Watch: Secret of the Incas (1954)
September 9, 2008 Culture & History
An Incan legend states that the Inca Empire was destroyed by the gods when a gold and jeweled starburst was stolen from the Temple of the Sun centuries ago, and that the ancient civilization will be reborn once the treasure is returned. Harry Steele (Charlton Heston), an American adventurer, is seeking the artefact, as is his nemesis Ed Morgan (Thomas Mitchell), along with Elena Antonescu (Nicole Maurey), an Iron Curtain refugee.
Production
Secret of the Incas was filmed by Paramount Pictures on location in Peru at Cuzco and Machu Picchu, the first time that a major Hollywood studio filmed at this archaeological site. Five hundred native Indians were used as extras in the film. The film also featured the Peruvian singer Yma Sumac as Kori-Tica. The film caused a surge in tourism to Peru in 1954.
Influence
The film is often cited by film buffs as a direct inspiration for the Indiana Jones franchise of films, with many of the scenes in Secret of the Incas bear a striking resemblance in tone and structure to scenes in Raiders of the Lost Ark. Throughout Secret of the Incas, the main character, Harry Steele, can be seen wearing the “Indiana Jones” outfit – brown leather jacket, fedora, tan pants, an over-the-shoulder bag, and revolver.Raider’s 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.”
Fans of the film must check out James Byrnes website, found here.
Related posts:
Comments (12)
Todo un descubrimiento, al menos para mí. No sé si me tome el tiempo de verla, no es mi estilo de película, aunque no creo que sea tan mala como la última de Indiana Jones.
Hi Stuart,
My name is James Byrne and I’m from Lincoln, England. SECRET OF THE INCAS is my all-time favourite movie, I love the film so much I devoted a site to it, and even visited Peru last year to see for myself the places that are shown in the movie. Machu Picchu and Cuzco were wonderful, and Lake Titicaca was fabulous. Thank you for showing SECRET OF THE INCAS, there seems to be an avalanche of interest in the old movie since the last Indiana Jones came out. I shall be returning to Peru in 2011 to coincide with the 100th anniversary of Hiram Bingham’s discovery, and I can’t wait. Peru is the greatest place on this planet.
What a wonderful comment James. Yes Peru is absolutely amazing and the movie is brilliant. I’m looking at your site now, it looks really good, I’ll be adding a link in the blog post above.
Stuart Starrs,
Cheers mate. Hope to meet you for a pisco when I next visit Lima. Just watching the traffic in Lima was an experience, nobody seems to take any notice of the traffic lights. I loved every minute of my stay in Peru, Stuart, you are one lucky guy to be living there. Give my regards to all the shoe shiners in Kennedy Park, those guys never left me alone!
Greetings from California
Hi Stuart, you have a nice web, I love it this is a must see place on the web, same as James Byrne’s one thank you guys for taking your time to show the world about the beauty of my loved homeland Peru, I’m sending your links to all my friends so they can enjoy your sites as I do.
Thank you Ernesto.
Yes, thanks from me also Ernesto. I hope everyone who logs onto this great site will be tempted to travel to Peru and experience the magic of that beautiful country. I will never forget seeing Cuzco and Machu Picchu – what an amazing, totally overwhelming two weeks I had there.
And to think James, Cusco and Machu Picchu are just one very small part of the country. Spectacular traditional towns and ancient lost cities are scattered across the Andes.
[...] Indiana Heston Posted on June 25, 2009 by rachelinperu En Peru Blog has a great feature on “Secret of the Incas” featuring Charleton Heston tha…. [...]
where can I download this movie?
[...] Heston had already visited Machu Picchu in Secret of the Incas, so not to be outdone, another of Hollywood’s greats, one Mr Donald Duck, decided to visit [...]
[...] earlier – when Cusco was the quiet sparsely populated town seen in the Charlton Heston movie Secret of the Incas (1954) – and has now been covered by shanty town, destroying or obstructing 95% of the [...]