Herbie Rides Again is a 1974 American comedy film directed by Robert Stevenson from a screenplay by Bill Walsh, based on a story by Gordon Buford. The film is the second installment in the Herbie film series and the sequel to The Love Bug (1968). It stars Helen Hayes, Stefanie Powers, Ken Berry, and Keenan Wynn reprising his villainous role as Alonzo P. Hawk (originated in the films The Absent-Minded Professor and Son of Flubber).
Herbie Rides Again was followed by Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo (1977).
Plot
Notorious real estate magnate and demolition baron Alonzo A. Hawk (Keenan Wynn) is ready to build his newest office building, the 130-story Hawk Plaza in San Francisco. His only obstacle is the 1892 firehouse which is the only building on the site still standing and is inhabited by Mrs. Steinmetz (Helen Hayes), widow of its former owner, Fire Captain Steinmetz, and aunt of mechanic Tennessee Steinmetz. Hawk's numerous attempts at evicting Mrs. Steinmetz have been unsuccessful, while the construction workers are growing impatient with Hawk's alleged indecision, reminding him that the whole thing is costing him $80,000 a day. Therefore, when Hawk's lawyer nephew Willoughby Whitfield (Ken Berry) comes to visit him, Hawk sends him to Mrs. Steinmetz.
Mrs. Steinmetz takes a liking to Willoughby due to his youthful looks and good manners, in contrast to Hawk's henchmen. She introduces him to Herbie the Love Bug explaining Tennessee is in Tibet, and his owner Jim Douglas is racing in Europe, as well as two other sentient machines: an early 20th-century orchestrion that plays on its own; and Old No. 22, a retired cable car. Steinmetz's neighbor Nicole (Stefanie Powers) who was taken in by Mrs. Steinmetz after Nicole’s apartment was demolished by Hawk. Nicole punches Willoughby in the face due to him working for Hawk, but tries to make up to him by offering him a ride in Herbie. Herbie goes berserk after Willoughby insults him twice, eventually taking the two to a car version of a joust tournament, which Herbie wins.
Later at a restaurant on Fisherman's Wharf, Nicole surprises Willboughy by telling him all the horrible things Hawk has done, including building a parking garage on the very same lot where Joe DiMaggio and his brothers learned to play baseball. Willoughby is upset about this and accidentally tells her that Hawk is his uncle, which enrages Nicole. She hits him with a boiled lobster in response, sending him splashing into the water below. Willoughby decides to sever all his ties with Hawk and initially tries to go home in disguise, but is convinced by Nicole to stay after she hears him criticize his uncle while talking to his mother on the telephone.
Meanwhile, Hawk decides to take it upon himself to drive Mrs. Steinmetz out, starting with stealing Herbie. Hawk is initially successful with his hotwiring skill, but also insults Herbie, who retaliates by causing a series of traffic collisions, and discards Hawk at his own office door. Later, while Herbie takes Mrs. Steinmetz to market, they are chased by Hawk's men; whereupon Herbie makes several daring escapes culminating in traveling through the 1909 landmark Sheraton Palace Hotel and along a suspension cable on the Golden Gate Bridge, with Mrs. Steinmetz oblivious throughout.
Mrs. Steinmetz asks Nicole and Willoughby to pick up some more groceries for her, and then suggests to Herbie to drive them to the beach. Willoughby and Nicole enjoy a romantic moment at the beach and begin to fall for each other, but Hawk's chauffeur, spying on Herbie and the duo, bribes a man to park his trailer on the only road out, prompting Herbie to surf through the coastal bay to find an alternate route.
When they return to the firehouse after dark, every item of furniture has been removed by Hawk. Mrs. Steinmetz, Willoughby, Nicole, and Herbie track the theft to Hawk's warehouse, where they break in and recover Mrs. Steinmetz's belongings, loaded into Old No. 22. Hawk's security guards catch them in the act, but Herbie traps them by pushing other items off the warehouse shelves. On the way home, Herbie and Old No. 22 are pursued by Hawk, and Mrs. Steinmetz meets and becomes enamoured with an inebriated old-timer named Judson, who resembles her late husband, Captain Steinmetz.