Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo

Herbie, the Volkswagen Beetle with a mind of its own, is racing in the Monte Carlo Rally. Unbeknownst to Herbie’s driver…

• Director: Vincent McEveety
• Genre:Action / Adventure / Comedy / Family / Romance
• Runtime:101 minutes

Cast

Dean Jones : Jim Douglas
Don Knotts : Wheely Applegate
Julie Sommars : Diane Darcy
Jacques Marin : Inspector Bouchet
Roy Kinnear : Quincey

Dean Jones returns as champion race car driver Jim Douglas, and is joined by 1970s Disney stalwart Don Knotts as his mechanic, Wheely Applegate. Herbie, the “Love Bug”, takes part in the fictional Trans-France Race, from Paris, France to Monte Carlo, Monaco. The race was (according to dialogue) the first for Douglas in twelve years, and would not be much of a “comeback” if he did not qualify first.

This Trans-France Race was clearly modeled on the world-renowned Monte Carlo Rally, and was apparently run in either 1976 or 1977, although no exact date is expressly stated in the film. Herbie was one of the 18 cars that started the race. While the precise number of competing cars in the race is open to debate, it is possible that twice as many race cars appeared in the movie.

In a subplot, two jewel thieves, Max (Bernard Fox) and Quincey (Roy Kinnear), steal the famous Etoile de Joie and hide the diamond in Herbie’s gas tank. It is also revealed that Inspector Bouchet (Jacques Marin), also known as “Double X / XX”, is the mastermind behind the museum robbery, though the fact of his scheme is revealed near the end of the movie. Read more