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PlotAn Incan legend states that the Inca Empire was destroyed by the gods when a gold and jeweled starburst was stolen from the Temple of the Sun centuries ago, and that the ancient civilization will be reborn once the treasure is returned. Harry Steele (Charlton Heston), an American adventurer, is seeking the artifact, as is his nemesis Ed Morgan (Thomas Mitchell), along with Elena Antonescu (Nicole Maurey), an Iron Curtain refugee.
ProductionSecret of the Incas was filmed by Paramount Pictures on location in Peru at Cuzco and Machu Picchu, the first time that a major Hollywood studio filmed at this archeological site. Five hundred native Indians were used as extras in the film.[1] The film also featured the Peruvian singer Yma Sumac as Kori-Tica. The film caused a surge in tourism to Peru in 1954.
Influence on Raiders of the Lost Ark
Charlton Heston and Nicole MaureyThe film is often cited by film buffs as a direct inspiration for the Indiana Jones franchise of films, with many of the scenes in Secret of the Incas bearing a striking resemblance in tone and structure to scenes in Raiders of the Lost Ark. Throughout Secret of the Incas, the main character, Harry Steele, can be seen wearing the "Indiana Jones" outfit - brown leather jacket, fedora, tan pants, an over-the-shoulder bag, and revolver.[2] 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."[3]
Secret of the Incas
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3.2 stars ..Rugged American adventurer Harry Steele (Charlton Heston), who works as a tour guide in Peru, possesses part of a map leading to an invaluable Inca artifact and is racing to locate it before it's found by archaeologist Stanley Moorehead (Robert Young) or con man Ed Morgan (Thomas Mitchell). Using an airplane stolen with the help of a Romanian refugee (Nicole Maurey), Harry continues his quest at the stunning and treacherous Machu Picchu.
Some say this movie was the inspiration for elements of the Indiana Jones movies, and you can see that in this highly entertaining Charlton Heston adventure. Heston is an American living in Peru who makes a living giving tours to American tourists while trying to uncover the secret location of the Sunburst - an enormous jewel encrusted gold object created by the Incans that has been lost for hundreds of years. He teams up with a pretty Romanian, steals a plane, outwits the evil Ed Morgan, and eventually does the right thing. One thing that makes this movie compelling is that it is shot on location in Peru. Its just a really fun movie to watch and until recently has been hard to find.
Gee, do you think George Lucas and Stevie Spielberg may have seen this movie when they were kids? Charlton Heston edges out even Harrison Ford in the "Indiana Jones" role. All that's lacking is the bullwhip. The villain is deliciously creepy, right through to his final death-scream (more like a hoarse croak), and the subtle artistic touches - like the ever-present stain on his vest, are from an earlier age of movie-making. Yet, as repugnant and devoid of scruples as he is, the film-makers also manage to create some compassion for him in the end. Very well-paced movie from an earlier age when audiences were more patient, and allowed for some actual character and plot development before getting to the good stuff. And the good stuff is indeed very good - and worth the wait. Robert Young is also fun in the kindly doctor role, presaging his later stint as Marcus Welby, M.D. Find out where Raiders of the Lost Ark really came from.
http://www.t-g.com/blogs/brianmosely/entry/17975/
Including Indiana Jones.
Wait. Harrison Ford is returning next month to the classic role, right? Well, yes he is, but way before that, before Heston told Yul Brenner to let his people go, there was the1954 Paramount film entitled "Secret of the Incas," which has more than a few similarities to "Raiders of the Lost Ark."
In fact, after watching the unknown film for the first time this weekend, I believe George Lucas and Steven Spielberg have a bit of explaining to do when it comes to fully attributing the inspiration of the Indiana Jones character.
The film stars Heston, who plays square-jawed Harry Steele, a womanizing con artist getting by as a tour guide in the historic areas of Peru, that is, when he's not treasure hunting. He's been looking for the legendary diamond encrusted, solid gold Sunburst hidden in the ruins of Machu Picchu for years, but has had no success, until events begin to go his way.
