Herbie The Love Bug (1969) DVDRip (SiRiUs sHaRe) torrent

Herbie The Love Bug (1969)

Herbie is a car - but no ordinary car. The story follows the Volkswagon Beetle with a mind of its own from the showroom to the race track, with various close escapes in between. Three further Herbie movies were to follow.

Dean Jones ... Jim
Michele Lee ... Carole
David Tomlinson ... Thorndyke
Buddy Hackett ... Tennessee Steinmetz
Joe Flynn ... Havershaw
Benson Fong ... Mr. Wu
Andy Granatelli ... Association President
Joe E. Ross ... Detective
Iris Adrian ... Carhop
Ned Glass ... Toll Booth Attendant
Robert Foulk ... Bice
Gil Lamb ... Policeman at Park
Barry Kelley ... Police Sgt.
Nicole Jaffe ... Girl In Dune-buggy

Director: Robert Stevenson

Runtime: 107 mins

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064603/

Codecs:

Video : 602 MB, 815 Kbps, 25.0 fps, 640*336 (16:9), DX50 = DivXNetworks Divx v5,
Audio : 94 MB, 128 Kbps, 44100 Hz, 2 channels, 0x55 = MPEG Layer-3, CBR,

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This is a true Disney Classic, in fact Walt Disney had a hand in developing the story but, sad to say, never lived to see it hit the big screen. In the film, we learn rather quickly that race car driver Jim Douglas(Dean Jones) has hit rock bottom after being a prominent race car driver(what caused his demise? it\'s not explained but it appears that he got into quite a few bang ups). He lives with a Buddhist named Tennessee Steinmetz(Buddy Hackett)who finds a soul in everything.

Jim soon looks for a new car and comes across a fancy dealership, only to be embarrassed by the owner Peter Thorndyke(David Tomlinson) who refuses Jim\'s $80 offer for a gorgeous race car. While in the showroom, a VW rolls in that was supposed to be scrapped. As Thorndyke berates the little car, Jim sticks up for it and soon the car thinks it has a friend and follows Jim home. To avoid being blamed for stealing the car, Jim agrees to buy it from Thorndyke but the car acts up. Jim is about to return it when he\'s caught in a drag race because someone makes fun of the VW. Herbie blows the competition away and Jim falls in love with the car\'s speed, but Tennessee knows it has heart and names it Herbie.

Soon Jim, Herbie and Tennessee are winning races and Jim\'s ego inflates while Thorndyke\'s temper grows since he too races and loses every time to Herbie. Thorndyke decides to sabotage the little car and when he succeeds, Jim turns his back on Herbie. Once Jim realizes HE hasn\'t being winning the races he tries to find Herbie who has since run off. Herbie gets impounded after an accident and Jim must sell him to a Chinese man who agrees to let Jim drive Herbie in a big race. If Jim wins, he gets to buy Herbie back for a buck. Needless to say, Thorndyke once again sabotages Herbie,but hey, this is Disney. Who do YOU think wins out at the end?

I had to give this movie a 10 because it has so much going for it. Comedy, some drama, romance. We know very little about Jim Douglas except when Tennessee describes him as down on his luck, angry, and one who was prone to getting into trouble. Jones did an excellent job as the cocky, angry, egotistical driver who is knocked down a few pegs by his friends and a little car. The character mirrored Jones back then, who admits in his biography that he was a dirt bike racing nut prone to losing his temper quite a bit and having an affinity for women other than his wife. Michelle Lee is grand but we don\'t see much of her and Hackett plays the sincere bit amazingly well especially when he tells Jim that he was nothing without Herbie. For comedic relief David Tomlinson was terrific as was his assistant Havershaw(Joe Flynn of McHale\'s Navy fame).

Yes there are some over the top, goofy and somewhat embarrassing sight gags and a few interesting moments(i.e. Carol thinking Jim has ulterior motives when Herbie brings them to a make-out point, i.e. when Herbie tries to kill itself, and when Jim finally admits to Carol that he\'s just a bum), but the film has heart, like Herbie. The film had three more sequels, a five part TV miniseries, a re-make in 1998(or so) and there\'s a new film coming out. Jones only did Love Bug, Monte Carlo(film 3), the miniseries and made a pathetic appearance in the 1998 film. In each one, Jones was still down on his luck but nothing like the sad figure he portrayed in Love Bug. Great classic film, filled with 60\'s nostalgia.

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The search for identity and acceptance among peers is consistently a popular allusion in film scripts. \"The Love Bug,\" despite its misleading genre of \"children\'s comedy,\" expertly disguises a propensity toward examining the identity theme with many of the significant characters in the picture (including, no doubt, Herbie the Volkswagen as well).

