The Love Bug (1968)

_**That lovable Volkswagen Beetle with a mind of its own**_ A has-been racecar driver in San Francisco (Dean Jones) acquires a Volkswagen Beetle and his luck changes on the raceway. He, his mechanic (Buddy Hackett) and potential girlfriend (Michele Lee) start to see that the cute vehicle has a mind of its own. David Tomlinson and Joe Flynn are on hand as dastardly villains. "The Love Bug" (1969) is a fun Disney racing-oriented fantasy that inspired three sequels by 1980, a television movie in 1997 and a 2005 theatrical sequel with Lindsay Lohan. This is a good flick when you’re in the mood for some innocent fun, but I feel the latter three movies are the best ones: “Herbie Goes Bananas” (1980), “The Love Bug” (1997) and “Herbie Fully Loaded” (2005) with the 1997 one arguably being my favorite (perhaps because it features the Dark Herbie and Alexandra Wentworth). But this is the one that started it all. It features a fitting cast and superb locations. It’s a tad overlong though and should’ve been abbreviated by 15-20 minutes. The film runs 1 hour, 48 minutes and was shot entirely in California, including San Francisco, Big Bear Lake, Riverside, Agoura, Santa Clarita, the Monterey Peninsula, Cuddy Valley, San Bernardino National Forest and studios in Burbank. GRADE: B-

David Tomlinson was always pretty reliable as the go-to comic English gent, and he delivers quite well here as the supercilious car dealer "Thorndyke". He only deals in the luxury end of the market, so "Jim" (Dean Jones) is a bit surprised to find a dilapidated old VW Beetle in his yard. There's something very special about this little car, and soon the down-on-his-luck driver and his mate "Tennessee" (Buddy Hackett) have bought him, repaired him and named him "Herbie". Magically, his racing fortunes take an about turn and pretty soon his erstwhile owner is after him back - and is prepared to go to just about any lengths as they prepare to compete in one trans-American race and - to the victor the spoils and the the scrapyard with "Herbie" if he doesn't win. It's interesting that this was released one year after "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" (1968) - so clearly the theme of magical cars was popular. "Herbie" is mischievous and not averse too the odd tantrum which gives him just enough of a personality, coupled with an on form Jones - to create an enjoyable tale of friendship and inter-reliance as well as one of fast-paced antics and even the slightest hint of romance as we tumble down mountains, slide in and out of mud and generally have our own sort of "Whacky Race". It's a bit over-scripted and probably twenty minutes too long - I think we all get the gist and could be getting on with the action a bit more quickly, but it's still a decent watch that reminds us of what was hugely popular in the late sixties.