The Love Bug (1968)
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75% of critics liked it
(16 reviews) -
63% of users liked it
(39,553 ratings)
Those who worried that the Disney studio would collapse without the presence of the late Uncle Walt were put at ease when the profits starting rolling in for The Love Bug. The "star" is Herbie, a lovable little Volkswagen with a personality all its own. Abused by a bad guy race-car driver… More Those who worried that the Disney studio would collapse without the presence of the late Uncle Walt were put at ease when the profits starting rolling in for The Love Bug. The "star" is Herbie, a lovable little Volkswagen with a personality all its own. Abused by a bad guy race-car driver (David Tomlinson), Herbie is rescued by a good guy racer (Dean Jones). Out of gratitude, Herbie enables the luckless good guy to win one race after another. The real fun begins when the ruthless hot-rodder connives to get Herbie back through fair means or foul. Based on a story by Gordon Buford, The Love Bug inspired two equally lucrative sequels, Herbie Rides Again and Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Directed By
- Robert Stevenson
- Written By
- Gordon Buford, Don DaGradi
- Genres
- Action & Adventure, Kids & Family, Classics, Comedy
- In Theaters
- Jan 1, 1968 Wide
- Studio
- Disney
Critic Reviews
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, TIME Magazine
The Love Bug is surely the first film in which the actors...are so meticulously insipid that a car can handily steal the show.
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Variety Staff, Variety
For sheer inventiveness of situation and the charm that such an idea projects, The Love Bug rates as one of the better entries of the Disney organization.
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Geoff Andrew, Time Out
'Herbie' and his plucky stunt drivers steal the show in this agreeable family entertainment.
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Vincent Canby, New York Times
Such a vulnerable movie that if it were a little less sappy, one might feel compelled to protect it, as if it were someone under 7 or over 65 -- that portion of the public for which it is intended.
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Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader
What this autopopathism means in terms of American culture is a subject I neither understand nor wish to.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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Dean Jones
as Jim
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Michele Lee
as Carole
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David Tomlinson
as Thorndyke
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Buddy Hackett
as Tennessee
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Joe Flynn
as Havershaw
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Benson Fong
as Mr. Wu
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Joe E. Ross
as Detective
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Iris Adrian
as Carhop
- Ted Duncan
- Alan Fordney
- Robert Foulk
- Ned Glass
- Pedro Gonzalez Gonzalez
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Andy Granatelli
as Himself
- Chick Hearn
- Nicole Jaffe
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Barry Kelley
as Police Sergeant
- Fred Krone
- Gil Lamb
- Hope Lange
- Gary Owens
- Robert Reed
- Pete L. Renoudet
- Dale Van Sickel
- Bert Convy
- Bob Drake
- Jim McCullough Sr.
- Brian Fong
- Jesse Wayne
- Wally Boag
- Gerald Jann
- Fred Stromsoe
