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16 out of 20 people found the following review useful: Excellent 50s Jungle Jape, 10 August 2004 Author: James Byrne from Lincoln, England
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
My father took me to see SECRET OF THE INCAS at the Regal Cinema in Lincoln in 1963. The now demolished 'flea-pit' was a beautiful building which showed double-features at reduced prices, most of which were filmed the previous decade. Of all the hundreds of movies I saw at the Regal, the most enjoyable and memorable was SECRET OF THE INCAS. The amazing Yma Sumac, in full throttle singing "Virgin of the Sun God" proved to be an everlasting cinematic memory, and worth the price of the tickets alone. The scenes showing Machu Picchu, the fabled lost city of the Incas, are a glorious technicolor treat, and form an unusual background to a familiar plot.Charlton Heston is terrific as Harry Steele, an unscrupulous, arrogant, chauvinistic, ex-WWII pilot who is now fleecing gullible tourists in Cuzco, Peru. Nobody does heartless bastard as good as Big Chuck, the only characters in the movie that he does not insult, punch, swindle, lie-to or bribe are the Inca extras! Heston spends the majority of the film being a complete scum-bag, so the ending is pretty much a cop-out, Chuck turning out to be a good guy after all. Ironically, in one of the earlier scenes, the future NRA president destroys the rifle of the hit man sent to 'scare' him.Aficionados of the Golden Era of Television will enjoy the numerous cameos that enrich the film. Leon Askin, who played General Burkhalter in HOGAN'S HEROES, is particularly good as the slimy Rumanian consul. Grandon Rhodes, the doctor in BONANZA, plays an American tourist who seems to turn a blind eye to his wife's (Glenda Farrell) constant sexual references to Heston. Glenda throws some great 'double entendres' at Chuck, who is actually young enough to be her son!"You're the big one" and "I like it slow", she purrs at Heston, eyeing him like a middle-aged preying mantis. Farrell was the cousin of the director Jerry Hopper.A very young Marion Ross, of HAPPY DAYS, is naive tourist, Miss Morris. Booth Colman, later to play Dr. Zaius in the TV series of PLANET OF THE APES, plays the museum curator. The actor with the worst dialogue in the film has to be Robert Young, who turned to television after appearing in this film. The scene in which he proposes marriage to Nicole Maurey is excruciatingly awful, a very badly written piece.Michael Pate, an Australian actor who made a career out of playing Indians and baddies, plays an Inca with an upper-class English accent! Pate is wooden, but looks the part.There is much to enjoy in SECRET OF THE INCAS, the wide vistas of Machu Picchu, the OTT performances of Yma Sumac, Heston's granite jawed arrogance and a whole host of excellent character actors, make this jungle jape well worth watching. Check it out!
16 out of 21 people found the following review useful: Classic Fantasy Adventure., 26 November 2002 Author: Dejael from Los Angeles, California
Good action story of archaeologist-explorer (Heston) in search of lost fabled treasure of gold in ancient city of the Incas. Filmed partly on location in Peru, with a good script, fair direction, and strong performances by a good cast. This is the movie that gave George Lucas and Steven Spielberg the idea for their INDIANA JONES movies and character; compare Heston to Harrison Ford's character; he's got it down to the fedora, khakis, and whip! The scene in the cave with the light beam focused on the Inca treasure is impressive, and very similar to Indy's Map Room scene in RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (1981). Great locations, adventures, in beautiful Technicolor, but lacked the sure hand of a great director. One can easily visualize Heston as Indiana Jones in this film; he worked in this one immediately following George Pal's "THE NAKED JUNGLE" in 1954, just two years before Cecil B. DeMille made him a superstar as Moses in "The Ten Commandments" (1956). Vibrant, eerie mood music is featured by the stunningly amazing Peruvian singer Yma Sumac, a descendant of the Incas, who had a major singing career in the Fifties and remains a cult figure today. Highly recommended. Why isn't this out on video?
