{"id":84115,"date":"2022-05-15T10:35:35","date_gmt":"2022-05-15T17:35:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=84115"},"modified":"2022-05-15T10:35:35","modified_gmt":"2022-05-15T17:35:35","slug":"love-bug-the-1968","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=84115","title":{"rendered":"Love Bug, The (1968)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;If I&#8217;d wanted a trick car, I&#8217;d have bought one in a joke shop!&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Love-Bug-Poster.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Love-Bug-Poster-197x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"197\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-84116\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Love-Bug-Poster-197x300.png 197w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Love-Bug-Poster-84x128.png 84w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Love-Bug-Poster-178x270.png 178w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Love-Bug-Poster.png 546w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 197px) 100vw, 197px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nWhen a down-on-his-luck race car driver (Dean Jones) and his roommate (Buddy Hackett) &#8220;inherit&#8221; a sentient Volkswagen Beetle which Hackett names &#8220;Herbie,&#8221; they find themselves embroiled in a bitter rivalry with the a luxury car shop owner and racer (David Tomlinson) whose personal assistant (Michele Lee) grows increasingly fond of both Jones and &#8220;Herbie&#8221;.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Car Racing<\/li>\n<li>Comedy<\/li>\n<li>Fantasy<\/li>\n<li>Rivalry<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nThis beloved Disney live-action film about an anthropomorphic VW Beetle spawned an entire franchise of sequels, as well as <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_Love_Bug_(1997_film)\">a 1997 remake<\/a>. It&#8217;s a surprisingly amiable comedic-adventure flick centering on a dastardly villain (Tomlinson, best known as the father in <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=6006\"><em>Mary Poppins<\/em><\/a>) who will stop at nothing to win races: <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Love-Bug-Tomlinson.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Love-Bug-Tomlinson-1024x613.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"383\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-84119\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Love-Bug-Tomlinson-1024x613.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Love-Bug-Tomlinson-300x180.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Love-Bug-Tomlinson-128x77.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Love-Bug-Tomlinson-768x460.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Love-Bug-Tomlinson-451x270.png 451w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Love-Bug-Tomlinson.png 1217w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a> <\/p>\n<p>The first portion of the film focuses on &#8220;Herbie&#8221; making himself known as a sentient presence in the lives of dense Jones and the unexpectedly-wise Hackett, who has done some soul searching in Tibet and &#8220;gets&#8221; what the little car is trying to say.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Love-Bug-Hackett2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Love-Bug-Hackett2-1024x614.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"384\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-84120\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Love-Bug-Hackett2-1024x614.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Love-Bug-Hackett2-300x180.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Love-Bug-Hackett2-128x77.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Love-Bug-Hackett2-768x460.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Love-Bug-Hackett2-450x270.png 450w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Love-Bug-Hackett2.png 1213w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Indeed, it&#8217;s Hackett&#8217;s special bond with &#8220;Herbie&#8221; that drives the film&#8217;s narrative throughout, as we hope the others will finally get a clue and stop treating the car like simply a hunk of machinery. Unfortunately, Jones is a pretty dull protagonist: <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Love-Bug-Jones.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Love-Bug-Jones-1024x612.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"383\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-84122\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Love-Bug-Jones-1024x612.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Love-Bug-Jones-300x179.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Love-Bug-Jones-128x77.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Love-Bug-Jones-768x459.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Love-Bug-Jones-452x270.png 452w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Love-Bug-Jones.png 1223w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&#8230; but at least Lee has more spunk: <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Love-Bug-Lee.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Love-Bug-Lee-1024x618.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"386\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-84123\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Love-Bug-Lee-1024x618.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Love-Bug-Lee-300x181.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Love-Bug-Lee-128x77.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Love-Bug-Lee-768x464.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Love-Bug-Lee-447x270.png 447w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Love-Bug-Lee.png 1221w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&#8230; and the car race sequences are reasonably exciting.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Love-Bug-Car-Races.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Love-Bug-Car-Races-1024x611.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"382\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-84124\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Love-Bug-Car-Races-1024x611.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Love-Bug-Car-Races-300x179.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Love-Bug-Car-Races-128x76.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Love-Bug-Car-Races-768x458.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Love-Bug-Car-Races-453x270.png 453w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Love-Bug-Car-Races.png 1219w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a> <\/p>\n<p><strong>Notable Performances, Qualities, and Moments:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Good use of authentic San Francisco locales<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Love-Bug-San-Francisco-Trolley.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Love-Bug-San-Francisco-Trolley-1024x616.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"385\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-84118\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Love-Bug-San-Francisco-Trolley-1024x616.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Love-Bug-San-Francisco-Trolley-300x180.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Love-Bug-San-Francisco-Trolley-128x77.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Love-Bug-San-Francisco-Trolley-768x462.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Love-Bug-San-Francisco-Trolley-449x270.png 449w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Love-Bug-San-Francisco-Trolley.png 1221w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Love-Bug-Twisty-Road.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Love-Bug-Twisty-Road-1024x615.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"384\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-84121\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Love-Bug-Twisty-Road-1024x615.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Love-Bug-Twisty-Road-300x180.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Love-Bug-Twisty-Road-128x77.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Love-Bug-Twisty-Road-768x461.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Love-Bug-Twisty-Road-450x270.png 450w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Love-Bug-Twisty-Road.png 1221w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nNo, though of course live-action Disney fans will be curious to check it out. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0064603\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1969\/03\/14\/archives\/the-screen-and-now-a-word-from-disney-film-offers-ad-for-a-certain.html\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.moriareviews.com\/fantasy\/love-bug-1969.htm\">Moria Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/Ox-YNRdWPZM\">Cinephile Studios Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/disney.fandom.com\/wiki\/The_Love_Bug\">Disney Fandom Page<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thespinningimage.co.uk\/cultfilms\/displaycultfilm.asp?reviewid=1278\">Spinning Image Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;If I&#8217;d wanted a trick car, I&#8217;d have bought one in a joke shop!&#8221; Synopsis: When a down-on-his-luck race car driver (Dean Jones) and his roommate (Buddy Hackett) &#8220;inherit&#8221; a sentient Volkswagen Beetle which Hackett names &#8220;Herbie,&#8221; they find themselves embroiled in a bitter rivalry with the a luxury car shop owner and racer (David Tomlinson) whose personal assistant (Michele Lee) grows increasingly fond of both Jones and &#8220;Herbie&#8221;. Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Car Racing Comedy Fantasy Rivalry Review:&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=84115\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-84115","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84115","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=84115"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84115\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":84127,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84115\/revisions\/84127"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=84115"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=84115"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=84115"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}