The Love Bug
Encyclopedia
The Love Bug is the first in a series of comedy films made by Walt Disney Productions that starred an anthropomorphic
pearl-white, fabric-sunroofed 1963 Volkswagen
racing Beetle
named Herbie. It was based on the 1961 book Car, Boy, Girl by Gordon Buford.
The movie follows the adventures of Herbie, Herbie's driver Jim Douglas (Dean Jones
), and Jim's love interest, Carole Bennett (Michele Lee
). It also features Buddy Hackett
as Jim's enlightened, kind-hearted friend, Tennessee Steinmetz, a character who creates "art" from used car parts. English actor David Tomlinson
portrays the villainous Peter Thorndyke, owner of an auto
showroom
and a SCCA national champion who sells Herbie to Jim and eventually becomes Jim's racing rival.
races against drivers half his age. Jim lives in an old fire house overlooking San Francisco Bay
with his friend and mechanic, Tennessee Steinmetz, a jolly Brooklynite who constantly extols the virtues of spiritual enlightenment, having spent time amongst Buddhist monks in Tibet
, and builds 'art' from car parts. After yet another race ends in a crash (and Tennessee turns his Edsel
into a sculpture), Jim finds himself without a car and heads into town in search of some cheap wheels. He is enticed into an upmarket European car showroom after setting eyes on an attractive sales assistant, Carole. Jim witnesses the dealership's British
owner, Peter Thorndyke, being unnecessarily abusive towards a white Volkswagen Beetle that rolls into the showroom, and defends the car's honor, much to Thorndyke's displeasure. The following morning Jim is shocked to find that the Beetle is parked outside his house and that Thorndyke is pressing charges for grand theft
. A heated argument between Jim and Thorndyke is settled when Carole persuades Thorndyke to drop the charges if Jim buys the car on a system of monthly payments.
Jim soon finds the car is prone to going completely out of his control and believes Thorndyke has conned him. Tennessee, however, believes certain inanimate objects to have hearts and minds of their own and tries to befriend the car, naming it Herbie. Jim's feelings about his new acquisition soon improve when it appears Herbie is intent on bringing him and Carole together. He also discovers Herbie to have an incredible turn of speed for a car of his size and decides to take him racing. After watching Jim and Herbie win their first race together, Thorndyke, himself a major force on the local racing scene, offers to cancel the remaining payments Jim owes on Herbie if Jim can win a race that they will both be competing in at Riverside
later that month. Jim accepts, and despite Thorndyke's underhanded tactics, he and Herbie take victory. Over the next few months they go on to become the toast of the California
n racing circuit, while Thorndyke suffers increasingly humiliating defeats. Thorndyke finally snaps, and persuades Carole to take Jim out on a date while he sneaks round to Jim's house. After getting Tennessee drunk on his own Irish coffee
recipe, Thorndyke proceeds to tip the remainder of the coffee into Herbie's engine. At the following day's race, an apparently hungover
Herbie shudders to a halt while Thorndyke blasts to victory.
That evening, Jim returns home in a brand new Lamborghini
, having agreed to sell Herbie to Thorndyke to pay the remaining installments he owes on it. Jim states he needs a 'real car' for the upcoming El Dorado road race, but finds no sympathy from Tennessee, Carole, or Herbie, who jealously proceeds to smash up the Lamborghini, proving to Jim once and for all he has a mind of his own. By the time Thorndyke arrives to collect Herbie, the Volkswagen is nowhere to be found, and Jim sets off into the night hoping to find Herbie and make amends before the car is seized by Thorndyke's goons. After narrowly escaping being torn apart in Thorndyke's workshop, and a destructive spree through Chinatown, Herbie is about to launch himself
off the Golden Gate Bridge
when Jim reaches him. In his attempt to stop Herbie from driving off the bridge, Jim himself nearly falls into the water. Herbie pulls Jim back to safety, but then is impounded by the San Francisco Police Department
There, Mr. Wu, a Chinese
businessman whose store was damaged during Herbie's rampage, demands compensation
that Jim can no longer afford. Using the Chinese
he learned while in Tibet, Tennessee tries to reason with Wu, and learns that he is a huge racing fan who knows all about Jim and Herbie's exploits. Wu is willing to drop the charges in exchange for becoming Herbie's new owner. Jim agrees to this, as long as Wu allows him to race the car in the El Dorado. If Jim wins, Wu will be able to keep the prize money but has to sell Herbie back for a dollar. Wu replies to this proposal in clear English: 'Now you speak my language!'.
The El Dorado runs through the Sierra Nevada mountains from Yosemite Valley
and back. Before the start of the race, Thorndyke persuades Mr. Wu to make a wager with him on its outcome. Thorndyke (with his assistant Havershaw acting as co-driver
) pulls every trick in the book to ensure he and his Thorndyke Special are leading at end of the first leg of the race. As a result of Thorndyke's shenanigans, Jim (with Carole and Tennessee as co-drivers) limps home last with Herbie missing two wheels and falling to pieces. Despite Tennessee's best efforts, it looks as if Herbie will be unable to start the return leg of the race the following morning. Thorndyke then arrives and claims that this makes him the new owner of the car. Wu regretfully tells Jim of the wager and that in accordance with its terms this is true. Thorndyke, thinking he is Herbie's new owner, gloats to Jim about what he's going to do to Herbie and kicks Herbies front fender, but Herbie then unexpectedly lurches into life and chases Thorndyke from the scene, showing he is more than willing to race on. Thanks to some ingenious shortcuts, Jim is able to make up for lost time in the second leg and is neck and neck with Thorndyke as the approach the finish line. In the ensuing dogfight, Herbie's hastily welded
-together body splits in two. The back half of the car (carrying Tennessee and the engine) crosses the line just ahead of Thorndyke, while the front (carrying Jim and Carole) rolls over the line just behind, meaning Herbie takes both first and third place.
