Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo | |
---|---|
Directed by | Vincent McEveety |
Written by | Arthur Alsberg Don Nelson |
Based on | Characters by Gordon Buford |
Produced by | Ron Miller |
Starring | Dean Jones Don Knotts Julie Sommars |
Cinematography | Leonard J. South |
Edited by | Cotton Warburton |
Music by | Frank De Vol |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Buena Vista Distribution |
Release date |
|
Running time | 104 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Box office | $28 million [1] |
Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo is a 1977 American sports adventure comedy film directed by Vincent McEveety and written by Arthur Alsberg and Don Nelson. [2] [3] The film is the third installment in the Herbie film series and the sequel to Herbie Rides Again (1974). In the film, Dean Jones returns as champion race car driver Jim Douglas (reprising his role from The Love Bug , the first film in the series), joined this time by his somewhat cynical and eccentric riding mechanic Wheely Applegate (Don Knotts). The film follows Douglas, Applegate, and Herbie as they participate in the fictional Trans-France Race, a road race from Paris, France, to Monte Carlo, Monaco.
Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo was followed by Herbie Goes Bananas (1980).
Jim Douglas, his partner and mechanic Wheely Applegate, and Herbie arrive in Paris to qualify for and compete in the Trans-France Race (a fictional version of the Monte Carlo Rally), in the hopes of staging a career comeback. The team has three major opponents in the race: Bruno Von Stickle (Eric Braeden), a German driver with experience in the "European Racing Circuit," Claude Gilbert (Mike Kulcsar), a French driver, and Diane Darcy (Julie Sommars), a beautiful young woman and the only female driver in the Trans-France Race.
Herbie falls in love at first sight with Giselle, Diane's sentient Lancia Scorpion. [4] Diane initially hates Jim for what was apparently his, but actually was Herbie's knee-jerk behaviour that ruin her chances of succeeding during the first qualifying rounds, as the strong-willed Diane does not appear to believe in any cars that can be alive and have a mind of their own. Herbie and Giselle go on a 'date' together, and the following day both cars qualify successfully for the race, Herbie performing donuts across the line in a bid to impress Giselle.
Meanwhile, two diamond thieves, Max (Bernard Fox) and Quincey (Roy Kinnear), steal the famous Étoile de Joie (French for "Star of Joy") diamond and hide it in Herbie's fuel tank in order to avoid being captured by a swarm of searching policemen. They attempt to steal Herbie to retrieve the diamond, but Herbie causes them to blow every chance they get. The pair even threaten Jim and Wheely at gunpoint, an encounter from which Herbie manages to escape by driving through a gypsy camp and a building site. Wheely assumes Diane hired the two goons to knock them out of the race, causing a misunderstanding between Jim and Diane. Herbie is also taken into protection by the French police, headed by Inspector Bouchet (Jacques Marin) and his eager junior officer Fontenoy (Xavier Saint-Macary), causing them to miss the start of the race the following day. Giselle also refuses to start the race without Herbie, much to Diane's exasperation, but does so after Wheely lies to Giselle that Herbie has broken up with her. When Fontenoy eventually arrives with Herbie, Wheely also lies to Herbie that Giselle did the same to persuade Herbie to start the race, albeit from last place.
After numerous setbacks and delays, including another run in with the jewel thieves, Herbie, Jim and Wheely race back into contention. After Diane and Giselle crash into a lake, Herbie turns around and charges back to save them, after Jim reveals Wheely had lied to him. After being rescued by Herbie and Jim, Diane's attitude toward Jim softens, and Diane begins to understand that cars can have minds of their own. Herbie refuses to restart because of being determined to stay with Giselle, but Diane encourages Herbie not to relent in the quest for victory in the Trans-France Race, but not before Herbie makes Wheely get down on his knees and apologise for lying to him. With Diane now out of the race, Jim pursues Von Stickle through the streets of Monte Carlo, leading to a thrilling duel for the win. Herbie takes the lead by driving upside down on the tunnel roof of the Monaco Grand Prix Circuit, and Jim drives Herbie to victory.
