Despite his father Zeus's (Ernest Graves) disapproval, Hercules (Arnold
Schwarzenegger) bored on mount Olymp, goes down to the earth & swoon he
reaches New York, where he soon beats up a few annoying mortals before being
befriended by meek & feeble Pretzie (Arnold Stang), who teaches him a thing
or 2 about the ways of modern man.
When Hercules passes a sports ground though & proves hmself an athlet
far superior to the reigning champion Rod Nelson (Howard Burstein), he catches
the attention of professor Camden (James Karen) & his daughter Helena
(Deborah Loomis) - & while Camden wants to win him over for his athletes'
team & Helen falls in love with him, Pretzie hooks him up with a shady
wrestling promoter ... & before you know it, a gang of crooks have taken
over managing Hercules.
That of course wouldn't be half bad, considering Hercules has supernatural
powers, but right at that point Juno (Tanny McDonald), Zeus's wife, intervenes
& has Nemesis (Taina Elg), Zeus's bringer of doom remove Hercules' powers
... & right in the middle of a weightlifting contest between Hercules &
Monstro (Tony Carroll), too, which Hercules loses ... much to the dismay of his
gangster friends - & wouldn't you know it, a chase on foot in cars &
with a chariot ensues through the streets of New York.
Zeus, who watches it from above though, is reluctant to save his offspring,
so Hercules' friend Mercury (Dan Hamilton) sends Atlas & Samson (Dennis
Tinerino, Mark Tendler) to help out ... & this is when Zeus (rather
inexplicablya) decides to restore Hercules' powers, & he gives the
gangsters a sound beating & buries them under rolls of carpet (Really)
substituting for temple columns. Then inexplicably _Hercules returns to Mount
Olymp, leaving a saddened Pretzie behind.
Very unfunny & very cheap comedy, that lacks not only jokes but also a
coherent story, proper direction or competent acting - think what you may about
Arnold Schwarzenegger, but after seeing Hercules in New York you will
have to agree he has come quite some way as an actor. The film however is split
in equal parts between him & Arnold Stand, a very mediocre Jewish actor
whose main claims to fame were being the voice of both Herman in the
long-running but unremarkable series of Herman and Katnip-shorts
for Famous/Paramount, & of the titkle character of Hannah-Barbera's
popular animated tv-series Top Cat.
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