In accordance with the terms of the wager, Mr. Wu takes over Thorndyke's car dealership (hiring Tennessee as his assistant), while Thorndyke and Havershaw are relegated to lowly mechanics. Meanwhile, a fully repaired Herbie chauffeurs the newlywed Jim and Carole away on their honeymoon.
credited the film's success to the fact that it was the last live action
Disney
film produced under Walt Disney
's involvement, just two years after his death in 1966. Although Jones tried to pitch him a serious, straightforward film project concerning the story of the first sports car
ever brought to the United States
, Walt suggested a different and much better car story for him, which was Car, Boy, Girl, a story previously written in 1961 by Gordon Buford.
Car, Boy, Girl, The Magic Volksy, The Runaway Wagen, Beetlebomb, Wonderbeetle, Bugboom and Thunderbug were among the original development titles considered for the film before the title was finalized as The Love Bug.
Herbie competes in the Monterey Grand Prix
, which, except for 1963, was not a sports car race. The actual sports car race held at Monterey was the Monterey Sports Car Championships
.
, and Disney set up a casting call for a dozen cars to audition. In the lineup, there were a few Toyotas, a TVR
, a handful of Volvo
s, an MG and a pearl white Volkswagen Beetle
. The Volkswagen Beetle was chosen as it was the only one that elicited the crew to reach out and pet it.
The Volkswagen brand name, logo or shield does not feature anywhere in The Love Bug, as the automaker did not permit Disney to utilize the name. The only logo can be briefly seen in at least two places, however. The first instance is on the brake pedals during the first scene where Herbie takes control with Jim inside (on the freeway/when Herbie runs into Thorndyke's Rolls Royce), and in fact it is shown in all the future scenes when Jim is breaking. The second instance is on the ignition key, when Jim tries to shutdown the breaking Herbie. The later sequels produced, however, do promote the Volkswagen name (as sales of the Beetle were down when the sequels were produced).
The car was later given the name "Herbie" from one of Buddy Hackett
's skit
s about a ski instructor with a Brooklyn accent. At the end of the skit, Hackett would say "If you ain't got a herbie , I ain't going."
Herbie's trademark "53" racing number was chosen by producer Bill Walsh
, who was a fan of Los Angeles Dodgers
baseball
player Don Drysdale
(Drysdale's jersey number, later retired by the team, was 53).
Walsh also gave Herbie his trademark red, white and blue racing stripe
s presumably for the more patriotic color and came up with the film's gags such as Herbie squirting oil and opening the doors by himself.
Benson Fong, who played Mr. Wu, said that when he and the others were dragged along the dirt by Herbie, it was like being pulled by 40 horses. The 1962-65 Volkswagen Beetles actually were rated at 40 hp in factory configuration.
Herbie has his own cast billing in the closing credits, the only time this was done in the entire series of films. This is the first of only two cars to ever be credited in a film; the other is Eleanor (a Ford Mustang) from the original Gone in 60 Seconds
movie.
prior to his visiting Thorndyke's auto showroom. This missing sequence has long since been lost, and all that remains is the script
and a single black-and-white
photograph
of Jim talking with the sales
man at the lot.
An unfilmed scene at the end of the story that was scripted and storyboard
ed was to have shown Herbie playing with children at a nearby playground
prior to taking the newly-married Jim and Carole off on their honeymoon
.
cars is footage
from the film Fireball 500
.
in Riverside, California
.
, who was popular at the time as a presence at the Indianapolis 500
as well as the spokesman for STP
, appears as himself as the racing association president. Announcer Gary Owens
and reporter Chick Hearn
also appear as themselves.
Drivers in the film billed in the opening credits include Dale Van Sickel
, Reg Parton, Regina Parton, Tom Bamford
, Bob Drake
, Marion J. Playan, Hall Brock, Bob Hickman, Rex Ramsay, Hal Grist, Lynn Grate, Larry Schmitz, Richard Warlock, Dana Derfus, Everett Creach, Gerald Jann, Bill Couch, Ted Duncan, Robert Hoys, Gene Roscoe, Jack Mahoney, Charles Willis
, Richard Brill, Roy Butterfield, Rudy Doucette, J.J. Wilson, Jim McCullough, Bud Ekins
, Glenn Wilder, Gene Curtis, Robert James
, John Timanus, Bob Harris
, Fred Krone
, Richard Ceary, Jesse Wayne, Jack Perkins
, Fred Stromsoe, Ronnie Rondell, and Kim Brewer.
, Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo
, Herbie Goes Bananas
, and Herbie: Fully Loaded
. Some parts of the racing sequences from The Love Bug were later reused for Herbie's dream sequence
in Herbie Rides Again
, responding to Grandma Steinmetz's telling Willoughby Whitfield that Herbie used to be a famous racecar.
A five-episode TV series, Herbie the Matchmaker
, aired on CBS
in the United States in the spring 1982. In 1997, there was a made-for-television sequel
which included a Dean Jones cameo, tying it to the previous films. The latest entry Herbie: Fully Loaded
, was released on June 22, 2005, by Walt Disney Pictures
.
At Walt Disney World's All-Star Movies Resort
in Orlando, Florida
, Herbie has been immortalized in the "Love Bug" buildings 6 and 7.
Anthropomorphism
Anthropomorphism is any attribution of human characteristics to animals, non-living things, phenomena, material states, objects or abstract concepts, such as organizations, governments, spirits or deities. The term was coined in the mid 1700s...
pearl-white, fabric-sunroofed 1963 Volkswagen
Volkswagen
Volkswagen is a German automobile manufacturer and is the original and biggest-selling marque of the Volkswagen Group, which now also owns the Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, SEAT, and Škoda marques and the truck manufacturer Scania.Volkswagen means "people's car" in German, where it is...
racing Beetle
Volkswagen Beetle
The Volkswagen Type 1, widely known as the Volkswagen Beetle or Volkswagen Bug, is an economy car produced by the German auto maker Volkswagen from 1938 until 2003...
named Herbie. It was based on the 1961 book Car, Boy, Girl by Gordon Buford.
The movie follows the adventures of Herbie, Herbie's driver Jim Douglas (Dean Jones
Dean Jones (actor)
Dean Carroll Jones is an American actor. Jones is best known for his light-hearted leading roles in several Walt Disney movies between 1965 and 1977, most notably The Love Bug.-Early years:...
), and Jim's love interest, Carole Bennett (Michele Lee
Michele Lee
Michele Lee is an American singer, dancer, actress, producer, director and frequent game show panelist of the 1970s. She is best-known for her role as Karen Cooper Fairgate MacKenzie on the 1980s prime-time soap opera, Knots Landing...
). It also features Buddy Hackett
Buddy Hackett
Buddy Hackett was an American comedian and actor.-Early life:Hackett was born in Brooklyn, New York, New York, the son of a Jewish upholsterer. He grew up on 54th and 14th Ave in Borough Park, Brooklyn, across from Public School 103...
as Jim's enlightened, kind-hearted friend, Tennessee Steinmetz, a character who creates "art" from used car parts. English actor David Tomlinson
David Tomlinson
David Cecil MacAlister Tomlinson was an English film actor. He is primarily remembered for his roles as authority figure George Banks in Mary Poppins, fraudulent magician Professor Emelius Browne in Bedknobs and Broomsticks and as hapless antagonist Peter Thorndyke in The Love Bug.-Early life:Born...
portrays the villainous Peter Thorndyke, owner of an auto
Automobile
An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
showroom
Showroom
The word showroom has two distinct meanings including:-Marketing location:A showroom is a large space used to display products for sale, such as automobiles, furniture, appliances, carpet or apparel. The World's most famous locations for a showroom are the Champs Elysees in Paris or the 5th Avenue...
and a SCCA national champion who sells Herbie to Jim and eventually becomes Jim's racing rival.
Plot
Jim Douglas is a down-on-his luck racing driver, reduced to competing in demolition derbyDemolition derby
Demolition derby is a motorsport usually presented at county fairs and festivals. While rules vary from event to event, the typical demolition derby event consists of five or more drivers competing by deliberately ramming their vehicles into one another...
races against drivers half his age. Jim lives in an old fire house overlooking San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay is a shallow, productive estuary through which water draining from approximately forty percent of California, flowing in the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers from the Sierra Nevada mountains, enters the Pacific Ocean...
with his friend and mechanic, Tennessee Steinmetz, a jolly Brooklynite who constantly extols the virtues of spiritual enlightenment, having spent time amongst Buddhist monks in Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
, and builds 'art' from car parts. After yet another race ends in a crash (and Tennessee turns his Edsel
Edsel
The Edsel was an automobile manufactured by the Ford Motor Company during the 1958, 1959, and 1960 model years. The Edsel never gained popularity with contemporary American car buyers and sold poorly. Consequently, the Ford Motor Company lost millions of dollars on the Edsel's development,...
into a sculpture), Jim finds himself without a car and heads into town in search of some cheap wheels. He is enticed into an upmarket European car showroom after setting eyes on an attractive sales assistant, Carole. Jim witnesses the dealership's British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
owner, Peter Thorndyke, being unnecessarily abusive towards a white Volkswagen Beetle that rolls into the showroom, and defends the car's honor, much to Thorndyke's displeasure. The following morning Jim is shocked to find that the Beetle is parked outside his house and that Thorndyke is pressing charges for grand theft
Motor vehicle theft
Motor vehicle theft is the criminal act of stealing or attempting to steal a motor vehicle...
. A heated argument between Jim and Thorndyke is settled when Carole persuades Thorndyke to drop the charges if Jim buys the car on a system of monthly payments.
