''Secret of the Incas'' is a 1954 American

adventure film The adventure film is a broad genre of film. Some early genre studies found it no different than the Western film or argued that adventure could encompass all Hollywood genres. Commonality was found among historians Brian Taves and Ian Cameron in ...

directed by Jerry Hopper and starring

Charlton Heston Charlton Heston (born John Charles Carter; October 4, 1923 – April 5, 2008) was an American actor. He gained stardom for his leading man roles in numerous Cinema of the United States, Hollywood films including biblical epics, science-fiction f ...

as adventurer Harry Steele, on the trail of an ancient

Inca The Inca Empire, officially known as the Realm of the Four Parts (, ), was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The administrative, political, and military center of the empire was in the city of Cusco. The History of the Incas, Inca ...

n artifact. The supporting cast features Robert Young, Nicole Maurey and Thomas Mitchell, as well as a rare film appearance by Peruvian singer

Yma Sumac Zoila Augusta Emperatriz Chávarri del Castillo (born Zoila Emperatriz Chávarri Castillo; September 13, 1922 – November 1, 2008), known as Yma Sumac (or Imma Sumack), was a Peruvian singer. She won a Guinness World Records, Guinness World Re ...

. Shot on location at

Machu Picchu Machu Picchu is a 15th-century Inca citadel located in the Eastern Cordillera of southern Peru on a mountain ridge at . Often referred to as the "Lost City of the Incas", it is the most familiar icon of the Inca Empire. It is located in the ...

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

, the film is often credited as the inspiration for ''

Raiders of the Lost Ark ''Raiders of the Lost Ark'' is a 1981 American action-adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Lawrence Kasdan, based on a story by George Lucas and Philip Kaufman. Set in 1936, the film stars Harrison Ford as Indiana ...

''.

Plot

American adventurer Harry Steele makes a living as a tour guide in

Cusco Cusco or Cuzco (; or , ) is a city in southeastern Peru, near the Sacred Valley of the Andes mountain range and the Huatanay river. It is the capital of the eponymous Cusco Province, province and Cusco Region, department. The city was the cap ...

, but plans to earn his fortune by finding the legendary gold and jeweled " sunburst", a lost

treasure, at the ancient capital of

. He possesses a fragment of a carved stone block which gives the location of the sunburst when placed on a stone map of the ancient tomb complex, housed at a local museum. Bar owner Ed Morgan, who is older and feeling his age, has been searching for the treasure for fourteen years and hires a

sniper A sniper is a military or paramilitary marksman who engages targets from positions of concealment or at distances exceeding the target's detection capabilities. Snipers generally have specialized training and are equipped with telescopic si ...

to frighten off Harry. Harry dodges the bullet and threatens Morgan; when the former refuses to sell him the stone, Morgan swears to get even. Through Morgan, Harry learns that Elena Antonescu, a Romanian defector, may want his services. With little money and the police on her trail, she plays on Harry's sympathy by informing him that she is fleeing from Anton Marcu, a Romanian official with a small plane who is pursuing her. Harry uses her situation to his own advantage by informing Marcu of Elena’s whereabouts. Harry ostensibly agrees to help her travel to

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

so she can then get to America if she helps him steal Marcu’s plane. After getting Marcu drunk so Elena can slip into his room and steal his keys, the pair depart. Without letting Elena know of the change in plan, Harry detours to Machu Picchu. Elena becomes wary of Harry’s intent to fulfill his promise to take her to Mexico, but Harry seduces her into cooperating. At Machu Picchu, they discover an

archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

expedition headed by Dr. Stanley Moorehead, who is preparing to enter the tomb where the sunburst is presumed to be located. Harry falsely tells Moorehead that their plane needs gas and disables the expedition's radio to block news of pursuit by the authorities. Elena accuses Harry of dishonesty and expresses disappointment at his plan to steal the sunburst. Morgan arrives and informs Harry that Marcu never reported the plane stolen out of embarrassment, so the authorities are not searching for him. Morgan attempts to coerce Harry into helping him find the treasure, and Harry feigns cooperation. Elena asks Harry to abandon his plan and leave with her. When Harry refuses, instructing her to keep Moorhead occupied, she disdainfully compares Harry to Morgan, claiming that Morgan reflects what Harry will be like in a few years. Infatuated with Elena, Moorehead asks her to marry him, offering to take her to America. Although Elena likes Moorehead, she is ambivalent, as she is strongly attracted to Harry, even if repelled by his dishonesty. When Elena informs Harry of Moorehead's proposal, he asserts that she will be bored with Moorehead. The expedition opens a wall of Manco's tomb and is disappointed to find a carved stone sunburst. Harry gives Morgan the bad news. Later, believing Morgan asleep, Harry slips away and enters the tomb, using a reflection of light on an artifact to highlight where the sunburst is hidden inside a hollow pillar. Morgan appears and takes the sunburst from Harry at gunpoint, explaining that Harry was too casual breaking the bad news. Before Morgan can do anything to Harry, a native appears. Morgan flees, pursued by many natives and Harry. Harry finds Morgan on a cliff edge. The two men wrestle for the treasure, and Morgan falls to his death. Harry gives the sunburst back to the natives, who return it to the Temple of the Sun; a legend states that when it is placed there, the glory of the Incas will be restored. To the authorities, Harry asserts that he only found the sunburst. Morgan stole it and Harry got it back. Harry tells Elena that unless Colonel Cardoza is "real friendly", they may have a long engagement. In the meantime, Harry gives Elena an ancient gold pin that "fell into his pocket."