10 out of 11 people found the following review useful: Heart and spirit..., 2 May 2006 Author: paulj-murphy from London
It is easy to poke fun at this film, since it has its fair share of silliness, but those who do so completely miss the point - it is an original, and its heart and spirit are in the right place. The more I see it the more I am convinced that Heston was Spielberg's original inspiration for Indiana Jones. Also, the geographical settings and atmosphere are wonderful and of a type that is never seen today. There is certainly no "political correctness" or moralizing about Peruvian poverty, of the sort that would no doubt be rammed down our throats should a remake ever be attempted today. It's just a straightforward adventure story in an unusual setting. I hadn't heard of Yma Sumac before I saw this, but I'm sure she's won legions of admirers from cinema audiences who've seen this film. This is what film making used to be like fifty years ago. In many ways, it was better then than now. If you haven't seen this film, make sure you catch it the next time it's on TV.
7 out of 7 people found the following review useful: High kitsch, 19 January 2008 Author: HighClassHaddock from Lichfield, Staffs, UK .
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".
7 out of 8 people found the following review useful: Charlton Heston - King of the Jungle!, 19 December 2005 Author: Harry Steele from Liverpool, UK
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".
7 out of 9 people found the following review useful: A film that beckons you to the lost city of the Incas., 31 July 2006 Author: blyman1 from United States
Secret of the Incas proved to be Peru's best wind fall for increased tourism in 1954. The one element that made this an excellent film was the shroud of mystery that the photography captured (especially night scenes) of a really spiritual place. The exotic sounds of Yma Sumac along with the photography made this film almost spooky. That was the feeling I had coming out of the theater in 1954 when I was just 14 years old. This knock off of the book, "Secret of the Andes" (very little similarity), kept enough of the archaeological flavor (discovery of Incan mummy burial sites)to make it scantly believable. I have seen this film a total of three times and would own a VHS or DVD copy if there was one. To date I have yet to find any copy available. Maybe cable TV will air this fine old movie treasure.
8 out of 11 people found the following review useful: location of film, 24 September 2005 Author: elanaconda from United States
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.
4 out of 4 people found the following review useful: A Rip-Roaring Adventure., 16 March 2009 Author: JohnWelles from United Kingdom
"Secret of the Incas" (1954) is, with out a doubt, a truly rip-roaring adventure movie. It shares uncanny resemblance too with "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and other Indiana Jones films. But I am not going to go into this with any depth, as another person, James Byrne, knows a lot more about it than I do. Having not seen it for along time, I can only remember the more memorable moments, such as: Harry Steele (Charlton Heston) nearly being killed by a sniper, who was under the orders of Ed Morgan (Thomas Mitchell), flying Nicole Maurey (Elena Antonescu) over to Machu Picchu, in Peru, and the exciting climax. For those of you who like fast moving adventure movies, with great performances, this is for you. It's such a shame that it has not come out on DVD yet.
4 out of 5 people found the following review useful: One of the good ones missing on DVD, 22 January 2007 Author: agustave from United States
I first saw this movie in my early teens to say the the beautiful pic of Peru took my breath away would be and understatement. I have been waiting for it to be put to DVD for years!! I had hoped that since they release the CD soundtrack for it the movie would be coming soon after... unfortunately no such luck ..... I believe that a lot of the old movies have great story and actors and it's a shame that the kids now can appreciate the good older movie even if the wanted too there not out to see on VHS or DVD but if given the chance to see this it great actors like chuck Heston could show a lot of new actor how to play a role
6 out of 9 people found the following review useful: Most Incredible Voice Ever, 14 October 2005 Author: rochediana from United States
I accidentally caught this movie, which ran in the middle of the night on television. I had fallen asleep and woke up after the movie started, but I was captivated enough to stay awake, mesmerized, through the rest of the movie. The voice of Yma Sumac, the costuming and the scenery, which includes Machu Picchu, Peru, can only be described as incredible and magnificent. For some reason, "someone" or "some ones" out there seem to be trying to bury both Yma Sumac and the movie. I can't buy it on video and the latest movie review books don't list Yma Sumac or the movie. I can only wonder as to why. Yma Sumac's vocal range is the widest of any singer yet. She glides to delicate, bird-like high ranges and then drops to throaty deep levels. Absolutely incredible!
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