Herbie Rides Again

Herbie Rides Again follows a widow, Mrs. Steinmetz, who refuses to leave the San Francisco home where she has spent much of her life. A ruthless property developer, Alonzo Hawk, wants the land for a large commercial project and uses every means at his disposal to force her out. She finds allies in her niece Nicole, in Hawk's own nephew Willoughby, who is sent to negotiate but comes to sympathize with her, and in a Volkswagen Beetle with a mind of its own.

The film is the second entry in Disney's series about the living car, and the final film directed by Robert Stevenson, who had made thirteen features before it, including Bedknobs and Broomsticks three years earlier. Bill Walsh wrote and produced. Helen Hayes plays Mrs. Steinmetz, with Ken Berry as Willoughby, Stefanie Powers as Nicole, Keenan Wynn as Hawk, and John McIntire and Huntz Hall in supporting roles; forty-eight performers are credited in all.

Released in February 1974, the film took about 38 million dollars worldwide, a strong return for a family comedy of its era. On TMDB it holds a rating of 6.2 from roughly 450 votes, and a separate critics' score also stands at 6.2, drawn from six reviews, so the two measures sit close together.