Feature film

The Love Bug

1968

Feature film · 1968 · The Golden Age

The Love Bug

A down-on-his-luck racing driver discovers that the little white Beetle that followed him home has a mind, a heart and a serious competitive streak.

🎬 Robert Stevenson ⏱ 1h 48m 📅 December 24, 1968 🏁 El Dorado road race

Jim Douglas is a racing driver whose best days seem to be behind him, reduced to demolition derbies and sharing a converted San Francisco firehouse with his sculptor-mechanic friend Tennessee Steinmetz. While browsing the upscale showroom of smooth-talking dealer Peter Thorndyke, Jim meets mechanic Carole Bennett and watches Thorndyke mistreat a plain little Volkswagen. Jim can't afford anything on the lot, yet the next morning the Beetle is parked outside his home, and an accusation of car theft turns into a reluctant lease-to-own deal.

Tennessee is convinced the car is alive, names it Herbie and gives it a new look with stripes and the number 53. Herbie promptly starts winning races, embarrassing Thorndyke at Riverside and nudging Jim and Carole closer together. Thorndyke fights back with dirty tricks, spiking Herbie's tank after plying Tennessee with Irish coffee. When a disillusioned Jim brings home a Lamborghini, a heartbroken Herbie lashes out and runs away, nearly throwing himself off the Golden Gate Bridge before Jim talks him down.

To settle the damage Herbie caused along the way, Jim signs the car over to restaurateur Tang Wu, on the promise that he can buy Herbie back for a dollar if he wins the grueling two-day El Dorado road race through the Sierra Nevada. Battered by Thorndyke's sabotage, Herbie claws his way back into contention on the second day and then, under the strain, splits clean in half. The back half crosses the finish line first, handing the team victory, and a rebuilt Herbie carries newlyweds Jim and Carole off on their honeymoon.

What Herbie gets up to

This is where Herbie's personality arrives fully formed. He chooses Jim before Jim chooses him, plays matchmaker by locking his doors and steering the couple wherever romance requires, and makes his feelings unmistakable with squirts of oil, honks and a full-blown sulk when he thinks he has been replaced by a flashier car. The El Dorado race is his masterpiece. Beaten up, betrayed and then reconciled with Jim, Herbie gives everything he has, literally coming apart to win. It is the moment that turned a Volkswagen into a movie star.

Jim Douglas

A washed-up racing driver who gets a second chance from a car he didn't want.
Carole Bennett

Thorndyke's capable mechanic, who switches sides and wins Jim's heart.
Peter Thorndyke

The snobbish dealer and rival racer who will stop at nothing to beat Herbie.
Tennessee Steinmetz

Jim's mystic, sculpting best friend and the first to see Herbie's soul.
Havershaw

Thorndyke's long-suffering assistant.
Tang Wu

A racing enthusiast who ends up holding Herbie's ownership papers.
Detective

Part of the police muddle when Herbie seems to have been stolen.
Association President

The real-life racing impresario in a cameo role.

production

Disney held a casting call for about a dozen cars. The pearl-white Beetle won the part because it was the only one the crew instinctively reached out to pat.
herbie

Producer Bill Walsh chose the number 53 in honor of Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Don Drysdale, and also came up with the red, white and blue racing stripes.
herbie

In the film, Tennessee names the car after his Uncle Herb, a boxer. The name itself grew out of one of Buddy Hackett's comedy routines.
production

Volkswagen did not allow its name to be used in the film, so the brand is never spoken aloud, although the VW logo is still visible on the car.
production

To make Herbie seem to drive himself, crews rigged a second steering column, pedals and shifter so a hidden driver could steer from the back seat.
racing

Race sequences were shot at Riverside International Raceway, Laguna Seca, Willow Springs and the Paramount Ranch track, with stunt driving choreographed by veteran Carey Loftin.
racing

Thorndyke's yellow racer is an Apollo GT, and the competing field includes a Shelby Cobra, a Corvette Sting Ray, a Jaguar E-Type and a Lamborghini 400 GT.
legacy

It was one of the biggest hits of 1969 and, at the time, Disney's highest-grossing film after Mary Poppins.
legacy

It was the last live-action Disney feature developed while Walt Disney was still involved, reaching theaters two years after his death.

The Beetle follows Jim home Jim walks away from Thorndyke's showroom empty-handed, and the little Volkswagen turns up outside his firehouse anyway.
Stripes and a number Herbie gets his iconic racing livery and the number 53 for the first time.
Victory at Riverside The underdog Beetle stuns Thorndyke and the crowd by beating far more exotic machinery.
The Irish coffee sabotage Thorndyke gets Tennessee tipsy and spikes Herbie's tank, leaving the car hiccupping through his next race.
Herbie vs. the Lamborghini Jealous of Jim's flashy new car, Herbie takes his revenge and runs off into the night.
Trouble on the Golden Gate A despondent Herbie heads for the edge of the bridge until Jim talks him back.
The split finish Herbie breaks in two at the El Dorado finish line, and the half carrying Tennessee crosses first.
The honeymoon getaway A rebuilt Herbie whisks Jim and Carole away after their wedding.

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Guestbook

Honk board

A fan in a firehouse 3 days ago
Herbie is always welcome to park in my firehouse.
P. Thorndyke 2 days ago
That car cheated. Again.
Tennessee 1 day ago
Herbie and I go way back. I could tell you stories about his feelings.

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