So, it’s Halloween, a fun date to talk about cars in spooky films. But me being me, I’ll abstain from the obvious; no Christine Plymouths, nor the devil-possessed customized Lincoln from The Car, or the menacing tanker truck from Spielberg’s Duel. Instead, how about something more offbeat? Like the spooky and surreal nightmare sequence from 1974’s Herbie Rides Again.
I know, VW Beetles are not the first thing that comes to mind when thinking of hair-raising automotive phenomena. But well, it’s Disney we’re talking about here; and they had a sequel to make after the success of 1968’s The Love Bug, and it was the early 1970s… In all, a cocktail guaranteed to bring about some weird outcomes.
And as childishly silly as it all was, if you were five at the time (Me!), the sudden view of Herbie with monster-sized fangs roaming around a ghoulish field was not something easy to forget.
Before we go too far, youngsters may wonder: what you talking about here? Well, Herbie! The famously “53” sentient race-prepped 1963 VW Bug. There was a time when that prank-loving tiny German wonder was quite an intellectual property at Disney. The Love Bug started it all in 1968, and a slew of films followed (each offering ever diminishing returns). 1974’s Herbie Rides Again was the first of those, throwing away the first film’s straightforward narrative and offering instead the franchise’s wackiest gags and most outlandish sequences.
By the early 1970s, Disney live action films had gone full cheese, a quality Herbie Rides Again fully embraces. The original film’s race-centered world was tossed away, and instead, the second offering adopts an old Hollywood standard: The evil developer threatening to raze an old woman’s house. That old David vs. Goliath trick. (And since it’s a lady, what’s the female for David?)
However, we’ll catch up with David-a some other time. Today’s posts centers around Herbie and Keenan Wynn, who plays the evil developer with hammy zeal. As Alonzo Hawk, Keenan’s committed performance fits the film’s farcical feel. A caricature, you may say, but well, as I said, this is Disney we’re talking about.
But before you feel I’m throwing too many gratuitous rocks at poor Herbie Rides Again, we should mention the film’s director, Robert Stevenson. Stevenson was a British live action talent who had a long association with Disney and who was at the helm of Mary Poppins, an undisputed and relevant classic. Mary Poppins, along with films like The Absent Minded Professor, showed the kind of films that Walt Disney (the man, not the company) had in mind for the future of cinema; movies that revolved around fantasy and lots of special effects. As later history showed, Walt was onto something with those ideas.
In 1966, Disney’s untimely death (along his no longer present controlling persona) left a pretty rudderless company, and the following decade made that rather evident (By the early 1980s, the enterprise was struggling financially). In the case of the company’s film output, their films seemed embued with a quaint wholesomeness way out of step with the trends of the 1970s.
That said, Herbie Rides Again arrived before Disney’s live action films got too stale later in the decade. As such, the film is zany, occasionally weird, and at times plain bizarre. Plot suffers as the gags pile on, but at least they provide memorable moments (which is more than can be said of the films that would follow).
So, from Herbie riding the Golden Gate’s suspension cables (further above), to driving on a building’s ledge. (Kids, don’t attempt any of this at home.)
To an indoor chase involving a bubble filled room.(Stunt people earned their keep on this scene).
All along more standard stunts.
By the film’s last third, Herbie had terrorized poor Alonzo Hawk enough times that the old man was turning into a shell of his former self. A nervous wreck, he lulls himself to sleep while counting sheep. Cue in: Spooky nightmare-like camera effects.
Soon enough, some sheep with Herbie’s “53” start being counted…
And then, fanged Herbie arrives ready to terrorize Alonzo Hawk’s dreams.
It’s a rather surreal scene, with echoes of Dumbo’s elephant dance. Was this really kids’ material? When this came up, I do have memories of asking Mom: “Why has Herbie turned evil?”
Can’t recall what I dreamt that night. Evil Herbies?
Alonzo Hawk does his best to escape, of course.
Going from spooky, but staying in the realm of bizarre, Alonzo ends as King Kong, over the Empire State building. All while attacked by a swarm of flying Herbies.
No guns are used against Alonzo-Kong; engine oil does the work instead.
