1954 adventure film directed by Jerry Hopper
Secret of the Incas
is a 1954 American
adventure film
directed by
Jerry Hopper
and starring
Charlton Heston
as
adventurer
Harry Steele, on the trail of an ancient
Incan
artifact. The supporting cast features
Robert Young
,
Nicole Maurey
and
Thomas Mitchell
, as well as a rare film appearance by Peruvian singer
Yma Sumac
. Shot on location at
Machu Picchu
in
Peru
, the film is often credited as the inspiration for
Raiders of the Lost Ark
.
Plot
[
edit
]
American adventurer Harry Steele (wearing attire later associated with
Indiana Jones
) earns a living as a tourist guide in
Cusco
,
Peru
but plans to make his fortune by finding the legendary gold and jeweled
sunburst
, an
Inca
treasure, at the ancient capital of
Machu Picchu
. 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. His dubious sometimes-associate and constant nemesis, Ed Morgan, who is older and feeling his age, has been searching for the treasure for 14 years and hires a
sniper
to frighten off Harry. Harry dodges the sniper’s bullet and confronts Morgan, who attempts to get Harry to partner with him to find the treasure, or alternatively to sell him the stone.
Morgan informs Harry that Elena Antonescu, a
Romanian
defector
, may be a prospect for his services. When Elena arrives to enlist Harry’s help, she doesn’t have enough money, but tries to get his 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
so she can then get to America if she helps him steal Marcu’s plane. With Elena’s complicity, using her “feminine wiles” to purloin the key, Harry steals the plane. Without letting Elena know of the change in plan, Harry detours their trip 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
expedition headed by Dr Stanley Moorehead, who is preparing to enter the tomb where the Inca 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 intent to steal the Inca treasure. 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, saying Morgan reflects what Harry will be like in a few years. Moorehead becomes infatuated with Elena, and 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. Morgan flees, 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, Harry gives the sunburst back to the native locals, who return it ritually to the
Temple of the Sun
. When Moorehead asks Harry why he brought the sunburst back, Harry says that finding it meant more to him than keeping it. To the authorities, Harry asserts that all he did was find it and get it back when Morgan tried to steal it. As Harry and Elena are led away by Colonel Cardoza, Harry says to Elena that unless the colonel is “real friendly” they may have a long engagement. In the meantime, in place of a ring, Harry gives Elena an ancient gold Incan pin that “fell into his pocket.”
Cast
[
edit
]
Production
[
edit
]
The film was originally known as
Legend of the Incas
. Paramount announced it as part of their 1953 slate in July 1952.
[2]
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.
[3]
Wendell Corey
was originally announced as the leading star.
[4]
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
.
[5]
Secret of the Incas
was filmed on location in
Peru
at
Cuzco
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.
[6]
Five hundred indigenous people were used as extras.
[6]
[7]
The film also featured the Peruvian singer
Yma Sumac
as Kori-Tica.
[8]
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.
[9]
Thomas Mitchell was signed to play the villain.
[10]
Studio filming started in October 1953.
[11]
Shortly beforehand, Wendell Corey dropped out of the film.
[12]
He was replaced by Robert Young.
[13]
Filming ended on 22 November.
[14]
The film caused a surge in tourism to Peru in 1954.
[
citation needed
]
Influence on
Raiders of the Lost Ark
[
edit
]
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.
[15]
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
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
."
[16]
Other media
[
edit
]
On December 14, 1954,
Charlton Heston
and
Nicole Maurey
reprised their roles in a
Lux Radio Theater
version of
Secret of the Incas
.
[17]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"1954 Box Office Champs"
.
Variety Weekly
. January 5, 1955. p. 59.
- figures are rentals in the US and Canada
- ^
"Paramount to produce 25 films in 1953".
Los Angeles Times
. July 30, 1952.
ProQuest
166376500
.
- ^
D. M. Richard (December 8, 1953). "Filming inca story in
Peru
".
The Christian Science Monitor
.
ProQuest
508902654
.
- ^
Thomas M. Pryor (June 5, 1953). "4 Stars Get Roles in New Metro Film".
The New York Times
.
ProQuest
112818821
.
- ^
Thomas M. Pryor (July 3, 1953). "March to Appear in Big Metro Film".
The New York Times
.
ProQuest
112782294
.
- ^
a
b
WILLIAM, H. B.,Jr. (July 12, 1953). "HOLLYWOOD DIGEST".
New York Times
.
ProQuest
112572771
.
{{
cite news
}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (
link
)
- ^
Production Notes ?
Secret Of The Incas
@ TCM Database
Archived
June 6, 2009, at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
Thomas M. Pryor (August 7, 1953). "Metro to Stress Big-Budget Films".
The New York Times
.
ProQuest
112623629
.
- ^
Thomas M. Pryor (September 25, 1953). "Nicolle Maurey Set to Star in Movie".
The New York Times
.
ProQuest
112763659
.
- ^
Thomas M. Pryor (October 17, 1953). "Gary Cooper Takes 'Vera Cuz' Role".
The New York Times
.
ProQuest
112752229
.
- ^
E. Schallert (August 4, 1953). "Mason again to star for mankiewicz; model scripts for rossellini".
Los Angeles Times
.
ProQuest
166529265
.
- ^
Thomas M. Pryor (October 23, 1953). "Warners Adopts Fox Film Process".
The New York Times
.
ProQuest
112744637
.
- ^
E. Schallert (October 26, 1953). "Drama".
Los Angeles Times
.
ProQuest
166512293
.
- ^
Thomas M. Pryor (November 21, 1953). "Columbia Musical Ready for Camera".
The New York Times
.
ProQuest
112739405
.
- ^
"The Secret of the Incas"
.
TheRaider.net
.
Archived
from the original on August 24, 2006.
- ^
Mike French & Gilles Verschuere (September 14, 2005).
"Debora Nadoolman interview"
. TheRaider.net. Archived from
the original
on March 27, 2014
. Retrieved
April 7,
2008
.
- ^
"Secret of the Incas"
.
Lux Radio Theater
. December 14, 1954 – via
Internet Archive
.
External links
[
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]