The Love Bug

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This article is about the 1969 Disney film. For the insect, see love bug.

The Love Bug

Directed by	Robert Stevenson
Produced by	Bill Walsh
Written by	Gordon Buford Bill Walsh Don DaGradi
Starring	Dean Jones Michele Lee David Tomlinson Buddy Hackett Joe Flynn Benson Fong Andy Granatelli Joe E. Ross Iris Adrian Ned Glass Robert Foulk Nicole Jaffe Gary Owens
Music by	George Bruns
Cinematography	Edward Colman
Editing by	Cotton Warburton
Distributed by	Walt Disney Pictures Corporation
Release date(s)	1969
Running time	108 minutes
Language	English
Followed by	Herbie Rides Again
IMDb profile

The Love Bug (1969) was the first of a series of movies made by Walt Disney Productions that starred a white Volkswagen racing Beetle named Herbie, a 'bug' with a mind of its own. The movie follows the adventures of Herbie, Herbie's driver - Jim Douglas (Dean Jones) and Jim's love interest - Carole (Michele Lee). It also featured Buddy Hackett as Jim's enlightened friend, Tennessee Steinmetz, who created 'art' from used car parts. British actor David Tomlinson portrayed the devilishly evil Peter Thorndyke, the man who sells Herbie to Jim and eventually becomes his racing rival. The movie itself inspired a franchise that is still popular even today. The movie also pushed along the Volkswagen Beetle craze, as people began to identify with the strange, rounded car that seemed just a bit different from most things on the road.

Four theatrical sequels followed: Herbie Rides Again, Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo, Herbie Goes Bananas, and Herbie: Fully Loaded. A five-episode TV series ran on CBS in the US in the spring of 1982. In 1997, there was a made-for-television sequel to the The Love Bug (1997 Television movie) which included a Dean Jones cameo, tying it to the previous films. Herbie's most recent film , Herbie: Fully Loaded, was released on June 22, 2005 by Walt Disney Pictures.

At Walt Disney World's All-Star Movies Resort in Orlando, Florida, a hotel complex is dedicated to Herbie and his first film The Love Bug.

According to Answers.com, The Love Bug was the highest-grossing film of 1969.

[edit] Trivia

Even thought it did not get special thanks, some of the racetrack scenes were shot at the Riverside International Raceway in Riverside, California.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

The Herbie films
The Love Bug (1968) • Herbie Rides Again (1974) • Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo (1977) • Herbie Goes Bananas (1980) • Herbie: Fully Loaded (2005) Made for TV: Herbie the Matchmaker (1982) • The Love Bug (TV remake) (1997)