So why do I say that Spielberg and Lucas lifted the character from this forgotten low budget film and turned him into the daring archaeologist we all know?
Because Steele looks exactly like Indiana Jones. And I mean an absolute spitting image of the film icon.
In fact, according to Wikipedia, the costume designer for "Raiders" said that the inspiration for Jones was Harry Steele.
"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."
So do I.
Not only that, he's the only one possessing the crucial piece needed to find the location of the priceless Inca Sunburst. And for a swindling ladies man, he certainly knows quite a bit about South American archeology. The similarities to Indiana Jones doesn't end there. To figure out the location of the sacred artifact, he uses the old reflecting light trick seen in "Raiders" when Indiana is looking for the Well of Lost Souls, to find the treasure.
The film was released by Paramount and I find it quite interesting that this movie isn't available from the studio that released the Indiana Jones series, or for that matter, through your regular on-line retail outlets like Amazon. Or anywhere else. In fact, the copy I just got, which is a fine print of this lost film, is an obviously homemade DVD, and it took a while for this film buff to track down.
If I were a raving conspiracy theorist, I'd suggest that Lucas and Spielberg had the studio bury this vintage film so that movie buffs would never know where they got the idea for the adventure-seeking archaeologist that made them millions.
But that's just silly. They wouldn't do that. It's just a bunch of coincidences, right? That would be like saying "Star Wars" and its style was really based on a samurai film from the 1950's. What was I thinking...
In any case, I'm looking forward to watching the latest Indiana Jones film in May. But, I'm going to be checking the credits for a special thanks to Charlton, too. I hope I see it.
Let's give credit where credit is due.
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Amen.
We owe a lot to the old pulp characters.
Often,we create new riffs on ancient stories without realizing that the conventions and cliches we love were once original and fresh when introduced years ago.
If not for remakes,revivals and pastiches,a younger generation might never know of the plots,the characters or the people who brought them to life.
Frank Reade,Jack Armstrong,Johhny Brainerd,Bulldog Drummond and others of their eras gave birth to Tom Swift and Johnny Quest as surely as Horatio Hornblower begat James Tiberius Kirk and Modesty Blaise gave birth to Sidney Bristow.
Whether we enjoy Henry Jones' baby boy,that Bond fellow,Emma Peel,the Maverick Brothers or Jessica Fletcher,we need to thank Steele (and Heston),Miss Marple,Raffles,Honey West and all the others who started those genres.
-- Posted by quantumcat on Sun, Apr 27, 2008, at 6:06 PM
Charlton Heston was indeed the definitive Indiana Jones prototype in SECRET OF THE INCAS. I saw this wonderful adventure movie as a kid and it inspired me to travel to Peru last year to explore all the locations shown in the movie, like Machu Picchu and Cuzco. I had the greatest two weeks of my life in Peru ... thanks to SECRET OF THE INCAS. Charlton Heston was also amazingly similar to Indiana Jones in the terrific circus epic THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH, coincidently Spielberg's favourite movie as a child. I have devoted a site to SECRET OF THE INCAS, where you can compare Heston's Harry Steele to Spielberg's Indiana Jones.
http://incas.mysite.orange.co.uk
-- Posted by James Byrne on Tue, Apr 29, 2008, at 4:19 AM
I just watched Willow (another George Lucas movie) again for the first time since I was a kid, and it seemed to be a copy of the Hobbit series. I love all of the Lucas movies, but he is seeming to come across a little unoriginal.