Jim soon finds the car is prone to going completely out of his control and believes Thorndyke has conned him. Tennessee, however, believes certain inanimate objects to have hearts and minds of their own and tries to befriend the car, naming it Herbie. Jim's feelings about his new acquisition soon improve when it appears Herbie is intent on bringing him and Carole together. He also discovers Herbie to have an incredible turn of speed for a car of his size and decides to take him racing. After watching Jim and Herbie win their first race together, Thorndyke, himself a major force on the local racing scene, offers to cancel the remaining payments Jim owes on Herbie if Jim can win a race that they will both be competing in at Riverside
Riverside International Raceway
Riverside International Raceway was a race track or road course in Riverside, California. The track was in operation from September 22, 1957, to July 2, 1989...
later that month. Jim accepts, and despite Thorndyke's underhanded tactics, he and Herbie take victory. Over the next few months they go on to become the toast of the California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
n racing circuit, while Thorndyke suffers increasingly humiliating defeats. Thorndyke finally snaps, and persuades Carole to take Jim out on a date while he sneaks round to Jim's house. After getting Tennessee drunk on his own Irish coffee
Irish coffee
Irish coffee is a cocktail consisting of hot coffee, Irish whiskey, and sugar, stirred, and topped with thick cream. The coffee is drunk through the cream. The original recipe explicitly uses cream that has not been whipped, although whipped cream is often used. Irish coffee may be considered a...
recipe, Thorndyke proceeds to tip the remainder of the coffee into Herbie's engine. At the following day's race, an apparently hungover
Hangover
A hangover describes the sum of unpleasant physiological effects following heavy consumption of alcoholic beverages. The most commonly reported characteristics of a hangover include headache, nausea, sensitivity to light and noise, lethargy, dysphoria, diarrhea and thirst, typically after the...
Herbie shudders to a halt while Thorndyke blasts to victory.
Lamborghini
Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A., commonly referred to as Lamborghini , is an Italian car manufacturer. The company was founded by manufacturing magnate Ferruccio Lamborghini in 1963, with the objective of producing a refined grand touring car to compete with established offerings from marques like...
, having agreed to sell Herbie to Thorndyke to pay the remaining installments he owes on it. Jim states he needs a 'real car' for the upcoming El Dorado road race, but finds no sympathy from Tennessee, Carole, or Herbie, who jealously proceeds to smash up the Lamborghini, proving to Jim once and for all he has a mind of his own. By the time Thorndyke arrives to collect Herbie, the Volkswagen is nowhere to be found, and Jim sets off into the night hoping to find Herbie and make amends before the car is seized by Thorndyke's goons. After narrowly escaping being torn apart in Thorndyke's workshop, and a destructive spree through Chinatown, Herbie is about to launch himself
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
off the Golden Gate Bridge
Golden Gate Bridge
The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate, the opening of the San Francisco Bay into the Pacific Ocean. As part of both U.S. Route 101 and California State Route 1, the structure links the city of San Francisco, on the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula, to...
when Jim reaches him. In his attempt to stop Herbie from driving off the bridge, Jim himself nearly falls into the water. Herbie pulls Jim back to safety, but then is impounded by the San Francisco Police Department
San Francisco Police Department
The San Francisco Police Department, also known as the SFPD and San Francisco Department Of Police, is the police department of the City and County of San Francisco, California...
There, Mr. Wu, a Chinese
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
businessman whose store was damaged during Herbie's rampage, demands compensation
Damages
In law, damages is an award, typically of money, to be paid to a person as compensation for loss or injury; grammatically, it is a singular noun, not plural.- Compensatory damages :...
that Jim can no longer afford. Using the Chinese
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
he learned while in Tibet, Tennessee tries to reason with Wu, and learns that he is a huge racing fan who knows all about Jim and Herbie's exploits. Wu is willing to drop the charges in exchange for becoming Herbie's new owner. Jim agrees to this, as long as Wu allows him to race the car in the El Dorado. If Jim wins, Wu will be able to keep the prize money but has to sell Herbie back for a dollar. Wu replies to this proposal in clear English: 'Now you speak my language!'.
The El Dorado runs through the Sierra Nevada mountains from Yosemite Valley
Yosemite Valley
Yosemite Valley is a glacial valley in Yosemite National Park in the western Sierra Nevada mountains of California, carved out by the Merced River. The valley is about long and up to a mile deep, surrounded by high granite summits such as Half Dome and El Capitan, and densely forested with pines...
and back. Before the start of the race, Thorndyke persuades Mr. Wu to make a wager with him on its outcome. Thorndyke (with his assistant Havershaw acting as co-driver
Co-driver
Co-driver is the term given to the navigator of rally car in the sport of rally racing, who sits in the front passenger seat. The co-driver's job is to navigate, by reading off a set of pacenotes to the driver, often over a radio headset, due to the high level of noise in the car...