Alonzo-Kong eventually falls, and here the plot diverts…
In the released film, Alonzo wakes up. However, there was supposedly a different version where he falls into and operating table, with a bunch of Beatles ready to… Cut him open? Herbie Goes Lecter. Freaky.
A photo apparently survives of that idea, and as far fetched (and disturbing) as it sounds, the whole movie is so out there that the scene seems to fit. Luckily my child-self (and the general public) were spared that version.
I won’t leave you hanging about the film’s outcome; in the closing sequence, Herbie stops Alonzo Hawk with the help of an army of Beetles.
Wait… Are all Beetles sentient then?
Little of it makes sense, but it is not out of step with the rest of the film. And as kid, I felt for this poor worn out fella shown here.
Herbie Rides Again may be far from a classic. Or even an average movie. In my case, barely a guilty pleasure. But the images it left on my impressionable young mind have stayed ever since. You may find it silly and corny, but perhaps we shouldn’t underestimate the power of a Beetle with fangs approaching at speed on a dark, misty night.
Yes! I loved “Herbie Rides Again” as a kid. I don’t remember if my library had it on VHS and I just checked it out a billion times or if I recorded it from TV, but it was a standard in my house. I haven’t thought of it in years. Keenan Wynn as Alonzo Hawk was always funny; he was a great hammy actor because you always knew he was in on the joke, unlike guys like William Shatner (but who knows, maybe he was in on the joke). Keenan Wynn was also a big car guy, another reason to like him.
I will confess that I have never watched this movie. I was in the prime demographic for the original, though, and saw that one in the theater. As for the weirdness of this one, I had no idea.
I keep seeing advertisements of HRA on whatever TV I watch at night. Makes me wonder, IS it considered a “Halloween Film”? (I don’t recall any other Halloween Refs in the film).
I Loved the OG 68 Herbie Movie. Although, even as a 5 yo kid, when I saw it for the first time around 75, It was a ‘little’ on the cheesy side. (especially, regarding ‘effects’). But by 5, I was a hardcore car enthusiast, well, as much as a 5 yo could be. So any and everything car/truck motorcycle related, I was into it, from Cartoons to movies, if it had vehicles, I’m a fan.
Speed buggy, Herbie, Wonderbug, I was all in by 5, and a VW/dune buggy fan as well.
Yes, I’ve seen ALL the Herbie Movies, even the NEW sequel, with what’s her name. (but let’s not discuss that one).
Never saw it back in 1974 or ever. I was 21 and an adult. I saw Young Frankenstein, The Exorcist, The Sting, and Godfather 2. Maybe the equivalent for me would be Blazing Saddles with horses.
This is why CC is so great. I love the variety, detail, and personal touch of the articles!
I cannot be sure of this since I first saw it when I must have been 3-4 years old but I’m pretty sure Herbie Rides Again was my introduction to the Herbie series, so I do have more nostalgic attachment to it than The Love Bug. Unlike the Love Bug however I can hardly recall any of the plot or characters in it outside of Keenan Wynn (who was great) and the various stunts, I used to watch the skyscraper scene over and over. The sentient Beetles in the end was memorable too without any memorable context for what lead to it, as you said visually it was just good fodder for a kid into cars with an overactive imagination.
I was a kid I had thought all of the movies were made in the EARLY to mid 60s (except Herbie Goes Bananas which had a distinctly Aaron Spellingesque late 70s TV flavor and style to it). That the Love Bug came out in 68 surprised me when I first realized it, it seems way more of a contemporary to It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World in its visual style and humor than 1968 films in that rapidly changing decade. Roses Again seemed 68ish with some of the themes and hippies I seem to have an image of being in there, and Monte Carlo seemed more early 70s given the styles and Don Knotts being in it(although the Lancia quickly clued me in that it was later 70s).
My exposure to Herbie Rides Again was having still shots from the movie on View Master slides. It was really creepy in 3D, as many of the pictures you have here were on those slides.
When I did see the movie, it seemed relatively benign…was this due to being older or the trauma was over given my View Master experience? It’s hard to say.
Thanks for putting this together. It rekindled some old memories.