Cast

as Harry Steele * Robert Young as Stanley Moorhead * Nicole Maurey as Elena Antonescu * Thomas Mitchell as Ed Morgan * Glenda Farrell as Mrs. Winston *

as Kori-Tika *

Michael Pate Michael Pate Order of Australia, OAM (born Edward John Pate; 26 February 1920 – 1 September 2008) was an Australian actor, writer, director, and producer, who also worked prolifically as a supporting actor in Hollywood films and Ameri ...

as Pachacutec * Leon Askin as Anton Marcu * William Henry as Phillip Lang * Marion Ross as Miss Morris *

Alvy Moore Jack Alvin "Alvy" Moore (December 5, 1921 – May 4, 1997) was an American actor best known for his role as scatterbrained county agricultural agent Hank Kimball on the CBS television series '' Green Acres''. His character would often make ...

as man in bar

Production

The film was originally known as ''Legend of the Incas''. Paramount announced it as part of their 1953 slate in July 1952. Adventure films set outside America were popular in Hollywood at the time; producer Mel Epstein says that Paramount decided to make this film mostly because there had not been one shot in

before. Wendell Corey was originally announced as the leading star. In July 1953 Paramount took over Hal B. Wallis' contract with Charlton Heston and announced he would make the film after he finished ''

The Naked Jungle ''The Naked Jungle'' is a 1954 American adventure film directed by Byron Haskin, and starring Charlton Heston and Eleanor Parker. Telling the story of an attack of army ants on a Brazilian cocoa plantation, it was based on the 1937 short st ...

''. ''Secret of the Incas'' was filmed on location in

Cuzco Cusco or Cuzco (; or , ) is a city in southeastern Peru, near the Sacred Valley of the Andes mountain range and the Huatanay river. It is the capital of the eponymous province and department. The city was the capital of the Inca Empire unti ...

and

, the first time that a major Hollywood studio filmed at this archeological site. A sixteen-person unit, including Heston, producer Mel Epstein and director Jerry Hopper, spent a month filming footage in Peru in 1953. Five hundred indigenous people were used as extras.Production Notes – ''Secret Of The Incas''
@ TCM Databas

/ref> The film also featured the Peruvian singer

as Kori-Tica. The female lead was to have been played by Viveca Lindfors. However, after the positive response to Nicole Maurey's performance in '' Little Boy Lost'' Paramount gave her the role. Thomas Mitchell was signed to play the villain. Studio filming started in October 1953. Shortly beforehand, Wendell Corey dropped out of the film. He was replaced by Robert Young. Filming ended on 22 November. The film caused a surge in tourism to Peru in 1954.

Influence on ''Raiders of the Lost Ark''

The film is often cited by film buffs as a direct inspiration for the ''

Indiana Jones ''Indiana Jones'' is an American media franchise consisting of five films and a prequel television series, along with games, comics, and tie-in novels, that depicts the adventures of Indiana Jones (character), Dr. Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones, ...

'' film franchise, with many of the scenes in ''

'' bearing a striking resemblance in tone and structure to scenes in ''Secret of the Incas''. Throughout ''Secret of the Incas'', the main character, Harry Steele, can be seen wearing what would later become known as the "

" outfit: brown leather jacket, fedora, tan pants, an over-the-shoulder bag, and revolver. The character also sometimes wears a light beard, unusual for films of its time, and there is a tomb scene involving a revelatory shaft of light similar to the "Map Room" sequence in ''Raiders''. ''Raiders costume designer Deborah Nadoolman Landis noted that the inspiration for Indiana's costume was

's Harry Steele in ''Secret of the Incas'': "We did watch this film together as a crew several times, and I always thought it strange that the filmmakers did not credit it later as the inspiration for the series" and quipped that the film is "almost a shot for shot ''Raiders of the Lost Ark''."

Other media

On December 14, 1954,

and Nicole Maurey reprised their roles in a ''

Lux Radio Theater ''Lux Radio Theatre'', sometimes spelled ''Lux Radio Theater'', a old-time radio, classic radio anthology series, was broadcast on the Blue Network, NBC Blue Network (1934–35) (owned by the National Broadcasting Company, later predecessor of A ...

'' version of ''Secret of the Incas''.

References

External links

* *
Secret of the Incas
at the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

Review
@ TheRaider.Net
"Indiana Heston" by Brian Mosely
– ''Times-Gazette'' – Shelbyville, Tennessee – Posted Sunday, April 27, 2008, at 5:03 PM
"Charlton Heston: The First Indiana Jones?" by Richard von Busack
– Cinematical.com – Posted April 8, 2008 12:32 PM {{DEFAULTSORT:Secret Of The Incas 1954 films 1954 adventure films American adventure films Films directed by Jerry Hopper Films scored by David Buttolph Films set in Peru Films with screenplays by Ranald MacDougall Paramount Pictures films Romanian-language films 1950s Spanish-language films 1950s English-language films 1950s American films Films shot in Machu Picchu Films about archaeology English-language adventure films