Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo

Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo is a 1977 film, the third of a series of films by Walt Disney Productions starring Herbie – the white Volkswagen racing Beetle with a mind of its own.

Plot
The film stars Dean Jones as returning champion race car driver Jim Douglas, joined by his mechanic, Wheely Applegate Don Knotts. They and Herbie, the "Love Bug", are participating in the fictional Trans-France Race, from Paris, France to Monte Carlo, Monaco, in which they hope to stage a comeback. As the film progresses, two thieves, Max (Bernard Fox) and Quincey (Roy Kinnear), steal the famous Etoile de Joie and cleverly 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. It is the eager young detective Fontenoy (Xavier Saint-Macary), of whom the Inspector is the superior officer, who unravels the mystery of L'Etoile de Joie, and has Bouchet clapped in handcuffs.

Dean Jones and Don Knotts in Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo. In the Trans-France Race, Douglas had three major opponents: Bruno von Stickle (Eric Braeden): He is a dark-haired, moustached German driver with experience in the "European Racing Circuit". His car was a powerful Porsche 917 clone painted in the colors of the German national flag, and bearing the number 17. In fact, as referred in the movie, the kit car is a Lazer 917 GT coupé with numerous components including the engine and chassis from the Beetle. Von Stickle seemed to be a formidable contender prior to and during the race.

Claude Gilbert (Mike Kulcsar): Claude is a blond-haired French driver of unknown discipline, although it would seem likely that he was also a regular on the European Racing circuit. Gilbert, known for wearing a full-faced crash helmet, was the driver of an equally power-hungry De Tomaso Pantera. That car was black with white stripes and a number (#66) on the hood and the sides. His dominance in the race seemed similar to that of Bruno von Stickle—until he wrecked in the late stages (coincidentally, in almost exactly the same location of Grace Kelly's fatal car accident in 1982).

Diane Darcy (Julie Sommars): She is a very pretty, if somewhat icy, young woman with strawberry blonde hair and hazel eyes who initially hates Jim for his and Herbie's incompetence that ruined her chances during the qualifying race. Diane's car was an equally beautiful powder-blue 1976 Lancia Scorpion with yellow and white stripes, as well as a numeral 7. Diane's Lancia is a car with whom Herbie falls in love during the film. Jim seems to be similarly attracted to Diane as well. However, she does not appear to believe in cars with minds of their own; Diane thought this was merely an excuse for what she believed as an act of possible misogyny or sexism from Jim. Her feelings of hatred toward Mr. Douglas were particularly evident in one scene wherein she tosses fine china at him, just to prove her value as a driver. While her nationality is unknown, it is probable that Diane is from either the United States or Canada. The only female driver in the race, Ms. Darcy is ostensibly a rookie driver, although her level of racing experience is never discussed in the movie. Even so, she is truly a force to be reckoned with and is strictly a feminist. Relatively little was seen of her performance in the Trans-France Race itself. Diane and the Lancia crash into a lake as a result of having "missed a shift and lost control"; Herbie, Jim, and Wheely save the woman and her car from drowning. She soon changes her attitude toward him after he saves her life and she witnesses Herbie towing her Lancia out of the lake. All three watch as Herbie crawls next to the Lancia and the two cars hold doors like holding hands. When Herbie seems to have trouble re-starting, Diane urges the little car not to relent in their quest for victory in the Trans-France Race (with the added agreement of the Lancia's horn), and bids Jim good luck with a light kiss on one cheek. Jim pursues Von Stickle through the streets of Monte Carlo, combatants in a thrilling duel for the win. In the end, though, Bruno von Stickle is overtaken by the little car in the famous tunnel of the Formula One race track, Herbie outracing him by driving upside down on the tunnel roof. Jim drives Herbie to victory for (also according to dialogue) the 20th time in their careers. At the end of the movie, Jim and Diane begin to fall in love, as do Wheely and the Monte Carlo trophy girl (Katia Tchenko). Most of all, Herbie and Giselle (Diane's Lancia, only referred to by name towards the end of the film as she come to believe in cars with minds of their own) fall in love again as well.

Video releases
Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo was released on VHS in 1982, re-released in 1985, 1995 and on September 16, 1997. It was also released on DVD in Region 1 on May 4, 2004 and was re-released as a 2-DVD double feature set along with Herbie Rides Again on April 26, 2009.