The Love Bug (1969)
7/10
First entry about the famous Beetle car having its own mind and undertaking a big race known as El Dorado
3 March 2012
Amusing and funny first installment with the ¨Wolkswagen Love Bug¨ racing the tracks . Love Bug's outing in which Herbie is racing in competitions , it is full of pranks and car stunts that are great fun to see . Agreeable Disney's love bug Wolkswagen plenty of action , slapdash , laughs and entertainment . This hilarious Herbie story concerns about The Love Bug falls 'hood-over-wheels' for a classy chassis! . It deals with a down-on-his-luck race car pilot named Jim Douglas (Dean Jones who also plays the role of the hippy in the drive-in scene), who lives in an old run-down fire mansion in San Francisco with his partner , an occasional alcoholic mechanic called Tennessee Steinmetz (Buddy Hackett) . One day, Jim goes to a car seller and surprisingly sees a rare Volkswagon Beetle with a unusual problem, it tends to drive on its own will . Then, Jim and Tennessee who dubbed the car "Herbie" fixed it and now is under control . After that , Jim used Herbie for notorious international races and he was rising to fame and fortune , turning more successful in racing . Later on , Thorndyke (David Tomlinson) wants Herbie back, but Jim refuses and Thorndyke wishes to compete against Jim in the races, then he sabotaged Herbie before a car race so , he can vanquish . As the backdrop in the race scenes is of the Riverside International Raceway . Then, a big race was coming up and Herbie, the Volkswagen Beetle with a mind of its own undergoes the famous international car race called EL Dorado but encountering all sorts of comical obstacles along the way . Jim and Tennessee along with Thorndyke's previous assistant named Carrol Bennet (Michelle Lee) , repaired Herbie before the race . The trio are determined to win Thorndyke in the El Dorado, but he will swindle and trap to make sure that they do not win . Fortunately, the couple of pilots have a sleeve in the form of Herbie , the fantastic car , as they take the magical Wolkswagen Bug with a mind of its own as both of them compete in the notorious race and attempt to beat . So the two rogue pilots (Joe Flynn , David Tomlinson) resort to all manner of cheats , legal or otherwise, to get it and are now attempting to get them back . There is one obstacle however : Herbie . Miraculous Herbie take them for a ride and stumbles into evil hoodlums who pursue through roads and race tracks . As always, Herbie the love bug , is helping the young couple (Dean Jones , Michelle Lee) find romance but encountering all sorts of hilarious problems along the way . Herbie with the number 53 intervenes in the biggest car race and win the Grand Prize , a challenge among top competitors circle the world's most famous racing circuits and quickly slipping in the ranking.

This delightful Disney comedy displays great loads of amusement , fantastic race cars , slapstick , fun , giggles , chases are great fun to watch and being pretty entertaining . It's an enjoyable movie for kids and for those who enjoy cars racing round and round and bounds and leaps carried out by Herbie . Herbie The Love Bug was a 1963 Volkswagen Beetle deluxe ragtop sedan painted in Volkswagen L87 pearl white. Under normal circumstances, the interior would be a matching white. However, Herbie's interior was painted a special non-reflective grey color so the camera and studio lights would not reflect . The actors seem to enjoy immensely , as Dean Jones and Buddy Hackett play of sympathetic manner and the mean-spirited villains performed by David Tomlinson Joe Flynn are top notch. Colorful cinematography by Edward Colman and jolly soundtrack by George Bruns including the lively leitmotif , usual in the Herbie's series. This is a delightful film , this original entry is followed by ¨ Herbie rides again (1974)¨ also by Robert Stevenson and starred by Ken Berry , Stefanie Powers and Helen Hayes ; it's followed by ¨Herbie goes to Montecarlo¨ with Dean Jones , Don Knotts and Julie Sommers ; followed by ¨Herbie goes bananas¨ (1980 , or Herbie Torero) by Vincent McEveety starred by Charles Martin Smith and Cloris Leachman , among others and a 1997-for-television-movie with Bruce Campbell and John Hanna and a TV series , the most part filmed by Stevenson and Vincent McEveety and usually starred by Dean Jones . Furthermore recent version starred by Linsay Lohan , Justin Long and Matt Dillon , being directed by Angela Robinson. This first version " Love Bug ¨ results to be the best version , it is amusing story with lots of laughs but is a familiar film . The motion picture is correctly directed by Robert Stevenson . He's an usual craftsman from Disney productions who achieved for the famous company its greatest successes such as ¨Mary Poppins¨ , ¨Bednobs and broomsticks , ¨Gnome-mobile¨, ¨Herbie rides again¨ , ¨Absent-minded professor¨, ¨Son of Flubber¨, ¨Shaggy DA¨ , ¨That darn cat¨ , ¨One of our dinosaurs is missing¨ and many others . Rating : Acceptable , 6,5 , worthwhile watching . Amusing and engaging film with effective combination of primitive special effects , live action , adventure , fantasy and humor . The children will get a kick out of this typical Disney film ,it's a great fun to watch and there are loads of entertainment in this one . It' one of the best and funniest of ¨Herbie¨ series
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