Herbie Rides Again

Dir: Robert Stevenson

1974

****

In Robert Stevenson 1974 follow up to The Love Bug, it is only Herbie the Volkswagen Beetle who returns. We soon learn that original owner Jim has 'gone to Europe' and his best friend Tennessee has gone back to Tibet to learn more from the monks. Poor old Herbie has been left behind in the care of Tennessee's elderly aunt (played by Helen Hayes) who lives alone in the old Fire station with only a young neighbour (Stefanie Powers), an early 19th-century orchestrion that plays on its own accord (a continuation of the Buddhist reincarnation theory of the first film - although the breed of dog, or indeed species, of the orchestrion remains unknown) and a retired cable car from the defunct Clay Street Line known only as 'Old No. 22' for company. If abandonment isn't enough, 'Grandma' Steinmetz soon finds herself hounded by notorious real estate magnate and demolition baron Alonzo Hawk who wants to knock down her beloved fire station and build a 130-story Plaza in its place. Alonzo Hawk is a recurring villain in Disney films, first appearing in 1961 comedy The Absent-Minded Professor and its sequel Son of Flubber. The great Keenan Wynn played the part both times and also played him in Snowball Express (1972) and Shaggy D.A. (1976) although the character names were changed. It was a great move, considering the gap left by Buddy Hackett's lovable character and David Tomlinson's villain. The film is basically one long series of mischievous tricks pulled by Herbie in order to keep Hawk's hands off the fire station, the best one being a brilliant scene in which Herbie finds himself on the 28th floor of Hawk's skyscraper office after driving onto a window cleaning platform. While Herbie drives around the office causing mayhem, the window cleaning machine attached to the platform comes loose and fills the department full of bubbles. Herbie saves the day once more and sets up another couple along the way, although he doesn't achieve this alone. In what was felt a triumphant conclusion when I was a child, I now see the last scene whereby Herbie enlists the help of every Volkswagen Beetle in the San Francisco area, who all turn out to be living entities as he is, to be somewhat terrifying. They do realize that the Volkswagen Beetle was a product of Nazi Germany and commissioned by Adolf Hitler himself don't they?