswagen used for Herbie shifts back and forth throughout the film. It's most visible when the side rear windows change size from smaller (1963) to larger (1966).

Quotes:

Grandma Steinmetz: Of course I have to humor Herbie. He used to be a famous racing car, but his driver went off to Europe to drive foreign cars, so he's a little sensitive. You can understand that.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Cheers: Ill-Gotten Gaines (#11.8)" (1992)

Soundtrack:

Carnival of the Animals - The Swan

Good – but not the best of the Herbie movies

Willoughby Whitfield comes to work for his uncle Alonzo Hawk in a development company. His first job is to force the owner of an old fire station to shift off land earmarked for development. However Willoughby makes friends with the owners, including their eccentric car Herbie, and finds out about his Uncle's dirty tricks to move the residents on and joins with them to stop his uncle.

This is a late Herbie movie – but really his appeal never goes away (they just remade The Love Bug). However here much has changed since his original appearance. Here the story doesn't involve him that much until the last half – up till then it could easily be any movie, and his scenes feel forced into the plot. That's not to say it's not good – but the story isn't as interesting as his race-car incarnation. There are some funny bits, like the dream sequence of Mr Hawk, but even the silly stuff that has Herbie driving up suspension bridges will please kids!

Also where `Herbie Goes Bananas' benefited from a good support cast – this has no one to speak of. Not only has Dean Jones left (a big, big loss to the film) but no-one is good enough to provide any human interest. Berry makes a dull figure who can't do comedy, and Stefanie Powers is only of interest because, well, because it's Stefanie Powers! The only interest comes from Wynn's bellowing bad guy and Hayes' sweet grandmother. Herbie is OK but he is in charge the whole time and has maybe lost a touch of the `lovable little guy' appeal that he had in The Love Bug.

Overall kids will love it, and it isn't a bad Herbie movie – it's just not as good as the first couple. But really – you know what to expect and it delivers nothing more.