After the race, it is revealed that Inspector Bouchet, also known as "Double X" as a code name to the thieves, is the real mastermind behind the museum robbery, though the motive of his scheme is revealed as he also threatens Jim and Wheely at gunpoint, only to be foiled by Herbie rolling onto his foot and knocking the gun out of his hands with his hood. Fontenoy, having himself unravelled the mystery of L'Étoile de Joie, has Bouchet clapped in handcuffs and arrested.
In the end, Jim and Diane begin to fall in love, as do Wheely and the Monte Carlo trophy girl. Most of all, Herbie and Giselle fall in love again as well, and celebrate Herbie's victory by watching a brilliant firework display over the Monte Carlo harbour.
On July 11, 1977, Herbie joined other immortals of the silver screen when he placed his wheel-prints in cement in the forecourt of Mann's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, California; the ceremony was also attended by the film's stars Dean Jones, Don Knotts and Julie Sommars, as well as several hundred guests and tourists. Mayor of Los Angeles Tom Bradley sent a proclamation officially declaring July 11 as "Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo Day" and a floral wreath was presented to Herbie by Miss Monte Carlo. The ceremony was preceded by a parade on Hollywood Boulevard featuring a traditional Chinese band, firecrackers, 25 Lancia sports cars, clowns, cheerleaders and the Goodyear Blimp. Afterwards, a special invitational screening of Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo was held inside the Chinese Theatre, which was celebrating its 50th anniversary that year. [5]
Two different paperback novelizations of the film were published to coincide with the film's release: the US version was written by Vic Crume and published by Scholastic Paperbacks in June 1977; the UK version was written by John Harvey and published by New English Library for the film's UK release in 1978. [6]
A comic book of Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo (illustrated by Dan Spiegle) was featured in Walt Disney Showcase #41 published by Gold Key Comics.
The film holds a 60% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 10 reviews, with an average rating of 5.11/10. [7] On Metacritic the film has a weighted average score of 38 out of 100, based on 4 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". [8]
Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo was first released on VHS and Betamax in 1984, early 1985 and re-released November 6, 1985, and September 16, 1997. It was first released on DVD in Region 1 on May 4, 2004, and was re-released as a 2-DVD double feature set along with Herbie Rides Again on April 26, 2009.
On September 2, 2012, Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo was re-released on DVD as part of Herbie: 4-Movie Collection with The Love Bug , Herbie Rides Again and Herbie Goes Bananas .
On June 30, 2015, Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo was released on Blu-ray as a Disney Movie Club exclusive title.
The Love Bug is a 1969 American sports adventure comedy film directed by Robert Stevenson from a screenplay by Bill Walsh and Don DaGradi, based on the story "Car, Boy, Girl" by Gordon Buford. The film is the first installment in the Herbie film series.
Henri Pauli Toivonen was a Finnish rally driver born in Jyväskylä, the home of Rally Finland. His father, Pauli, was the 1968 European Rally Champion for Porsche and his brother, Harri, became a professional circuit racer.
Xavier Saint-Macary was a French actor, brother of Hubert Saint-Macary.
Dean Carroll Jones was an American actor. He was best known for his roles as Agent Zeke Kelso in That Darn Cat! (1965), Jim Douglas in The Love Bug (1968) and Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo (1977), and Dr. Herman Varnick in Beethoven (1992). He was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for his performance as Albert Dooley in The Million Dollar Duck (1971). In 1995, he was inducted as a Disney Legend for his film work.
Herbie: Fully Loaded is a 2005 American sports comedy film directed by Angela Robinson from a screenplay by Thomas Lennon, Robert Ben Garant, Alfred Gough, and Miles Millar. The film is the sixth and final installment in the Herbie film series, following the television film The Love Bug (1997), and the first theatrical film since Herbie Goes Bananas (1980). It serves as a direct sequel to the previous films. The film stars Lindsay Lohan, Justin Long, Breckin Meyer, Matt Dillon, and Michael Keaton. It features cameos by many NASCAR drivers, including Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart, and Dale Jarrett.