-- Posted by greasemonkey on Wed, Apr 30, 2008, at 8:12 PM
The link to my site on SECRET OF THE INCAS has changed. You can now view my site on this great precursor to Indiana Jones at :
www.secretoftheincas.co.uk
-- Posted by James Byrne on Tue, Sep 9, 2008, at 4:54 AM
From Kirkus Reviews
http://www.amazon.com/The-Secret-Incas-Astronomy-Against/dp/0517888513
The Secret of the Incas: Myth, Astronomy, and the War Against Time [Paperback]
William Sullivan
A sometimes murky, frequently meandering excursion into the meaning of ancient Andean beliefs, arguing that in a series of sophisticated myths Incan soothsayers foretold their own civilization's doom at the hands of Pizarro and his conquistadors in 1532. Sullivan, a scholar of Native American cultures, begins with a question that has perplexed historians of the Spanish conquest: How could the vast Inca Empire, with its millions of subjects, have been conquered overnight by a band of 170 Spanish adventurers? Sullivan digs into the history and mythology of Andean civilization to find what he feels is the answer: For hundreds of years the sages of the Andes had believed that astronomical transitions presaged earthly cataclysms; reading changes in the night skies in the 1400s, Incan priest-astronomers foretold the imminent destruction of their own recently founded empire. Sullivan argues, in a sometimes hyperbolic first-person account (``In that moment I had, I believed, touched for an instant the terrible burden and tragic urgency of the Inca vision''), that the Incas followed the planets, recorded precessional events in their myths, and equated social and celestial changes. He further asserts that elements in Incan culture preceding Pizarro's arrival--constant warfare and the Incan ritual of human sacrifice--represented an attempt to halt the march of time and prevent the apocalyptic events foreshadowed by changes in the night sky. The Incas assumed that the arrival of Pizarro represented the culmination of the prophecy and the failure of their own efforts to prevent its occurrence. The thread of the author's argument can be hard to follow. Still, Sullivan's deep feeling for Andean folk materials, and the originality of his observations about Andean astronomy, make his text worthwhile for those interested in the history of South American civilization and for those who, in the wake of Joseph Campbell's works, seek enduring meaning in ancient mythology. (History Book Club and One Spirit Book Club alternate selections) -- Copyright ©1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
William Sullivan decodes the myths of the Incas.
Secrets of the Incas chronicles how Dr Sullivan first learned to decode ancient Andean myths. These myths - which were recorded by the Spanish at the time of their conquest of the Incas - are, according to Dr Sullivan, a 'message in a bottle' from the Incas to future generations. Dr Sullivan describes how he decoded the myths and how this led him to certain important dates in Andean prehistory and history. A glossary defines and explains various Andean mythological and historical terms, and a timeline shows what Dr Sullivan believes to be the correspondence between mythological, astronomical and archaeological events in the high Andes - how, in effect, what was happening in the heavens was mirrored by what was happening on Earth
On the evening of 15 November 1532, a band of 175 hardened Spanish adventurers crossed a pass in the high Andes. Looking down upon a broad, fertile valley in northern Peru, they became the first Europeans to make contact with the Incas, whose highly developed empire stretched 3,000 miles from Chile to Colombia and had a population of six million. On the following day, in what ranks as one of the strangest events in all recorded history, the Spaniards managed to seize the Inca king Atahuallpa and, in the ensuing panic, used the advantage of their 120 warhorses to kill and wound 10,000 Inca warriors. From that day onward, through luck and guile, and with reinforcements soon pouring in from Panama, the Spaniards - who came in search of gold and glory, in the name of the Roman Catholic Church - never relinquished the edge they seized in that first fateful encounter.
What the Spaniards never knew, and what history does not record, was the reason for the apparently inexplicable collapse of the greatest land empire on the face of the Earth
SECRET OF THE INCAS
Harry Steele is a tough young American soldier of fortune, eking out a living as a tour guide in Cuzco, Peru. He has heard the legend of the Inca treasure, a fabulous golden Sunburst which has been missing for centuries, and his intention, when he can get hold of a private plane, is to head for the long lost Inca city of Machu Picchu.
