HERCULES IN NEW YORK (1970, U.S.)

Hercules in New York

(1970, U.S.) color 75 / 91 minutes
(aka HERCULES: THE MOVIE, HERCULES GOES BANANAS)
Filmpartners Inc. / RAF Industries
Screenplay: Aubrey Wisberg
Music by John Balamos
Cinematography by Leo Lebowitz
Produced by Lewis G. Chapin Jr., Willard W. Goodman, Murray M. Kaplan, Aubrey Wisberg
Directed by Arthur Allan Seidelman

With: Arnold Schwarzenegger (as "Arnold Strong") (Hercules), Arnold Stang (Pretzie), Deborah Loomis (Helen), James Karen (The Professor), Ernest Graves (Zeus), John Candy (man at harbor) (uncredited)

The legendary strongman Hercules (Arnold Schwarzenegger in his first film) desires to visit the people of Earth, but his father, King Zeus refuses his request, and demands that he stay on Mount Olympus. Despite his father's edict, Hercules leaves for Earth, and lands in the sea, where he is picked up by a tramp freighter which is heading for New York City.

Hercules becomes a member of the ship's crew, but when the ship docks in NYC, he is prohibited from seeing the sights, and he ends up fighting with the crew. The police are called in to break up the brawl. Luckily for our hero, he is saved by kindly pretzel vendor Pretzie (played by comic/character actor Arnold Stang), and the two head for Central Park.

"Herk", as Pretzie nicknames him, stays at the little man's home. It isn't long before "Herk" makes friends with a beautiful girl and her father a teacher (played by character actor James Karen, the crafty but charming villain in POLTERGEIST and TV spokesman for Pathmark Supermarkets). The girl loves Hercules but doesn't know of his immortal heritage.

When the strong man's athletic abilities are recognized, he is encouraged to try out for a weight-lifting competition by a group of crooked Mafia promoters. They visit "Herk" one night at Pretzie's apartment, and warn him and his pal that if "Herk" doesn't win the championship competition, they may end up "sleeping with the fishes!".

Zeus is also not thrilled with our hero's involvement in this mob-supported contest, so he orders Mercury ("Herk's" half-brother) to get Hercules to return to Mount Olympus or suffer the wrath of their father. But Hercules will not be ordered and Mercury returns to tell his father of his half-brother's refusal.

Angrily, Zeus orders his son to be sent to Hades by Nefarious. But Nefarious plots with Zeus' wife to have Orpheus destroy Hercules strength with a potion that is slipped into his soda during a dinner with his girlfriend. During the competition, the potion does it's evil deed, and our hero loses his strength and the contest, much to the chagrin of the mobsters.

The mobsters chase poor Pretzie, "Herk's" girlfriend and her father all over Manhattan. Luckily, Nefarious' treachery is exposed, and Zeus punishes her for her betrayal, along with his unfaithful wife. Mercury sends Atlas to save his half-brother and, working with Hercules, the pair foil the villains and save everyone.

The next day, Herk and Pretzie visit the Empire State Building, where the humble strong man asks forgiveness from his father, and pleads to return to Mount Olympus. Zeus accepts his son's plea and returns to the enchanted Greek realm.

Herk leaves before he can say goodbye to Pretzie, who feels hurt that his pal left so abruptly. But Hercules sends his little friend a message via radio to "always keep the memory of their friendship in his heart".

After telling his father and the other members of the royal court of his adventures in New York City, Zeus decides to head for The Big Apple to have some fun too. The film ends with some passengers on an airline seeing an elderly gentleman sporting a dress suit and a Homburg, flying through the clouds on a happy trek to the USA.

Schwarzenegger doesn't use his own voice in the movie. The producers feared that his thick Austrian accent would not be understood by American moviegoers, and his voice was redubbed by another (unknown) actor.

- Kevin S. Butler

Video/DVD availability: VHS, DVD (available)