Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo | |
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Directed by | Vincent McEveety |
Produced by | Ron Miller |
Written by | Arthur Alsberg Don Nelson |
Based on | Characters created by Gordon Buford |
Starring |
Dean Jones Don Knotts Julie Sommars Jacques Marin Roy Kinnear Bernard Fox Eric Braeden Xavier Saint-Macary Johnny Haymer |
Music by | Frank De Vol |
Cinematography | Leonard J. South |
Edited by | Cotton Warburton |
Production
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Distributed by | Buena Vista Distribution |
Release date
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Running time
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104 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Box office | $29 million |
Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo is a 1977 American comedy adventure film and the third in a series of films made by Walt Disney Productions starring Herbie – the white 1963 Volkswagen racing Beetle with a mind of its own.
The film stars Dean Jones as returning champion race car driver Jim Douglas, joined by his somewhat cynical and eccentric riding mechanic Wheely Applegate (Don Knotts). Together with Herbie, the "Love Bug", a 1963 Volkswagen Beetle, they are participating in the fictional Trans-France Race, from Paris, France, to Monte Carlo, Monaco. According to dialogue, they hope to stage a racing comeback in the event.
For the Trans-France Race, Douglas and Herbie have three major opponents:
Diane and her Lancia unfortunately crash into a lake towards the end of the race, and with victory in sight. But Herbie and Jim manage to save both car and woman from drowning. Because of this, she soon changes her attitude toward Jim after he saves her life and she witnesses Herbie towing her Lancia out of the lake. All three watch as Herbie crawls next to the Lancia and the two cars hold doors like holding hands. When Herbie seems to have trouble restarting because of being determined to stay with the Lancia, Diane is now fully convinced that cars can have minds of their own because she now knows her own car is alive as well. She encourages the little car not to relent in the quest for victory in the Trans-France Race (with the added agreement of the Lancia's horn), and bids Jim good luck with a light kiss on one cheek.
With Diane now out of the race (followed shortly thereafter by Claude Gilbert in the aforementioned crash), Jim pursues Von Stickle through the streets of Monte Carlo, combatants in a thrilling duel for the win. In the end, though, Bruno von Stickle is overtaken by the little car in the famous tunnel of the Formula One race track, Herbie outracing him by outsmarting him through driving upside down on the tunnel roof. Jim drives Herbie to victory for (also according to dialogue) the 20th time in their careers.