There is a legend among the Quechua Indians that the Inca Empire will be restored when the Sunburst is found. It is believed to be hidden in the tomb of Manco, last of the Inca chiefs. Harry has come into the possession of a fragment of an ancient stone map which points to the secret location of the treasure.
Morgan tells Harry that a Romanian refugee is coming to Cuzco by truck from La Paz and she needs help to get to Mexico. The Romanian Consul, Anton Marcu, has pursued her to Peru to take her back behind The Iron Curtain.
Harry meets the beautiful Elena in Cuzco Hotel, but when he finds out that she is short of cash, he isn’t interested in helping her escape. Only when Elena tells him that the Rumanian Consul has persued her to Peru in a private plane is Harry willing to help her. Having telephoned the consul giving him Elena’s whereabouts, Harry strikes a deal with Elena, knowing that she’s now helpless to refuse.
SECRET OF THE INCAS
Harry Steele is a tough young American soldier of fortune, eking out a living as a tour guide in Cuzco, Peru. He has heard the legend of the Inca treasure, a fabulous golden Sunburst which has been missing for centuries, and his intention, when he can get hold of a private plane, is to head for the long lost Inca city of Machu Picchu.
There is a legend among the Quechua Indians that the Inca Empire will be restored when the Sunburst is found. It is believed to be hidden in the tomb of Manco, last of the Inca chiefs. Harry has come into the possession of a fragment of an ancient stone map which points to the secret location of the treasure.
Steele is bored with his tour guide work and supplements his tedious job with a bit of gigolo work in his spare time. Bored tourists, like the middle-aged Mrs Winston, keep him busy with this extra occupation. Treacherous wheeler-dealer Ed Morgan occasionally does business with Harry, even though they mistrust and despise each other. Morgan knows that Harry has the stone map, and after being rebuked on a partnership deal, sends a sniper after Harry to ‘frighten’ him. Obviously shocked by the near miss from the gunman, Steele threatens the old guy and only calms down when he’s told that Morgan has lined up a little deal for him.
Morgan tells Harry that a Romanian refugee is coming to Cuzco by truck from La Paz and she needs help to get to Mexico. The Romanian Consul, Anton Marcu, has pursued her to Peru to take her back behind The Iron Curtain.
Harry meets the beautiful Elena in Cuzco Hotel, but when he finds out that she is short of cash, he isn’t interested in helping her escape. Only when Elena tells him that the Rumanian Consul has persued her to Peru in a private plane is Harry willing to help her. Having telephoned the consul giving him Elena’s whereabouts, Harry strikes a deal with Elena, knowing that she’s now helpless to refuse.
He asks her to steal the plane keys from Anton Marcu and they fly to the mystical village in the Andes, Machu Picchu. Having to land ten miles outside the Inca village, they set off on an arduous trek through the jungles of Peru. When they arrive at the ruins of Machu Picchu, they see that an archaeological expedition, headed by Dr Stanley Moorehead, is encamped on the spot. Pachacutec, the leader of the local Quechuan community, and his sister, Kori-Tica, both mistrust the pair, but the others in the expedition give them a warm welcome. Harry explains their presence by saying they were forced down when their plane ran out of gas.
In the evening while watching a sacred Inca ritual ceremony performed by Kori-Tica in the ruins, Dr Moorehead expresses his love for the beautiful refugee Elena. Ed Morgan arrives at the camp, and forces Steele to hand over the stone map, but is forced to go fifty-fifty with Harry because he doesn’t know how to read it. Dr Moorehead proposes marriage to Elena at the Intihuantana but she is more attracted to the rough, tough Harry Steele, but his lying, scheming nature prove to be a barrier.
The archaeological expedition mistakenly think they have finally discovered the long lost Sunburst, but it is only a stone replica. While Ed Morgan is asleep, Harry retrieves the stone map and enters the tomb discovering the real jewel encrusted golden Sunburst. Morgan follows him and shoots at Harry, making off with the Sunburst. The noise wakens the whole camp and they chase Morgan to the top of Machu Picchu.