The Lancia Montecarlo is a Pininfarina-designed mid-engined sports car produced by Lancia in Italy from 1975 to 1981.
Herbie, the Love Bug is a sentient 1963 Volkswagen Beetle who has been featured in several Walt Disney motion pictures starting with the 1969 feature film The Love Bug. He is the protagonist of all of his movies and has a mind of his own, being capable of driving himself and often becoming a serious contender in auto racing competitions. Throughout most of the franchise, he is distinguished by red, white, and blue racing stripes from the front to the back bumper, a pearl white body, a racing-style number "53" on the front luggage compartment lid, doors, engine lid, and a yellow-on-black 1963 California license plate with the registration "OFP 857".
Herbie Rides Again is a 1974 American comedy film directed by Robert Stevenson from a screenplay by Bill Walsh, based on a story by Gordon Buford. The film is the second installment in the Herbie film series and the sequel to The Love Bug (1968). It stars Helen Hayes, Stefanie Powers, Ken Berry, and Keenan Wynn reprising his villainous role as Alonzo P. Hawk.
Herbie Goes Bananas is a 1980 American adventure comedy film directed by Vincent McEveety and written by Don Tait. The film is the fourth installment in the Herbie film series and the sequel to Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo (1977).
"Fascination" is a popular waltz song with music (1904) by Fermo Dante Marchetti and lyrics (1905) by Maurice de Féraudy.
Ove Andersson, nicknamed Påven, was a Swedish rally driver and the first head of Toyota's F1 programme.
Julie Sommars is an American actress. She won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy for her role in The Governor & J.J. in 1970, and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress on Television for Matlock in 1990.
Herbie, the Love Bug is an American television sitcom that aired on CBS from March 17 to April 14, 1982. It was produced by Walt Disney Productions and based on a series of films about Herbie, a white 1963 Volkswagen racing Beetle with a mind of its own.
Giselle is a female given name of French origin. It is derived from the Germanic word geisil, "pledge". Variants include Ghislain, Ghislaine, Gisela, Gisele, Gisèle, Gizel and Gizele.
The 1989 World Rally Championship was the 17th season of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) World Rally Championship (WRC). The season consisted of 13 rallies, with some adjustments to the schedule versus the previous season. The WRC ended its participation in North America by removing the Olympus Rally from the schedule, implementing in its place Rally Australia. An anomaly in the schedule was that 1989 was the only year in which the Swedish Rally and the Rallye de Monte Carlo were switched in place, with the Swedish event taking place to start the year. This made it the second and last time that Monte Carlo would not mark the first event of the WRC season until the 2009 season.
Robert "Bob" Neyret is a retired French dental surgeon and semi-professional rally driver who competed in beginning in 1954.
The Lancia Delta HF is a Group A rally car built for the Martini Lancia by Lancia to compete in the World Rally Championship. It is based upon the Lancia Delta road car and replaced the Lancia Delta S4. The car was introduced for the 1987 World Rally Championship season and dominated the World Rally Championship, scoring 46 WRC victories overall and winning the constructors' championship a record six times in a row from 1987 to 1992, in addition to drivers' championship titles for Juha Kankkunen and Miki Biasion, making Lancia the most successful marque in the history of the WRC and the Delta the most successful car.
The Herbie franchise consists of American sports adventure comedy theatrical feature films, one television film, a television series, and other multimedia releases. The overall story centers around the titular Herbie, a sentient anthropomorphic 1963 Volkswagen Beetle with a mind of his own and capable of driving himself. The vehicle is oftentimes a legitimate contender, though the underdog contestant in competitive races, but to a greater degree assists his human owners in bettering their lives.