Herbie Rides Again (1974)

Well, that's really all that matters, isn't it.My 3 yr old over here in Norway in 2011 is a Herbie devotee - there were a bunch of Herbies ... under irrelevant Norwegian titles ... on sale in a supermarket bin - and he loves all 4 of the theater films.And I like the characters of this one, especially Ken Berry's. He comes to Uncle Alonzo wanting to believe in him and join him and then has his eyes opened, while falling in love with Mrs. Steinmetz's granddaughter - Tennessee's daughter?? Look at the expressions on Berry's face. WELL done. And Stephanie Powers' violent young woman is in another of the series: Julie Sommers in Herbie goes to Monte Carlo, for example. PMS, anyone? :-) When he wants to see this one, my little Rohan says he wants to see "Uncle" (Alonzo).

Prior to "The Love Bug", "Herbie Rides Again" is a high octane movie where our favorite VW Bug has an adventure of a different sort. This time around he takes on a greedy land developer named Alonzo Hawk(Keenan Wynn) who has a tough time trying to tear down a antique firehouse owned by a tough widow name Mrs. Steimetz(Helen Hayes). In order to give the land to him he gets his bumbling nephew, Wiloughby Whitfield (Ken Berry) to do his dirty work. When he discovers Hawk's scheme, he joins forces with Steinmetz and Nicole Harris(Stefanie Powers). Nicole is a tough willed woman to be reckoned with. All the scenes of this movie is magic. I liked the part where Hawk was dreaming and all the sheep in his dreams turned into Volkswagons with sharp teeth, and he acted like King Kong. The best part is where Herbie gathered all the VW Bugs against Hawk and his invaders. But Mr. Judson (John McIntire) helped some in saving the firehouse. Volkswagons were the bomb and they still are. If you like cars like that, this movie is for you! Knight Rider's got nothing on this one. 4.5 out of 5 stars!

In this second Herbie movie, the car resides at an old ladys residence in an old fire station building. She is the only resident of a block not to give in to the demands of Alonzo Hawk, a developer planning the world's highest office tower. Whitfield, a relative of Hawk's and a newbie at being a lawyer, is given the mission by his new employer and uncle of convincing the woman to move so as to demolish her 'house'. Herbie and the woman's aeroplane hostess friend fight Whitfield over the matter until Whitfield is convinced that Alonzo is a no-good. Then Whitfield and the hostess fall for each other and with the help of Herbie stop the development. This is one of those interesting films from the 70s that uses older style movie making techniques to its advantage, not yet in the fast paced 80s but out of the experimental 60s, the film has a certain quality that is quite nice to the eye. The special effects and chromakey are used well, and at points a tad overused, but it is all in all a very enjoyable film.

Herbie Rides Again is a great family comedy. The funniest part in the movie was when Herbie and all of his volkswagen friends chased Alonso Hawke down the streets of San Francisco. That part is hilarious and priceless. Children and adults will love this movie and the other Herbie movies too. Go out and buy all of the Herbie movies. You won't regret it.