) pulls every trick in the book to ensure he and his Thorndyke Special are leading at end of the first leg of the race. As a result of Thorndyke's shenanigans, Jim (with Carole and Tennessee as co-drivers) limps home last with Herbie missing two wheels and falling to pieces. Despite Tennessee's best efforts, it looks as if Herbie will be unable to start the return leg of the race the following morning. Thorndyke then arrives and claims that this makes him the new owner of the car. Wu regretfully tells Jim of the wager and that in accordance with its terms this is true. Thorndyke, thinking he is Herbie's new owner, gloats to Jim about what he's going to do to Herbie and kicks Herbies front fender, but Herbie then unexpectedly lurches into life and chases Thorndyke from the scene, showing he is more than willing to race on. Thanks to some ingenious shortcuts, Jim is able to make up for lost time in the second leg and is neck and neck with Thorndyke as the approach the finish line. In the ensuing dogfight, Herbie's hastily welded
Welding
Welding is a fabrication or sculptural process that joins materials, usually metals or thermoplastics, by causing coalescence. This is often done by melting the workpieces and adding a filler material to form a pool of molten material that cools to become a strong joint, with pressure sometimes...
-together body splits in two. The back half of the car (carrying Tennessee and the engine) crosses the line just ahead of Thorndyke, while the front (carrying Jim and Carole) rolls over the line just behind, meaning Herbie takes both first and third place.
In accordance with the terms of the wager, Mr. Wu takes over Thorndyke's car dealership (hiring Tennessee as his assistant), while Thorndyke and Havershaw are relegated to lowly mechanics. Meanwhile, a fully repaired Herbie chauffeurs the newlywed Jim and Carole away on their honeymoon.
Cast
- Dean JonesDean Jones (actor)Dean Carroll Jones is an American actor. Jones is best known for his light-hearted leading roles in several Walt Disney movies between 1965 and 1977, most notably The Love Bug.-Early years:...
.... Jim Douglas - Michele LeeMichele LeeMichele Lee is an American singer, dancer, actress, producer, director and frequent game show panelist of the 1970s. She is best-known for her role as Karen Cooper Fairgate MacKenzie on the 1980s prime-time soap opera, Knots Landing...
.... Carole Bennet - David TomlinsonDavid TomlinsonDavid Cecil MacAlister Tomlinson was an English film actor. He is primarily remembered for his roles as authority figure George Banks in Mary Poppins, fraudulent magician Professor Emelius Browne in Bedknobs and Broomsticks and as hapless antagonist Peter Thorndyke in The Love Bug.-Early life:Born...
.... Peter Thorndyke - Buddy HackettBuddy HackettBuddy Hackett was an American comedian and actor.-Early life:Hackett was born in Brooklyn, New York, New York, the son of a Jewish upholsterer. He grew up on 54th and 14th Ave in Borough Park, Brooklyn, across from Public School 103...
.... Tennessee Steinmetz - Joe FlynnJoe Flynn (US actor)Joseph A. Flynn was an American character actor. He was best known for his role in the 1960s ABC television situation comedy, McHale's Navy. He was also a frequent guest star on 1960s TV shows such as Batman and appeared in several Walt Disney film comedies...
.... Havershaw - Benson FongBenson FongBenson Fong was a Chinese American character actor.Born in Sacramento, California, Fong was from a mercantile family...
.... Mr. Wu - Joe E. RossJoe E. RossJoe E. Ross was an American actor known for his trademark "Ooh! Ooh!" exclamation, which he used in many of his roles. He starred in such TV sitcoms as The Phil Silvers Show and Car 54, Where Are You?.-Career:...
.... Detective - Barry KelleyBarry KelleyBarry Kelley was an actor on Broadway in the 1930s and '40s and in movies during the 1940s, '50s, and '60s. The heavy-set actor created the role of Ike in Oklahoma! on Broadway....
.... Police sergeant - Iris AdrianIris AdrianIris Adrian was an American film actress.-Life and career:Born in Los Angeles, California as Iris Hostetter, Adrian won a beauty pageant and worked with the Ziegfeld Follies, before she entered films at the end of the silent era in Chasing Husbands and appeared as an extra or chorus girl in early...
.... Carhop - HerbieHerbieHerbie is an anthropomorphic Volkswagen Beetle, a character that is featured in several Disney motion pictures starting with the 1968 feature film The Love Bug. He has a mind of his own and is capable of driving himself, and is a serious contender in auto racing competitions...
Story and development
Dean JonesDean Jones (actor)
Dean Carroll Jones is an American actor. Jones is best known for his light-hearted leading roles in several Walt Disney movies between 1965 and 1977, most notably The Love Bug.-Early years:...
credited the film's success to the fact that it was the last live action
Live action
In filmmaking, video production, and other media, the term live action refers to cinematography, videography not produced using animation...
Disney
Walt Disney Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures is an American film studio owned by The Walt Disney Company. Walt Disney Pictures and Television, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Studios and the main production company for live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group, based at the Walt Disney...
film produced under Walt Disney
Walt Disney
Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...
's involvement, just two years after his death in 1966. Although Jones tried to pitch him a serious, straightforward film project concerning the story of the first sports car
Sports car
A sports car is a small, usually two seat, two door automobile designed for high speed driving and maneuverability....
ever brought to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Walt suggested a different and much better car story for him, which was Car, Boy, Girl, a story previously written in 1961 by Gordon Buford.
Car, Boy, Girl, The Magic Volksy, The Runaway Wagen, Beetlebomb, Wonderbeetle, Bugboom and Thunderbug were among the original development titles considered for the film before the title was finalized as The Love Bug.