Herbie seeks acceptance and comfort in \"life,\" even threatening to commit \"suicide\" if his haven is not established to the best of Jim Douglas\' knowledge and aptitude. The automobile is not so much interested in a conventional, superficial form of success (such as racing) for its own sake; he is more mature than his \"owner\" in the sense that Herbie understands the necessary requirements for mature success: happiness and fulfilment with an established status. Yet the vehicle still searches, almost fruitlessly throughout the first half of the film, for an identity. Once he stumbles upon his purpose-winning races for Douglas-his owner quickly denies him acceptance and assumes foolishly that personal needs are a more significant priority than others\' requirements. The final third of \"The Love Bug\" allows both automobile and owner to accept one another and form a dependency, certainly one of the more important and necessary aspects of existence.

Tennessee also questions his role and place in San Francisco; previously, he taught English (which allows a few humorous lines in the film) in China. Until Herbie arrives, Tennessee appears restless and spiritually languid. Thorndike and Carol also consistently and repeatedly question their abilities and roles. Herbie, either directly or indirectly, is the focal point of the directions the characters take, not only in the choices they reach but in their beliefs about the important aspects of life as well.

Functioning on a series of discrete yet interconnected pieces, \"The Love Bug\" engenders several levels of emotional reactions from an amalgam of viewers. For example, as a children\'s tale, the young audience member will easily appreciate the action, overt comedic scenarios, and fantasy elements. And as an adult, the relationships between characters, although inherently not possible in empirical reality, operate similar to the most effective fiction. The viewers can identify with the characters and unrealistic situations to the point of the pinnacle of an author\'s achievement: the suspension of disbelief.

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Since, I was three years old I have loved Herbie, the Volkswagen Beetle with a mind of his own. The Love Bug is a wonderful film for the family. Filled with adventure, comedy, and sweetness it is perfect for kids of all ages. When Jim Douglas, played by Dean Jones, starts to have a fluke in his racing career he almost gives up hope. He is stunned by a car dealership that is owned by Thorndyke, played by David Tomlinson, where he first runs into the famous Herbie. After standing up for the little car, Jim has found that the little car is his for keeps.

After winning numerous races, Jim believes it is his luck and not the little car. Tennessee, played by Buddy Hackett, knows that it is the little car and not Jim. Tennessee also influences Carole, played by Michele Lee, who took a little more convincing. Thorndyke tries many evil and cruel stunts to win Herbie back. After a mere loss, Jim has to prove himself to the little car and to the rest of his friends.

A big race is where Jim believes he will do it. The race is two days long and in those two days the little car will be tested to the limits. Herbie rides on water, rides with only two wheels, and even comes apart. Thorndyke is a true bad loser and is actually intimidated by the little car. This will determine who the better person in the end is.

The actors in this movie are truly acting and the content of the movie is

good as well. Robert Stevenson did a wonderful job directing this movie. Having the actors know how to act and having the little car doing all of the stunts played a really made a difference in this movie. As for the little car, I would like to know how they made him come to life so well that kept my interest for fifteen years. This is a wonderful movie and families every where will fall in love with Herbie and the rest of the cast.

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* The backdrop in the race scenes is of the Riverside International Raceway.

* Dean Jones who plays Jim Douglas in the movie, also plays the role of the hippy in the drive-in scene.

* The only existing \"trick\" Herbie from the movie which can do everything that Herbie is known for, like squirting oil and opening his doors by himself, is owned by Dean Jones.

* When beginning production of the film, Disney set up a casting call for about a dozen cars, and kept them outside the studios for the crew to examine during their breaks. Among the lineup were Toyotas, Volvos, and of course, the pearl white Volkswagen Beetle. When the crew walked by to inspect the cars, they would kick the tires and grab the steering wheel to see how it handled. However, when they came across the Volkswagen, they began to pet it, and so the Beetle got the job.

* Herbie got his name when the crew of the film was watching one of Buddy Hackett\'s skits about a ski instructor with a funny accent. Then Hackett said, \"If you ain\'t got a herbie [pronounced hoy-bie], I ain\'t goin\'.\" The name stuck.

* Herbie\'s license plate is OFP-857; his number is 53.

* The yellow \"Thorndike Special\" was an Apollo GT. Apollos were built in Pasadena, California. The body shells were fabricated in Italy and shipped to the US, where aluminum Buick 215 CID V8 engines were installed. The same company later made another sports car called the Intermeccanica Italia. One of these appears in the 1971 Disney movie Million Dollar Duck.

* 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.

* During the exchange between Jim Douglas and Mr. Wu while hanging from Herbie\'s rear bumper: \"Car very strong.\" \"And very fast.\" \"The strength of forty horses.\" The stock Volkswagen Beetle engine did have forty horsepower.

* According to the filmmakers in the DVD documentary, Herbie\'s #53 comes from star baseball pitcher Don Drysdale of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

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