Hercules in New York

Hercules in New York (1970) is an American comedy-fantasy you can watch online on iFILM. Directed by Arthur Allan Seidelman, the film is best known as the screen debut of Arnold Schwarzenegger — listed in the credits at the time as "Arnold Strong."

Hercules grows bored on Mount Olympus and defies Zeus by jumping aboard a ship to Manhattan. He arrives with no money, no papers and an accent that baffles everyone he meets. What follows is a string of encounters across the city: bare-knuckle fights, a chariot ride through Central Park, a run-in with organized crime and an unexpected romance. Zeus watches from above and grows steadily less amused.

The studio decided Schwarzenegger's Austrian accent was too thick for American audiences and replaced his voice entirely in the theatrical cut — the original version with his own voice only surfaced later. It is a low-budget picture, shot fast and cheap, but it marks the precise moment a twenty-two-year-old bodybuilder from Thal stepped in front of a film camera for the first time. Watch Hercules in New York online on iFILM.