Das Geheimnis der Inkas

The main reason to watch Secret Of The Incas is for a glimpse at Peruvian Indian culture, something like it was before Pizarro and the Spaniards got there. The location cinematography in the Peruvian Andes is stunning as well as the sequences depicting the remnants of the Incas. Otherwise though Secret Of The Incas is a potboiler adventure flick set in an unusual vacation.

For a guy who played such noble heroes in film, Charlton Heston plays one of the more disreputable roles in his career as Harry Steele who urges all to call him Harry. He's an American stranded in a really backwater part of Peru and living off the tourists providing all kinds of services. When we first meet him he's getting paid from Marion Ross for some really special interest. Later on the married Glenda Farrell attracts his attention, but he discards her for Nicole Maurey, a refugee from behind the Iron Curtain that the Romanians want back although the film never really explains why. So much so that their consul Leon Askin is giving it his personal attention though I think his interests are really personal as are Heston's.

But Askin does have a private plane and Heston knows how to fly so he and Maurey take off for an even more remote part of Peru where they believe an Inca treasure is buried. It's a yellow sunburst made of gold and expensive jewels. Like the Maltese Falcon worth the hunt. But a dig organized by archaeologist Robert Young is in the way. And an even bigger low life than Heston shows up and declares his interest in the treasure and that's Thomas Mitchell.

The color cinematography also does justice to Nicole Maurey's beauty as well as the Peruvian landscape. Thomas Mitchell creates an interesting portrait of an aging crook, living by his wits in a racket he should have gotten out of a long time ago. But his way of living is the only thing he knows. Heston's motivations for turning good guy are not really ringing true, though he doesn't turn quite so good. I will say some adult themes are explored and hinted at here that would not have passed Code muster five years earlier.

Paramount lifted this one a bit from its true origins by location cinematography and some A list players in the cast. But Secret Of The Incas is really just your average potboiler adventure story.

Several years ago I met a Production Assistant who worked on RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK and was told an interesting story: that SECRET OF THE INCAS was indeed the inspiration for RAIDERS... but it went much further than that. The PA stated that George Lucas had seen SECRET years before and adapted the story into his own vision for Indiana Jones. Lucas screened SECRET -in secret- for Spielberg who immediately attached himself to the project. Here's where it gets interesting: Spielberg quickly negotiated the rights to SECRET and the contract demanded it be shelved and never released in the United States so there couldn't be any direct comparisons to RAIDERS. That's why even today you can't buy an official NTSC copy of SECRET; my region-free disc came from the U.K.! And the similarities between Heston's costume and Harrison Ford's some 30 years later were no accident, either: the PA told me that the RAIDERS creative staff were required to watch SECRET and use it as source material as much as possible to save production time/expense. And, it's clear they took a lot of notes! Others have mentioned the obvious similarities, but there's another really quick one that most people overlook: it's a little musical phrase on the SECRET soundtrack that is identical to one that John Williams used later on when he scored RAIDERS. Listen closely and it'll jump right out at you. Another coincidence? I'm not so sure! Further, Charlton Heston was famous for talking about his filmmaking experiences, yet he never directly -or publicly- mentioned SECRET... not even in his detailed autobiography, "In The Arena". He would only say that he once made a film high in the Andes where it was very difficult to breathe! Privately he allegedly had plenty to say: that he was contractually prohibited from mentioning his work on SECRET and that he seriously resented the fact that Spielberg had so thoroughly usurped his character and with little alteration turned it into the cult-status-cash-cow that Harrison Ford's Indiana Jones attained.

I have been to Cusco and Machu Picchu many times, and was surprised to see this movie was actually filmed in Cusco, Peru.In 1954 it must have been an incredible trip to make, as it was very remote. I thought at first they would use a small Mexican town to simulate Peru, but I was amazed that Heston was actually filmed in Cusco. However, I do not believe I saw a scene with him actually in Machu Picchu. Many background shots with him in front.But parts of the movie were filmed in Machu Picchu, so at least the crew and some actors must have made the trip.It is even hard to get to MP now , so in 1954 it must have been quite a journey. I was thrilled to see Cusco when I saw the movie this year for the first time. I actually think that Heston was the role model for Indiana Jones. The outfit he wore and the instant archeology that modern movies portray.

'Secret of the Incas' never really gets going, for me.

I adore that it was filmed on location in Peru, it gives us some beautiful shots of the South American country; most notably of Machu Picchu. That's where the greatness ends though. It isn't a poor film by any means, but nothing else springs to mind in a positive manner about it.

The cast are solid if a little mundane. Charlton Heston does a fine job in the lead role as Harry, with Thomas Mitchell supporting competently. The plot execution is what lets this down in my opinion, as it's an attractive premise but never feels like the majestic adventure that it should be.

As another review noted, it's kitsch and camp. There's also appeal in seeing Heston in an early role and having as a villain the absent minded uncle from It's a Wonderful Life. TV's Marcus Welby also shows up, equally stiff playing a lonely archaeologist. There's also a white Australian in really bad tanning makeup playing an Indian named Pachacutik.

The biggest appeal for me and many others is its glimpse of Peruvian Indians. IOW, whenever Heston and the other white actors step aside and let us see a bit of the real Peru. Large parts of the film show Quechua Indians, esp three great musical numbers from the legendary Yma Sumac.

Other parts are pretty revealing of the colonial mentality of the times, incredibly ignorant parts that make anyone who knows anything about Peru laugh out loud: Pachacutik as an Indian name? That's like an Italian calling himself Tiberius.

Machu Pichu as a "lost" city in 1954? When it already had thousands of visitors a day.

A hokey prophecy that "Incan" Indians have been waiting on? That's just as fake as the 2012 hoax.

Calling them "Incan" Indians is like calling Italians "Caesars." That's the title of emperors.

And also, Heston's Spanish is incredibly bad. His pronunciation is so impossible to understand it becomes a dialect unknown in Heaven or Earth.

So whenever someone white speaks in the film, don't rely on it as truth about Peru or its Natives. The other scenes, yes, definitely worth seeing.

ETA: I'm glad of the strong reactions to my review, both the downvotes and the higher than I expected number of up votes. Good to know some others feel the same.