Herbie competes in the Monterey Grand Prix
Monterey Grand Prix
The Monterey Grand Prix was an auto race held at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. The race was first held as a USAC Road Racing Championship event, following the success of the SCCA's Pebble Beach Road Races. After USAC's road racing series disbanded in 1962, the race became a non-championship race for...
, which, except for 1963, was not a sports car race. The actual sports car race held at Monterey was the Monterey Sports Car Championships
Monterey Sports Car Championships
The Monterey Sports Car Championships is a sports car race held annually at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. The event began in 1950 as a race on the roads of Pebble Beach, California. In 1951, it was added to the new SCCA National Sports Car Championship. When Laguna Seca Raceway was built in 1957,...
.
"Herbie"
Before film began production, the titular car was not specified as a Volkswagen BeetleVolkswagen Beetle
The Volkswagen Type 1, widely known as the Volkswagen Beetle or Volkswagen Bug, is an economy car produced by the German auto maker Volkswagen from 1938 until 2003...
, and Disney set up a casting call for a dozen cars to audition. In the lineup, there were a few Toyotas, a TVR
TVR
thumb|right|240px|TVR No.2, the oldest surviving TVR, located at [[Lakeland Motor Museum, Newby Bridge, Cumbria]]TVR was an independent British manufacturer of sports cars. Until 2006 it was based in the English seaside town of Blackpool, Lancashire, but has since split up into several smaller...
, a handful of Volvo
Volvo
AB Volvo is a Swedish builder of commercial vehicles, including trucks, buses and construction equipment. Volvo also supplies marine and industrial drive systems, aerospace components and financial services...
s, an MG and a pearl white Volkswagen Beetle
Volkswagen Beetle
The Volkswagen Type 1, widely known as the Volkswagen Beetle or Volkswagen Bug, is an economy car produced by the German auto maker Volkswagen from 1938 until 2003...
. The Volkswagen Beetle was chosen as it was the only one that elicited the crew to reach out and pet it.
The Volkswagen brand name, logo or shield does not feature anywhere in The Love Bug, as the automaker did not permit Disney to utilize the name. The only logo can be briefly seen in at least two places, however. The first instance is on the brake pedals during the first scene where Herbie takes control with Jim inside (on the freeway/when Herbie runs into Thorndyke's Rolls Royce), and in fact it is shown in all the future scenes when Jim is breaking. The second instance is on the ignition key, when Jim tries to shutdown the breaking Herbie. The later sequels produced, however, do promote the Volkswagen name (as sales of the Beetle were down when the sequels were produced).
The car was later given the name "Herbie" from one of Buddy Hackett
Buddy Hackett
Buddy Hackett was an American comedian and actor.-Early life:Hackett was born in Brooklyn, New York, New York, the son of a Jewish upholsterer. He grew up on 54th and 14th Ave in Borough Park, Brooklyn, across from Public School 103...
's skit
Sketch comedy
A sketch comedy consists of a series of short comedy scenes or vignettes, called "sketches," commonly between one and ten minutes long. Such sketches are performed by a group of comic actors or comedians, either on stage or through an audio and/or visual medium such as broadcasting...
s about a ski instructor with a Brooklyn accent. At the end of the skit, Hackett would say "If you ain't got a herbie , I ain't going."
Herbie's trademark "53" racing number was chosen by producer Bill Walsh
Bill Walsh (producer)
Bill Walsh was a film producer and screenwriter who primarily worked on live-action films for Walt Disney Productions...
, who was a fan of Los Angeles Dodgers
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...
baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
player Don Drysdale
Don Drysdale
Donald Scott "Don" Drysdale was a Major League Baseball player and Hall of Fame right-handed pitcher with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He was one of the dominant starting pitchers of the 1960s, and became a radio and television broadcaster following his playing career...
(Drysdale's jersey number, later retired by the team, was 53).
Walsh also gave Herbie his trademark red, white and blue racing stripe
Racing stripe
The original racing stripes were stripes applied to the Cunningham team of racing cars to identify them in the field during races. Another purpose is to make it easier for a driver to align a spun out car with the circuit.- Cunningham racing stripes :...
s presumably for the more patriotic color and came up with the film's gags such as Herbie squirting oil and opening the doors by himself.
Benson Fong, who played Mr. Wu, said that when he and the others were dragged along the dirt by Herbie, it was like being pulled by 40 horses. The 1962-65 Volkswagen Beetles actually were rated at 40 hp in factory configuration.
Herbie has his own cast billing in the closing credits, the only time this was done in the entire series of films. This is the first of only two cars to ever be credited in a film; the other is Eleanor (a Ford Mustang) from the original Gone in 60 Seconds
Gone in 60 Seconds (1974 film)
Gone in 60 Seconds is a 1974 American action film written, directed, produced by, and starring H.B. 'Toby' Halicki. It centers on a group of car thieves and the 48 cars they must steal in a matter of days. The film is famous for having wrecked and destroyed 93 cars in a 34-minute car chase scene....
movie.
