Herbie Rides Again
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| Herbie Rides Again | |
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| Directed by | Robert Stevenson |
| Produced by | Bill Walsh |
| Written by | Gordon Buford Bill Walsh |
| Starring | Helen Hayes Ken Berry Stefanie Powers Keenan Wynn John McIntire Huntz Hall Richard X. Slattery Raymond Bailey Liam Dunn Vito Scotti Chuck McCann Elaine Devry |
| Music by | George Bruns |
| Cinematography | Frank V. Phillips |
| Editing by | Cotton Warburton |
| Distributed by | Walt Disney Pictures Corporation |
| Release date(s) | 1974 |
| Running time | 88 minutes |
| Language | English |
| Preceded by | The Love Bug |
| Followed by | Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo |
| IMDb profile | |
Herbie Rides Again (1974) is the second in a series of movies made by Walt Disney Productions starring Herbie the Love Bug, a white Volkswagen racing Beetle with a mind of its own. The movie starred Helen Hayes as Grandma Steinmetz, Stefanie Powers as Nicole Harris, Ken Berry as Willoughby Whitfield, and Keenan Wynn (reprising his villainous role as Alonzo Hawk).
Herbie Rides Again was followed by the theatrical sequels Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo (1977) and Herbie Goes Bananas (1980). Another theatrical sequel, Herbie: Fully Loaded was released in 2005 by Disney.
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[edit] Plot
The story begins with Alonzo Hawk; an overambitious, wealthy, opportunistic, and ruthless man whose dream is to build skyscrapers that dwarf every artificial structure in the world. To do this, he destroys older, historical buildings to make room for his skyscrapers. That these older buildings have historical and/or humanitarian value means nothing to Hawk; they are simply in his way.
Hawk has a prime location for his most gigantic building project yet: Hawk Plaza. Hawk states that his plaza would put the Golden Gate Bridge and Empire State Building to shame. The only obstacle is an archaic firehouse inhabited by Grandma Steinmetz, (widow of its last master, and, therefore, its legal owner), her granddaughter Nicole Harris, and their sentient machines. There are three such machines of the household; Herbie the Love Bug, an orchestrion that chooses its own songs, and a retired cable-car known simply as "#22". Being that their mistress is the aunt of Tennessee Steinmetz (Buddy Hackett from The Love Bug), these have come to depend on her. Herbie's former owner Jim Douglas (Dean Jones) is mentioned to have gone to Europe trying his luck racing with foreign cars. Tennessee has gone to visit his ailing philosophy teacher.
Alonzo Hawk has made numerous attempts at evicting Mrs. Steinmetz from her firehouse, intending to imprison her in an assisted-living facility of his own making. But each time around, his unreliable lawyers fail miserably. The arrival, therefore, of Alonzo's lawyer nephew, Willoughby Whitfield (Ken Berry), is music to the Uncle Alonzo's ears. Feeding Willoughby a version of the situation that makes Alonzo out to be the injured party, Hawk sends his nephew to do the dirty work.
Willoughby, who has been nurtured all his childhood by his mother Frieda on highly falsified stories of his Uncle Alonzo, is ready and willing--at first. Meeting Mrs. Steinmetz and coming to grips with her passionate granddaughter Nicole Harris (who has sworn revenge on Alonzo Hawk for destroying her former neighborhood) soon changes his views. In the course of the day, Nicole tells Willoughby with a fist, a story, and a boiled lobster that Alonzo Hawk is a ne'r-do-well who is only rich because of pulling the rug from underneath people's feet.
Somewhat the worse for wear, Willoughby decides to go home--in disguise. However, an argument with his mother over the nature of his disguise (a trenchcoat, a hat, and a false beard) reveals him to Nicole. She convinces Willoughby to stay, much to the delight of her grandmother. Mrs. Steinmetz, who wants her Nicole to marry Willoughby. Herbie is more than willing to oblige. Being fully automatic, Herbie arranges courtship by driving them off to romantic places and forcing them to stay there talking.
On their return from this, however, they find bad news. Every stick of furniture from the Steinmetz firehouse, from #22 to the carpet, has been stolen by Alonzo Hawk's messengers. They track the theft to a warehouse, and all together break and enter. The guards are not willing to take anything from their territory "without Mister Hawk's OK", but Herbie differs. He pushes loads of furniture onto the messengers, trapping them in. Herbie and Company immediately gather their furniture and head home.
On the way, Mrs. Steinmetz rides in #22 while Nicole and Willoughby follow in Herbie from behind. Piled into #22 is all the furniture, as well as a drunken man named Judson (John McIntire), who thinks that he is on the public cable-car line. Mr. Hawk is in hot pursuit, but not for long.
Out of ideas, Alonzo Hawk recruits an independent demolition agent named Loostgarten (Chuck McCann), a former Hawk employee who is eager to please. But Willoughby has a plan of his own. Using Alonzo's voice, he directs Loostgarten to a certain house, which is supposedly condemned. Loostgarten arrives at midnight, but is uneasy, so he calls Mr. Hawk for confirmation.
Alonzo has been having nightmares, mostly about Herbie. It started with counting sheep, but wound up counting Volkswagen Beetles instead. The Beetles developed shark-teeth, and began chasing Alonzo with throwing-axes in their antennae. When the nightmare is interrupted to confirm that this house is slated for demolition, Alonzo replies, "Of course it is, you idiot! I know it like I know my own address!"
The irony is, it IS his own address!
In the morning, Hawk calls for a truce with Mrs Steinmetz. Pleased at such a resolution, Willoughby and Nicole go out for dinner, as a means of opening their hearts. At home, Mrs. Steinmetz invites Mr. Judson to sit and talk about their common interests.
But Alonzo Hawk violates the truce, sending an army of earthmovers to crush the firehouse and its inhabitants. The only means of defence is a long-unused fire-extinguishing hose, which Judson uses with some accuracy. Herbie drives off to get help.
It is here that Herbie's Unicorn-like tendency to life is infectious. Not only does he recruit Willoughby and Nicole, but summons his 'friends' (a slew of Volkswagen Beetles), who drive Alonzo Hawk's scheme to ruin. Within a few days, Nicole Harris becomes Mrs. Whitfield, and they leave for their first year in contentment.
[edit] Trivia
- Herbie switches from a 1963 Beetle to a 1965 several times (note the side glass - 1965 Beetles (except for the Brazilian and Australian models) had enlarged quarter and door glasses.
- Keenan Wynn's character Alonzo Hawk had previously appeared in The Absent-Minded Professor (1961) and Son of Flubber (1963).
- The Steinmetz firehouse was a re-dress of Jim Douglas and Tennessee Steinmetz' home in the first movie
[edit] See also
[edit] External link
| The Herbie films |
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| The Love Bug (1968) • Herbie Rides Again (1974) • Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo (1977) • Herbie Goes Bananas (1980) • Herbie: Fully Loaded (2005) Made for TV: Herbie the Matchmaker (1982) • The Love Bug (TV remake) (1997) |
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