''Secret of the Incas'' is a 1954 American adventure film directed by

Jerry Hopper Harold Hankins Hopper (July 29, 1907 – December 17, 1988), known professionally as Jerry Hopper, was an American film and television director, active from the mid-1940s through the early 1970s. Early life Jerry Hopper was born in Guthrie, ...

and starring Charlton Heston as

adventurer An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme sp ...

Harry Steele, on the trail of an ancient

Inca The Inca Empire (also known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire), called ''Tawantinsuyu'' by its subjects, (Quechua for the "Realm of the Four Parts", "four parts together" ) was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The admin ...

n artifact. Shot on location at Machu Picchu in Peru, the film is often credited as the inspiration for '' Raiders of the Lost Ark''. The supporting cast features Robert Young,

Nicole Maurey Nicole Maurey (20 December 1925 – 11 March 2016) was a French actress, who appeared in 65 film and television productions between 1945 and 1997. Life and career Born in Bois-Colombes, a northwestern suburb of Paris, Maurey was originally ...

and Thomas Mitchell, as well as a rare film appearance by Peruvian singer Yma Sumac.

Plot

American adventurer Harry Steele ( Charlton Heston) earns a living as a tourist guide in Cusco,

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

but plans to make his fortune by finding the Sunburst, an

treasure. He possesses an ancient carved stone which gives the location of the Sunburst but has no means to travel there. He is also menaced by his dubious associate Ed Morgan ( Thomas Mitchell) who wants the treasure for himself and tries to have Harry killed. When Romanian defector Elena Antonescu (

) arrives, Harry apparently agrees to help her travel to Mexico so she can then get to America, but in reality he uses her situation to his own advantage. Together with Elena, he steals a plane used by a Romanian official who is attempting to get Elena to return and uses it to fly to Machu Picchu. There he discovers an archaeological expedition headed by Dr Stanley Moorehead ( Robert Young), who is preparing to enter the tomb where the Sunburst is said to be located. Moorehead becomes infatuated with Elena, while Morgan arrives and coerces Harry into helping him find the treasure. While Morgan is asleep, Harry slips away and enters the tomb, locating the Sunburst hidden inside a hollow pillar. Morgan then appears and grabs the Sunburst at gunpoint before shooting his way out of the temple while being pursued by Harry and a group of locals. Trapping Morgan on a cliff edge, Harry gets the Sunburst back while Morgan falls to his death. Rather than take it for himself, he gives the Sunburst back to the local Indians who believe it must be returned to the temple.

Cast

* Charlton Heston as Harry Steele * Robert Young as Stanley Moorhead *

as Elena Antonescu * Thomas Mitchell as Ed Morgan *

Glenda Farrell Glenda Farrell (June 30, 1904 – May 1, 1971) was an American actress. Farrell personified the smart and sassy, wisecracking blonde of the Classical Hollywood films. Farrell's career spanned more than 50 years, appearing in numerous Broadwa ...

as Mrs. Winston * Yma Sumac as Kori-Tika * Michael Pate as Pachacutec *

Leon Askin Leon Askin (; born Leon Aschkenasy, 18 September 1907 – 3 June 2005) was an Austrian Jewish actor best known in North America for portraying the character General Burkhalter on the TV situation comedy ''Hogan's Heroes''. Life and career ...

as Anton Marcu * William Henry as Phillip Lang *

Marion Ross Marion Ross (born Marian Ellen Ross; October 25, 1928) is a American former actress. Her best-known role is that of Marion Cunningham on the ABC television sitcom '' Happy Days'', on which she starred from 1974 to 1984 and for which she recei ...

as Miss Morris * Alvy Moore 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 Peru before.

Wendell Corey Wendell Reid Corey (March 20, 1914 – November 8, 1968) was an American actor and politician. He was President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and was a board member of the Screen Actors Guild. Biography Early years Corey was ...

was originally announced as the leading star. In July 1953 Paramount took over

Hal B. Wallis Harold Brent Wallis (born Aaron Blum Wolowicz; October 19, 1898 – October 5, 1986) was an American film producer. He is best known for producing '' Casablanca'' (1942), '' The Adventures of Robin Hood'' (1938), and ''True Grit'' (1969), along ...

' 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 story " ...

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

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

Cuzco Cusco, often spelled Cuzco (; qu, Qusqu ()), is a city in Southeastern Peru near the Urubamba Valley of the Andes mountain range. It is the capital of the Cusco Region and of the Cusco Province. The city is the seventh most populous in Peru; ...

and Machu Picchu, 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 Database The film also featured the Peruvian singer Yma Sumac as Kori-Tica. The female lead was to have been played by

Viveca Lindfors Elsa Viveca Torstensdotter Lindfors (December 29, 1920 – October 25, 1995) was a Swedish stage, film, and television actress. She won an Emmy Award and a Silver Bear for Best Actress. Biography Lindfors was born in Uppsala, Sweden, the d ...

. However, after the positive response to

'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 film franchise, with many of the scenes in '' Raiders of the Lost Ark'' 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 " Indiana Jones" 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 Deborah Nadoolman Landis (born May 26, 1952) is an American costume designer, author, and professor. She has worked on notable films such as ''Animal House'', ''The Blues Brothers'', ''Raiders of the Lost Ark'' and ''Three Amigos'', all of which ...

noted that the inspiration for Indiana's costume was Charlton Heston'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, Charlton Heston and

reprised their roles in a ''

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

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

References

External links

* * *
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 shot 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