Deleted scenes
A scene shot, but not included in the final cut of the film, featured Jim calling at a used car lotCar dealership
A car dealership or vehicle local distribution is a business that sells new or used cars at the retail level, based on a dealership contract with an automaker or its sales subsidiary. It employs automobile salespeople to do the selling...
prior to his visiting Thorndyke's auto showroom. This missing sequence has long since been lost, and all that remains is the script
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
and a single black-and-white
Black-and-white
Black-and-white, often abbreviated B/W or B&W, is a term referring to a number of monochrome forms in visual arts.Black-and-white as a description is also something of a misnomer, for in addition to black and white, most of these media included varying shades of gray...
photograph
Photograph
A photograph is an image created by light falling on a light-sensitive surface, usually photographic film or an electronic imager such as a CCD or a CMOS chip. Most photographs are created using a camera, which uses a lens to focus the scene's visible wavelengths of light into a reproduction of...
of Jim talking with the sales
Sales
A sale is the act of selling a product or service in return for money or other compensation. It is an act of completion of a commercial activity....
man at the lot.
An unfilmed scene at the end of the story that was scripted and storyboard
Storyboard
Storyboards are graphic organizers in the form of illustrations or images displayed in sequence for the purpose of pre-visualizing a motion picture, animation, motion graphic or interactive media sequence....
ed was to have shown Herbie playing with children at a nearby playground
Playground
A playground or play area is a place with a specific design for children be able to play there. It may be indoors but is typically outdoors...
prior to taking the newly-married Jim and Carole off on their honeymoon
Honeymoon
-History:One early reference to a honeymoon is in Deuteronomy 24:5 “When a man is newly wed, he need not go out on a military expedition, nor shall any public duty be imposed on him...
.
Stock footage
The opening scene of the demolition derbyDemolition derby
Demolition derby is a motorsport usually presented at county fairs and festivals. While rules vary from event to event, the typical demolition derby event consists of five or more drivers competing by deliberately ramming their vehicles into one another...
cars is footage
Stock footage
Stock footage, and similarly, archive footage, library pictures and file footage are film or video footage that may or may not be custom shot for use in a specific film or television program. Stock footage is of beneficial use to filmmakers as it is sometimes less expensive than shooting new...
from the film Fireball 500
Fireball 500
Fireball 500 is a stock car racing film, blended with the beach party film genre. A vehicle for stars Frankie Avalon, Annette Funicello and Fabian, it was one of a string of similar racing films from the 1960s...
.
Shooting locations
Some of the racetrack scenes were shot at the Riverside International RacewayRiverside International Raceway
Riverside International Raceway was a race track or road course in Riverside, California. The track was in operation from September 22, 1957, to July 2, 1989...
in Riverside, California
Riverside, California
Riverside is a city in Riverside County, California, United States, and the county seat of the eponymous county. Named for its location beside the Santa Ana River, it is the largest city in the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario metropolitan area of Southern California, 4th largest inland California...
.
Cast and crew
Andy GranatelliAndy Granatelli
Anthony "Andy" Granatelli was the CEO of STP.Along with brothers Vince and Joe, Andy first worked as an auto mechanic and 'speed-shop' entrepreneur, modifying engines such as the 'flathead' Ford into racing-quality equipment...
, who was popular at the time as a presence at the Indianapolis 500
Indianapolis 500
The Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, also known as the Indianapolis 500, the 500 Miles at Indianapolis, the Indy 500 or The 500, is an American automobile race, held annually, typically on the last weekend in May at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana...
as well as the spokesman for STP
STP (motor oil company)
STP is an American brand and trade name for the automotive additives, lubricants and performance division of Armored AutoGroup.Founded in 1953 in Saint Joseph, Missouri, the company’s name, STP, was derived from “Scientifically Treated Petroleum”...
, appears as himself as the racing association president. Announcer Gary Owens
Gary Owens
Gary Owens is an American disc jockey and voice actor. His polished baritone speaking voice generally offers deadpan recitations of total nonsense, which he frequently demonstrated as the announcer on Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In. Owens is equally proficient in straight or silly assignments and is...
and reporter Chick Hearn
Chick Hearn
Francis Dayle "Chick" Hearn was an American sportscaster. Known primarily as the long-time play-by-play announcer for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association, the legendary Hearn is remembered for his rapid fire, staccato broadcasting style, inventing colorful phrases such...
also appear as themselves.
Drivers in the film billed in the opening credits include Dale Van Sickel
Dale Van Sickel
Dale Harris Van Sickel was an American college football, basketball and baseball player during the 1920s, who later became a Hollywood motion picture actor and stunt performer for over forty years...
, Reg Parton, Regina Parton, Tom Bamford
Tom Bamford
Thomas F. "Tom" Bamford was an English professional footballer who played as a full back. Born in Horwich, he began his career in non-league football with Darwen before joining Burnley in 1909. He was part of the Burnley side that won the FA Cup in 1914, but then missed five years of his career...
, Bob Drake
Bob Drake (Formula One)
Bob Drake was a racecar driver from the United States. He participated in one Formula One Grand Prix, on November 20, 1960. He scored no championship points...
, Marion J. Playan, Hall Brock, Bob Hickman, Rex Ramsay, Hal Grist, Lynn Grate, Larry Schmitz, Richard Warlock, Dana Derfus, Everett Creach, Gerald Jann, Bill Couch, Ted Duncan, Robert Hoys, Gene Roscoe, Jack Mahoney, Charles Willis
Charles Willis
Charles Francis Willis was an English amateur cricketer.-Career:...
