Secret of the Incas (1954)

User Rating:

5.8/10   

Director:

Jerry Hopper

Writers:

Sydney Boehm (story)
Ranald MacDougall (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

6 June 1954 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure

Plot:

An adventurer searchers for hidden treasure in the Peruvian jungles.

Plot Keywords:

Hidden Treasure | Peru | Native | Airplane | Heritage

Cast

Charlton Heston	...	Harry Steele
Robert Young	...	Stanley Moorehead
Nicole Maurey	...	Elena Antonescu
Thomas Mitchell	...	Ed Morgan
Glenda Farrell	...	Mrs. Winston
Michael Pate	...	Pachacutec
Leon Askin	...	Anton Marcu
William Henry	...	Phillip Lang
Kurt Katch	...	Man with rifle
Edward Colmans	...	Col. Emilio Cardoza
Yma Sumac	...	Kori-Tica

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Quechua | Romanian | Spanish

Colour:

Colour (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Canada:A (Nova Scotia) | Canada:G (Manitoba) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | USA:Approved (MPAA rating: certificate #14852) | UK:U | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Peru

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

"Secret of the Incas" was the final theatrical film of veteran actor Robert Young, who thereafter moved exclusively into television, where he enjoyed a highly successful career for over 30 years.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: The "Starburst" is the size of a dustbin lid, several inches thick and made of solid gold. Yet, not only can an old man with altitude sickness run around holding it with one hand, but Pachacutec at the end can seemingly hold it up above his head indefinitely.

Quotes:

Miss Morris: Most men don't enjoy taking money from women.
Harry Steele: I do. It's the hardest to get, and it smells so good.

Charlton Heston - King of the Jungle!

Don't expect any Indiana Jones thrills and spills from this adventure movie, the accent is on character development and 'man's hunger for gold'. The leading characters bear a passing resemblance to Walter Huston and Humphrey Bogart in "Treasure of the Sierra Madre". Charlton Heston was born to play the roguish adventurer Harry Steele and Thomas Mitchell is perfect as the seedy, treacherous Ed Morgan, a grizzled old man with food stains on his cardigan. I was particularly looking forward to seeing Yma Sumac after reading and hearing so much about her. 'The Peruvian Songbird' didn't disappoint me, she even injected a little humour into her part, I got the impression that her character secretly had the hots for Robert Young, but this wasn't explored. The set designs, the music and the location shots make "Secret of the Incas" a very pleasurable experience. I taped the movie last year when channel Five showed it one Sunday afternoon. The logo previewing it during the adverts, to The Beatles singing 'Do You Want To Know a Secret' was a bit misleading ... 'Coming up next, Spanish Conquistadors, Buried Treasure, Peru AND Charlton Heston'. There are no Spanish Conquistadors in the film, if you want those guys see "The Royal Hunt of the Sun".