Steele takes a short cut and is waiting for Morgan, after a brief scuffle Morgan falls to his death and Steele returns the Sunburst to the Quechuan community. He and Elena then head off to make a new life together
It’s true, if it wasn’t for SECRET OF THE INCAS, we wouldn’t have had the most exciting, extraordinary experience of our married life, a totally unique action-packed holiday that was worth all the worry and the planning, the expense, the yellow fever jabs, the anti-malaria tablets, the stomach upsets and the horrendous 15 hour flight (thank God for Bill Bryson). Peru is a land of intrigue, where tales of lost cities, fabulous treasures and sun-worshipping natives vanquished by ruthless conquistadors abound. This is a land of colourful people, exotic birds, great lakes and remote forests. As a kid, my imagination was stirred by watching Hollywood movies about American tough guys hunting for lost cities in the darkest jungles of South America, and SECRET OF THE INCAS was, without a shadow of a doubt, the best of these.
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http://www.secretoftheincas.co.uk/page28.html
FRASER HESTON in conversation with JAMES BYRNE.
(6-12 May 2008)
JAMES BYRNE: I love a movie you wrote and produced, Mother Lode, in which your father also directed and starred in. The plot – about a group of adventurers searching for the Mother Lode in a secret cavern – has slight elements of the Secret of the Incas plot. My children pointed out to me that the beginning of Mother Lode, the tough guy hero in the aeroplane flying over the terrific scenery, resembled Harry Steele flying over the Andes. Fraser, did watching any of your father’s old adventure movies from the 1950’s influence you at all when writing Mother Lode?
FRASER HESTON: Thanks James, much appreciated. I’m sure there are some unintentional similarities – Mother Lode’s a treasure hunt film after all, but I made no conscious effort to emulate anything from Incas – more like a homage to another great treasure hunt film (the greatest ever): Treasure of the Sierra Madre.
JAMES BYRNE: I agree with you Fraser, Treasure of the SierraMadre is the greatest treasure hunt movie of ‘em all. Here’s an interesting little titbit I noticed when watching the Bogey classic. Fred C. Dobbs’ final words are “Burro, burro,” coincidently the first words spoken by Chuck Heston in Secret of the Incas, and the sunburst seekers in Incas are very similar to the Sierra Madre treasure hunters. Maybe the Incas scriptwriters were slightly influenced by the Bogey movie, who knows? As a scriptwriter, producer and director, Fraser, do you think it’s tempting to ‘pop in’ little homages to old classics as part of the plot of your own movie?
FRASER HESTON: I don’t think this happens as much as film critics allege – homages (or rip-offs as they are more often called) probably happen inadvertently as often as not, or subconsciously, thinking “Wouldn’t it be cool if this happened …” but forgetting you saw it in some other film first! Obviously there are exceptions, obvious homages and spoofs, but mostly we’re desperately working away, trying to come up with something original!
JAMES BYRNE: Most people who venture to Peru go on the ‘Inca Trail’, but I was slightly different, I went on the ‘Harry Steele Trail’, and made a point of touring all the locations seen in Secret of the Incas. Did you visit any of the places in Cuzco that Harry Steele hung out in the movie when you visited Peru, Fraser?
FRASER HESTON: Yes. I visited Cuzco, Sacsayhuaman, and Machu Picchu. I also travelled up the Amazon, by plane, river steamer (think Fitzcarraldo), motorized canoe and a dugout from Belem at the mouth up to Iquitos, and then eventually aways up the Ucayali, and then came to the Urubamba (below Machu Picchu) by train. Had a blast.
JAMES BYRNE: Sounds terrific Fraser. You also climbed Huayma Picchu at Machu Picchu, it sure looked a daunting prospect to me as I stood at the foot of it … was it as dangerous as it looked?
