General · EdgepediaOctober 3, 20266 min read

Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo

Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo is a 1977 American live-action comedy from Walt Disney Productions and the third film in the Herbie series, in which driver Jim Douglas and Herbie, a Volkswagen Beetle with a mind of its own, return to racing in a road race from Paris to Monte Carlo while a stolen diamond hidden in Herbie's fuel tank draws two thieves after them.¹^•² Directed by Vincent McEveety, it brought Dean Jones back to the role of Jim Douglas from The Love Bug (1969) and paired him with Don Knotts and Julie Sommars.²^•³

Key fact	Detail
Release	June 24, 1977, rated G; running time reported as 105 minutes by the AFI Catalog and 1 hr 45 min by Box Office Mojo²^•⁴
Director and producer	Vincent McEveety; produced by Ron Miller²
Writers	Arthur Alsberg and Don Nelson, from characters created by Gordon Buford²
Principal cast	Dean Jones (Jim Douglas), Don Knotts (Wheely Applegate), Julie Sommars (Diane Darcy), Jacques Marin (Inspector Bouchet), Roy Kinnear (Quincey), Bernard Fox (Max), Eric Braeden (Bruno von Stickle)⁵
Box office	$28,000,000 domestic on the original 1977 release plus $1,000,000 from a June 12, 1981 re-release, for $29,000,000 lifetime⁴
Critical scores	60% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer (10 reviews) and 57% on the Popcornmeter (10,000+ ratings); a Metascore of 38 from 4 critic reviews on Metacritic³^•⁶
Filming	Began August 9, 1976 in Paris, France, and Monte Carlo, Monaco; shot on location in France²^•¹

Spoilers

Plot

Herbie arrives in Le Havre, France with owner and driver Jim Douglas and mechanic Wheely Applegate, who drive to Paris for the Trans France Race Exposition. Herbie has not raced in twelve years, and at the exposition the crowd dismisses him while rival driver Bruno von Stickle ridicules the car; Wheely remains confident they can win the Trans-France Race from Paris to Monte Carlo, which Jim and Herbie see as the way to revive and finance their racing career.²^•⁷

Two plotlines intersect during the race. The thief Max slips a $6 million diamond, stolen from a museum display by Max and Quincey, into Herbie's fuel tank, planning to retrieve it later; Inspector Bouchet and Detective Fontenoy investigate the theft and pursue the pair throughout the race.² Meanwhile Herbie falls in love with Giselle, a powder blue Lancia driven by Diane Darcy, and Jim falls for Diane. With Herbie's help the thieves are caught, Herbie wins the race, and he and Jim both get their girls.¹

Production

A February 2, 1976 news item referred to the film by its working title, The Love Bug Goes to Monte Carlo, and a June 10, 1976 Hollywood Reporter article announced that principal photography would begin August 9, 1976 in Paris.² A July 2, 1976 report confirmed that Dean Jones would reprise his role as Jim Douglas, the car owner and driver he had played in The Love Bug.²

Locations. Filming took place on location in France along the way to Monte Carlo, as well as in Paris at the Esplanade du Trocadero, the Eiffel Tower, Place de la Concorde, Place Vendôme, Place d'Iéna, and the Arc de Triomphe, with a drive down the Champs-Elysées at 80 miles an hour. The opening credits acknowledge the City of Paris and the Principality of Monaco for their cooperation.¹^•²

Crew. Leonard J. South was cinematographer, Cotton Warburton edited, Frank De Vol composed the music, and the production designers were John B. Mansbridge and Perry Ferguson.²^•⁸

Release and box office

The film opened in the southern United States on June 24, 1977, followed by a national summer release, with a New York opening on August 3 and a Los Angeles opening on August 10, 1977.² The original release earned $28,000,000 domestically, and a re-release on June 12, 1981 added $1,000,000, for a lifetime domestic gross of $29,000,000.⁴ A Walt Disney Productions financial summary listed estimated domestic film rentals of $14,000,000 for the film.⁹ It was released on video in 1984¹ and on home video in the United States on November 6, 1985 by Buena Vista Home Entertainment.¹⁰

Reception

Critics. On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds a 60% Tomatometer from 10 reviews and a 57% Popcornmeter from more than 10,000 audience ratings.³ Metacritic assigned a Metascore of 38, labeled generally unfavorable, from 4 critic reviews, while its user score stood at 7.3 from 8 ratings.⁶ Variety gave the film its most positive notice among the four reviews Metacritic tallied, describing Jones once more at the mercy of Herbie, who takes matters into his own hands for slapstick effect; TV Guide Magazine found McEveety unable to match the comic timing of the earlier films' director but still called it an entertaining children's film.⁶ The New York Times review by Lawrence Van Gelder cited special effects showing the actors in black outline and Herbie's tricks, such as rearing up on his hind wheels and blushing, as having a limited power to captivate, while allowing reluctant adults the consolation of the French and Monaco scenery.⁶ Gary Arnold's Washington Post review, titled "A Car Race Stuck in Low Gear," argued that the filmmakers' real preoccupation was Herbie's fanciful romance with the Lancia rather than the intersecting robbery and racing plots.¹¹ An Associated Press review praised the scenery, races, and stunts while noting the absence of spontaneously original wit.³

Family suitability. The Australian Council on Children and the Media reviewed the film in May 2023 and judged it not suitable under age 5, parental guidance at 5, and acceptable from age 6, citing comedy and slapstick violence, reckless behavior, and some dated stereotyping; the Australian classification was G with content of very mild impact.⁷ Common Sense Media rates it for ages 6 and up, describing it as charming, funny, and free of objectionable material, with one mostly slapstick fight scene as the only violence flag.¹²

Place in the series

Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo was the third entry in the series that began with The Love Bug (1968), followed by Herbie Rides Again (1974); the series later continued with Herbie Goes Bananas (1980) and Herbie: Fully Loaded (2005).²^•¹³ The TCM notes describe it as the third film in Disney's most successful live-action franchise, and record that a later film mirrored a stunt from this one.¹⁴ The film is currently available to stream on Disney+ and to rent or buy on Fandango.³

References

Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026