, Richard Brill, Roy Butterfield, Rudy Doucette, J.J. Wilson, Jim McCullough, Bud Ekins
Bud Ekins
Bud Ekins was one of the foremost stuntmen of his generation. Born James Sherwin Ekins in Hollywood, California, he is known to most as the actor who jumped the fence on a disguised Triumph TR6 Trophy 650cc motorcycle in The Great Escape, and who drove the Ford Mustang 390 GT in Bullitt...
, Glenn Wilder, Gene Curtis, Robert James
Robert James (actor)
Robert James was a Scottish actor, who was best known for his television work.Born in Paisley, Scotland, Robert James trained to be a lawyer, before being spotted by a professional director while doing amateur dramatics....
, John Timanus, Bob Harris
Bob Harris (sportscaster)
Bob Harris, the "Voice of the Blue Devils" is a Hall of Fame-inducted play-by-play announcer for Duke University men's basketball and football teams....
, Fred Krone
Fred Krone
Fred Krone , often called "Crunch", was an American stuntman who worked predominately in movie Westerns.-Career:Krone began working in the 1950s performing stunts and as an actor...
, Richard Ceary, Jesse Wayne, Jack Perkins
Jack Perkins
Jack Perkins is an American reporter, commentator, war correspondent, and anchorman. He has been dubbed "America's most literate correspondent" by the Associated Press....
, Fred Stromsoe, Ronnie Rondell, and Kim Brewer.
Promotion
During one scene in the movie, Herbie has lost one of his wheels, and Tennessee is hanging out of the passenger side door to balance him. The door opens, and there is no "53" logo on the door. This image was used heavily to promote the film.Legacy
Four theatrical sequels followed: Herbie Rides AgainHerbie Rides Again
Herbie Rides Again is a 1974 comedy film. It is the sequel to The Love Bug, released six years earlier, and the second in a series of movies made by Walt Disney Productions starring an anthropomorphic 1963 Volkswagen racing Beetle named Herbie...
, Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo
Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo
Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo is a 1977 film, the third of a series of films by Walt Disney Productions starring Herbie – the white Volkswagen racing Beetle with a mind of its own.-Plot:...
, Herbie Goes Bananas
Herbie Goes Bananas
Herbie Goes Bananas is the fourth of a series of films made by Walt Disney Productions starring Herbie – the white Volkswagen racing Beetle with a mind of its own. The film stars former Mel Brooks collaborators Cloris Leachman and Harvey Korman....
, and Herbie: Fully Loaded
Herbie: Fully Loaded
Herbie: Fully Loaded is a 2005 American comedy film directed by Angela Robinson and produced by Robert Simonds for Walt Disney Pictures. It stars Lindsay Lohan as the youngest member of an automobile-racing family, Michael Keaton as her father, Matt Dillon as a competing racer, Breckin Meyer as...
. Some parts of the racing sequences from The Love Bug were later reused for Herbie's dream sequence
Dream sequence
A dream sequence is a technique used in storytelling, particularly in television and film, to set apart a brief interlude from the main story. The interlude may consist of a flashback, a flashforward, a fantasy, a vision, a dream, or some other element. Commonly, dream sequences appear in many...
in Herbie Rides Again
Herbie Rides Again
Herbie Rides Again is a 1974 comedy film. It is the sequel to The Love Bug, released six years earlier, and the second in a series of movies made by Walt Disney Productions starring an anthropomorphic 1963 Volkswagen racing Beetle named Herbie...
, responding to Grandma Steinmetz's telling Willoughby Whitfield that Herbie used to be a famous racecar.
A five-episode TV series, Herbie the Matchmaker
Herbie the Matchmaker
Herbie the Matchmaker, also known as Herbie, The Love Bug, was a short-lived situation comedy that aired on CBS in the spring of 1982. The series was based on Walt Disney Productions' popular Herbie film series, about a Volkswagen Beetle with a mind of its own...
, aired on CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
in the United States in the spring 1982. In 1997, there was a made-for-television sequel
The Love Bug (1997 film)
The Love Bug is made-for-television film starring Bruce Campbell and a sequel to the original The Love Bug film. The sequel included a Dean Jones cameo, tying it to the previous films...
which included a Dean Jones cameo, tying it to the previous films. The latest entry Herbie: Fully Loaded
Herbie: Fully Loaded
Herbie: Fully Loaded is a 2005 American comedy film directed by Angela Robinson and produced by Robert Simonds for Walt Disney Pictures. It stars Lindsay Lohan as the youngest member of an automobile-racing family, Michael Keaton as her father, Matt Dillon as a competing racer, Breckin Meyer as...
, was released on June 22, 2005, by Walt Disney Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures is an American film studio owned by The Walt Disney Company. Walt Disney Pictures and Television, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Studios and the main production company for live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group, based at the Walt Disney...
.
At Walt Disney World's All-Star Movies Resort
Disney's All-Star Movies Resort
Disney's All-Star Movies Resort is a resort hotel located at the Walt Disney World Resort. It is one of four Disney Resorts in the "Value" category along with Disney's All-Star Sports Resort, Disney's All-Star Music Resort, and Disney's Pop Century Resort. The resort is located on the southern...
in Orlando, Florida
Orlando, Florida
Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
, Herbie has been immortalized in the "Love Bug" buildings 6 and 7.