zardoz-13 Jerry Hopper's escapist escapade "Secret of the Incas" is a harmless little action-adventure thriller with Charlton Heston cast as a soldier of fortune. Many film aficionados have argued that this colorful little 97-minute epic 'inspired' the Indiana Jones film franchise because Heston's adventurer Harry Steele (talk about a metaphorical name!) dressed himself in an outfit that closely resembled the apparel that Harrison Ford's daring archaeologist donned for his cliff-hanging shenanigans. Mind you, scenarists Ranald MacDougall of "Mildred Pierce" (he received an Oscar nod for the Joan Crawford murder-mystery) and Sydney Boehm of "The Big Heat" put our reckless hero in tense situations as he searches for fabled hidden treasure in the Peruvian jungles. Early in this carefree opus, our hero commanders a small, propeller-driven aircraft with the heroine aboard, Elena Antonescu (the exotic French actress Nicole Maurey of "The Day of the Triffids"), and they take off with the authorities pursuing them in a jeep with pistols blazing futilely in an effort to stop them. Equipped with eight hours of fuel, Harry sets the aircraft down in a high mountain pasture just shy of the intended airport so that they won't be arrested. Afterward, he digs up a conveniently stashed inflatable raft that Elena and he use to ply the river rapids with. This in itself is reminiscent of the breathless opening in Spielberg's "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom." Mind you, the tame "Secret of the Incas" isn't a high-octane, white-knuckled exercise in cliffhanging suspense, but you can see how it is comparable to such fare. Of course, Hollywood had not attained the summit of technical perfection in the depiction of such antics back in 1954 when "Secret of the Incas" came out, but this simply means that Hopper and his scenarists can be credited with breaking the ice. Heston had starred earlier in Hopper's "Pony Express," and the director and star would re-team after "Secret of the Incas" with "The Private War of Major Benson." Hopper was strictly a contract director who endowed with films with a polish that reflected his competence. During the twilight of his career, he turned to helming television shows such as "Naked City," "The Rifleman," and "Have Gun-Will Travel." Charlton Heston toiled in B-movies like this until he got his big break in "Ben-Hur." Altogether, "Secret of the Incas" is a dandy little melodrama co-starring Oscar winning character actor Thomas Mitchell as Steele's treacherous adversary while Robert Young appears as an archaeologist who spends more time in his camp tent than on the trail of adventure.

GreatTreeWiseMan Like probably most of the people who become interested in this film now I decided to watch it in desire of becoming more familiar with classics that inspired Indiana Jones. Frankly I was quite disappointed. It had great possibilities to develop. Charismatic adventurous protagonist with a key to the great treasure of the Incas. Love interest, defector from the Eastern bloc who stays illegally in the country. The somewhat friendly antagonist who is not so different from the main character. I wouldn't call him evil twin but rather possible dark (if somewhat pathetic) future of the protagonist if he doesn't reconsider his ways. Personally I liked the role it played in the plot. While one may consider all these clichés they prepare everything required for perfect adventure. The main problem is that for the adventure movie... there is not much adventure going on! I don't even mean action scenes but simply doing anything more than enjoying hospitality of the archaeologists! Still I enjoyed the atmosphere and my own expectations a lot. Thaks to that I can't call this movie bad.

HighClassHaddock Charlton Heston is Harry Steele, an American adventurer seeking a fabulous Inca sunburst that has been lost for centuries in mysterious Machu Picchu, a Lost City in the Andes of Peru. Thomas Mitchell is Ed Morgan, a slovenly dreamer and schemer who is also after the Inca gold. Goody-goody archaeologist Robert Young and Romanian refugee Nicole Maurey add a bit of spice to the proceedings. "Secret of the Incas" is a fine example of a 1950's adventure film, with some quite astounding location footage of Machu Picchu and Cuzco. The movies plot is pretty standard fare, but the scenery, acting , set designs are first rate. Heston steals the show, and everything else he can lay his hands on in the movie. One of the highlights is Peruvian singer Yma Sumac, who will burst your ear drums in a pantomime side-show performance of high energy and even higher kitsch. Yma Sumac makes Carmen Miranda look sedate and boring. They don't make 'em like this anymore, and if you want to unearth the origins of Indiana Jones, don't miss "Secret of the Incas".

Marlburian This is the most disappointing Heston film I've seen, redeemed only by the scenery and Yma Sumac's singing. The sound on my recording wasn't great and I wasn't clear why Elena Antonescu was so important a refugee. She may have arrived in Peru with very little money but she was very well dressed, even after she had changed into clothing more suitable for her flight; thus she joined the long list of women able to retain their glamour despite arduous conditions. At least we were spared the cliché of her being frightened by wild life though Heston did get to spy on her as she bathed (not in a jungle pool, but indoors). Heston's character is far from likable and there was no-one much else to empathise with; Robert Young's archaeologist was very likable until he proposed marriage to Elena. (Sad old man.) Another commentator has noted how the gold starburst seems very lightweight, and early on in the film I noted a reference to it weighing 30 pounds, which makes the elderly Mitchell's flight even more athletic. That was just about the only action in the film.