Secret of the Incas
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Secret of the Incas (1954) is an adventure film starring Charlton Heston as adventurer Harry Steele, on the trail of an ancient Incan artifact.
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Cast
- Charlton Heston as Harry Steele, adventurer
- Robert Young as Stanley Moorhead
- Nicole Maurey as Elena Antonescu
- Thomas Mitchell as Ed Morgan
Plot summary
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 artifact, 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 archeological 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 on Raiders of the Lost Ark
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. 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. 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."
Other Media
On December 14, 1954, Charlton Heston and Nicole Maurey reprised their roles in a Lux Radio Theatre version of Secret of the Incas.
See also
