Secret of the Incas

This is a fun one . Charlton Heston (superb) sports a Unibrow and light beard (rare for the time) through much of the picture . This is a pretty esoteric find . What you need to know . The Romanian woman is a dish . Heston portrays "the" Inca Gold seeking model for Indiana Jones (honest , look it up) . Father Knows Best (Robert Young) is an Archaeologist . The unusual , high pitched singing and music from the THE BIG LEBOWSKI sequence that features the semi nude woman being bounced with the hand held trampoline , is here . This and a second complete performance are lip synced by the astonishing Yma Sumac who performed these compositions on her own records . Here she portrays an Inca ritual singer and participant . Thomas mitchell (Scarlett O'Hara's father in GONE WITH THE WIND) is on hand as an older , more crooked version of Heston's character . There's some nefarious activity and the semi noir script is jam packed , to the hilt , with witty and hard boiled one liners and dialog . The actions and conversation with a faux sniper are priceless just by themselves . Herein , you'll find great location photography and truly marvelous sets and set decoration . Anyone failing to give this fascinating picture the full measure , simply does not appreciate or understand what's going on here . Let's cause "them" to put this one on DVD or Blu . Great found Heston too . Good times . Great times actually .

I RATED THIS MOVIE A 4 STAR RATING, THE CAST AND THE ACTING AS WELL AS THE STORY WAS GOOD, IT IS A VERY GOOD MOVIE BUT NOT AN ACADEMY AWARD WINNER BY ANY MEANS. DEFINITELY NOT CHARLTON HESTONS, NOR THOMAS MITCHELS BEST ROLE BUT IT WAS UNIQUE AS IT WAS FILMED IN PERU AND WITH PERUVIAN INDIGENOUS PEOPLE. A STORY YOU DONT SEE VERY OFTEN. GOOD MOVIE, NOT GREAT BUT GLAD TO HAVE IT IN MY COLLECTION, IM PLEASED THIS SELLER HAD IT AS YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO FIND IT IN ANY STORES. VERY RARE.

Fun movie, quite obviously a huge influence on the making of "Raiders of the Lost Ark". See Charlton Heston as the original Indiana Jones.

Cool scenery and cinematography but plot is ki d of weak and flow of the movie can be slow at times

I too love Charlton Heston. I saw this movie when I was 13 years old and I was so amazed by Ms.Yma Sumac and the story about the Incas. Her singing sent chills through my body and touched my heart. I wanted to learn about Peru and her people. I did just that! I also married a Peruvian gentleman and we visited Peru many times. I have taken their cuture into my soul. I've learned to cook their amazing recipes, the people are lovely and very warm. I visited Machu Picchu where I saw the beauty and felt the presence of God. It's a truly spiritual place. If anyone has the opportunity to go to Peru do it. Put it on your bucket list. You won't be sorry. I will always love this movie and wish that they'd release it to the public.

This is so much fun and very similar to Indiana Jones--only less action. I really love the theme of this story and the conclusion is so satisfying.The one bit with the singing gets a little long.

There’s little doubt that this film was inspirational for the genesis of the iconic look of Indiana Jones. I’m certain that George Lucas had probably seen it in his youth and it planted a subconscious seed that would become a big influence on Raiders of the Lost Ark. The similarities between the imagery of Heston’s Harry Steele to Harrison Ford’s Indy are uncanny right down to the leathery brown bomber jacket, khaki trousers and fedora.However, if you are expecting to see a thrill-a-minute action adventure flick you will be in for a big disappointment. Like most studio films of the period this is more of a “Talkie” with very little in the way of action. There’s no big shoot-em-ups, fight scenes, chases or death defying cliffhangers. In fact, it doesn’t really feel very Indiana Jonesy until the last 10 minutes before we get to the actual tomb raiding and the Incan golden Sunburst artifact Macguffin and like Indy, Harry Steele seems driven at first by his lust to find Fortune & Glory before he eventually comes to the realization that obtaining the artifact selfishly isn’t the wisest choice.It’s worth checking out if you are a fan of Indiana Jones for its influential relevance. There’s some good second unit cinematography of Machu Picchu and the Peruvian Andes but all of the scenes with the principal actors are shot in a Hollywood soundstage on sets with obvious rear screen projection like most films of the period. It’s slow and dry but worth a look out of historical curiosity.

Per Wikipedia: "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. Shot on location at Machu Picchu in Peru, the film is often credited as the inspiration for Raiders of the Lost Ark .The supporting cast features Robert Young, Nicole Maurey and Thomas Mitchell, as well as a rare film...