Hercules in New York (1970)

[Wence]

HERCULES IN NEW YORK (1970)

aka "Hercules Goes Bananas"

Ever heard about the actor "Arnold Strong" ? He´s the governor of California now.
I am watching this comedy and yes, it is funny - the primitive jokes and Arnie´s dumb muscle-posing.

And there was already a real trash-scene: Hercules has a date with a woman and has to defend her from a bear that broke out of the zoo.
I am sure you know what happens to a black bear when it messes with Arnie - it gets beaten to death...

All in all a funny badmovie.

[Mr_Vindictive]

It's been years since I've seen this flick.  I remember catching it late one night on one of the local stations.  Pretty bad if I remember correctly.

Also, if I'm not mistaken, Arnie couldn't speak english at the time so his character is completely dubbed throughout.  Pure 100% cheese.

[Derf]

This is a fun flick. I had seen it out of curiosity back in the 1980s, and when I found the DVD at WalMart a couple of years ago (and for only $5.50!), I had to get it. Yes, Arnold's voice is dubbed horribly throughout the movie, and there is very cheesy Greek music playing in the background through most of it (he's a Greek god, after all). The bear scene is great; the costume hangs off the actor, and the head is too big for the body.

[Wence]

You´re right, the Greek music was very strange. But I doubt that it was really Greek.

[AndyC]

Can't forget the great scenes on Mount Olympus, with the sounds of traffic and playing children in the background, or Zeus' lightning bolts made of painted rebar.

[trekgeezer]

I heard there is an undubbed version of this available. That might be worth watching again.

[AndyC]

The DVD I've got has the option of watching either the dubbed version or Arnold's original dialogue. Hard to say which is funnier.

I remember the first time I saw this movie. Back when the Terminator was in theatres, a Toronto station, known for playing cheesy movies once or twice a week, showed it during prime time. They made kind of a big deal out of showing this up-and-coming action star in his first movie role.

I still love this movie, and find it to be perhaps the best thing to initiate inexperienced bad-movie watchers. Having a familiar big-name star seems to arouse their interest more, and makes it a little bit easier for them to get the whole so-bad-its-good thing. Where even Plan 9 has failed, Hercules in New York has always succeeded for me.