FRASER HESTON: I didn’t think it was all that dangerous, but there is certainly some exposure when you climb through a little cave, and pop out onto an airy little traverse overlooking the Urubamba valley about a thousand feet below. Nothing of any technical difficulty however and well worth the effort. I also got locked into the ruins after hours when I lost track of time in the fog. Security guard found me and turfed me out. Very cool experience.
JAMES BYRNE: Wow! The son of Harry Steele lost in the ruins of Machu Picchu! Fraser, your mother is an accomplished photographer and often went on location with her husband, and took some terrific shots. Has she ever considered writing a book … and using all those great behind-the-scenes location photos she took over the years?
FRASER HESTON: I have often been asked, “Your life was like Indiana Jones – one adventure after another – was it your father who inspired your adventures?” In fact, I say, it was my mother who was Indiana Jones, who dragged us up all those pyramids from Sacarra to Chichen Itza, ruin-running from Hadrian’s Wall to the Acropolis, museum marching from the British Museum to the Met. She’s published a couple of books, several photo shows and retrospectives, and is still going strong, at 84.
JAMES BYRNE: She’s a great lady, Fraser. For many years now, fans of Secret of the Incas have been literally begging for its release onto video and dvd. Have you any idea why Paramount won’t release this wonderful movie?
FRASER HESTON: I agree! I’m not sure Paramount is resisting releasing that, per se, but they’ve got a lot of old films (thousands in fact!) and I suppose eventually they’ll get around to releasing all of them. Let’s hope Incas is sooner than later!
JAMES BYRNE: I would like to congratulate you on your marvellous version of Treasure Island. It must have been a daunting prospect bringing a different variation on an oft-filmed classic. I notice that your adaptation is more realistic than the other movies, in particular the Disney version. Any thoughts on the making of this film?
FRASER HESTON: Thanks – another treasure hunt movie if there ever was one: and the best pirate story ever. And my favourite book – my dad read it to me dozens of times from the age of five! We tried to make this the most faithful to the book, and the most real, gritty version, with authentic sea faring stuff (we used the H.M.S. Bounty, provided by Ted Turner who got it from MGM) and pirates who would sooner cut your throat than look at you. Did we succeed?
JAMES BYRNE: Yes Fraser, you more than succeeded in making the pirates in Treasure Island look far more realistic than in the earlier versions. You got great performances from your father as Long John Silver and Oliver Reed as Billy Bones. In fact, all the cast really did look like gin-soaked nasty sea-dogs, particularly Reed and Pete Postlethwait. Ollie Reed had a bit of a reputation over here in England as being ‘very thirsty’. Did Ollie behave himself on the set … was he easy to work with?
FRASER HESTON: Thanks for the compliment. I loved directing Treasure Island with dad – a childhood fantasy come true. Oliver, in the event, though we were concerned at first, behaved himself very well, and delivered a stunning performance in my opinion. Though he could booze with the best of them, and eventually and tragically drank himself to death, as I understand it, he was professional with us at all times. We had a great cast in that film, including Christian Bale (who came all the way across America just to attend my father’s memorial) Christopher Lee, Julian Glover, Pete Postlethwait and of course Ollie, and not to mention Charlton Heston. It was a director’s dream come true and I was like a kid in the candy store with all those wonderful English actors. It’d be honoured to work with any of ‘em again in a heartbeat.
JAMES BYRNE: Yes, Treasure Island was a great movie, Fraser. What is your favourite Charlton Heston movie … and why?
FRASER HESTON: Two of them: Ben-Hur because it’s an amazing film, and stands up very well today. Just incredible. And Will Penny – a little western dad made up in the High Sierra, where I will spread some of his ashes in a few weeks, because it’s a hell of a movie and one of my dad’s personal favourites.
