Secret of the Incas

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
American adventurer Harry Steele makes a living as a tour guide in Cusco, Peru but plans to earn his fortune by finding the legendary gold and jeweled "sunburst", a lost 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. Bar owner Ed Morgan, who is older and feeling his age, has been searching for the treasure for fourteen years and hires a sniper to frighten off Harry. Harry dodges the bullet and threatens Morgan; when the former refuses to sell him the stone, Morgan swears to get even.

Through Morgan, Harry learns that Elena Antonescu, a Romanian defector, may be a prospect for his services. With little money and the police on her trail, she plays on Harry's 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. After getting him drunk so Elena can slip into his room and steal his keys, the pair depart. 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 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 expresses disappointment at his plan to steal the sunburst. 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, claiming that latter 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. Trapping Morgan on a cliff edge, the two men wrestle for the treasure and 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 convinces them that Morgan forced him to help steal the sunburst. 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

 * Charlton Heston as Harry Steele
 * Robert Young as Stanley Moorhead
 * Nicole Maurey as Elena Antonescu
 * Thomas Mitchell as Ed Morgan
 * Glenda Farrell as Mrs. Winston
 * Yma Sumac as Kori-Tika
 * Michael Pate as Pachacutec
 * Leon Askin as Anton Marcu
 * William Henry as Phillip Lang
 * Marion Ross 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 was originally announced as the leading star. 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.

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.

Five hundred indigenous people were used as extras.

The film also featured the Peruvian singer Yma Sumac as Kori-Tica.

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. 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 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 Nicole Maurey reprised their roles in a Lux Radio Theater version of Secret of the Incas.