| Hercules in New York | |
|---|---|
 Promotional Poster for Hercules in New York |
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| Directed by | Arthur Allan Seidelman |
| Produced by | Aubrey Wisberg |
| Written by | Aubrey Wisberg |
| Starring | Arnold Schwarzenegger Arnold Stang James Karen Deborah Loomis Ernest Graves Tony Carroll |
| Music by | John Balamos |
| Cinematography | Leo Lebowitz |
| Editing by | Donald P. Finamore |
| Release date(s) |  February 25, 1970 |
| Running time | 91 min. |
| Country | USA |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
Hercules in New York is principally known for being the first film featuring actor Arnold Schwarzenegger. The film was on the IMDb bottom 100 listing, and is widely considered to be one of the worst films ever made. It was lambasted for its poor acting, dialogue, special effects, costumes and make-up. Playing the film's title character Schwarzenegger, because of his long last name, is credited as "Arnold Strong", and because of his thick Austrian accent, had all his lines dubbed, although often modern showings of the film have his audio line restored. However, even these "restored" showings cannot change the final scene's lines that "Hercules" speaks to Pretzie over a small transistor radio, in a voice that is clearly not Schwarzenegger's. On October 19, 2006, the San Francisco Chronicle reported that Premiere Pictures was auctioning off the rights to the film on eBay for a minimum bid of $550,000. [1]
Plot
The film begins with Hercules on Olympus, berating his father Zeus for not allowing him to leave the gods' abode to adventure among mortal men. Eventually Zeus tires of Hercules and blasts him with a lightning bolt, casting him out of Olympus - giving Hercules what he wanted. After some of strange encounters in the air and at sea, Hercules arrives in New York City, where hilarity ensues in the form of interactions with various New Yorkers, who regard him as physically superior but socially awkward. He meets a skinny little guy called Pretzie (Arnold Stang). Hercules becomes a successful professional wrestler. Zeus watching Hercules from the heights, becomes irritated with Hercules' antics, which he feels are making a mockery of the gods, and calls on Nemesis to stop Hercules. After Mercury makes an unsuccessful attempt to bring Hercules home, Zeus orders Nemesis to see to it that Hercules is consigned to the infernal regions ruled over by Pluto. However, Juno, the hero's ever-jealous stepmother, has her own plans for Zeus's wayward offspring. In the final apocalyptic battle Hercules is saved by the miraculous arrival of Atlas, a Titan, and a (short haired) Samson, a biblical hero.