JAMES BYRNE: Fraser, you appeared as the infant Moses in The Ten Commandments, which is one of my family’s favourite movies. Obviously, you won’t be able to remember a single thing about making the movie, but did you ever meet any of the stars of the movie when you were older … and if so, what did they say to you?
FRASER HESTON: I’m sure I must have met Yul Brynner when I was very young, but don’t recall what he said. I did meet Cecil B. De Mille later (I’m the youngest actor in his last film as a director, and therefore, I am probably the last actor to ever work with C. B. DeMille). Here’s a photo for you – the inscription reads:
“To a fine young actor in a gripping situation. From his director, - C. B. DeMille. All three of us made the Ten Commandments.”
JAMES BYRNE: Great photo, Fraser. Thanks for your time and co-operation, and good luck to you in the future.
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http://www.secretoftheincas.co.uk/page33.html
YMA SUMAC – the real secret of the Incas
Yma Sumac is the real secret of the incas; a bewitching, tantalizing, outrageous, magnificent, uniquely talented singer who has succeeded in remaining an enigma to her fans for over half a century. Her life is shrouded in exotic mystery, made even more complicated and confusing by the ludicrous publicity machine that dreamt up and pored forth sensational biographies of unimagined silliness in the early 1950’s which condemned her to be known forever as the “Queen of kitsch”. Strange as it may seem, I actually enjoy all those absurd and fantastic legends that were concocted to sell her LP records and discs. When you hear her voice for the first time and discover the miraculous musical madams 4 octave range, which instantly transport you to another world, but only really exists in your own imagination, you can forgive those publicity guys for inventing such surreal biographies.
I didn’t have a clue who Yma Sumac was when my father took me to see Secret Of The Incas in May1963, when I was ten years old. In the foyer of the cinema was an impressive display of glossy publicity stills showing a beautiful, exotic-looking woman, heavily made up and posing in some very fancy attire. I thought she was the most gorgeous lady I had ever seen. “That’s Yma Sumac, son” dad told me, “She has a wonderful untrained voice, and about ten years ago she was all the rage”. Looking at those publicity photos again, I thought to myself “She’s all the rage to me now”, and this was before I had encountered her voice!
The Yma Sumac story reads like one of the plots of those Hollywood music biographies of the 40’s, like The Jolson Story or The Great Caruso. A teenage sensation at a music festival on the outskirts of Lima, Peru, she went to America and became an overnight phenomenon, her album Voice of the Xtabay even knocked Bing Crosby off the number one spot in the charts. Her records featured exciting, colourful covers with exaggerated biographies on the back sleeve which at first were thought to be true,but later became a thorn in her side, inducing laughter in many cases. Paramount jumped aboard the publicity bandwagon and a role was specially written for her in Secret Of The Incas as the archaeological assisstant to Robert Young. Yma Sumac’s appearance in this colourful precursor to the Indiana Jones saga had a great effect on me as a ten year old boy in 1963. She reminded me of Judith Anderson as Mrs. Danvers in the Hitchcock classic Rebecca, but nowhere as sinister. Madame Sumac moved with grace and poise, and looked a real class act. Her training in music and ballet by Gamaiel Concha Vargas, from Cuzco, was evident in a couple of scenes. Look at the way she glides with effortless ease as she carries the water to fill Nicole Maurey’s bath in the temple at Machu Picchu. Yma Sumac has been criticized in print for her supposedly poor lip-synching during a couple of the music numbers in Secret Of The Incas. The first time I saw her perform “Virgin of the Sun” and “Earthquake” in the film had a tremendous effect on me. To this day I have never seen anything so bizarre and totally outrageous in a B-movie adventure flick. I never forgot her performing those “Inca folk songs” in that way and longed to see and hear her voice again. I had to wait three years for Secret Of The Incas to be shown on television, and alas, the black and white television recording paled next to the memory of her in glorious technicolor on the cinema screen. You should only experience Secret Of The Incas at a movie theatre.
My biggest regret is not booking my trip to Peru a year earlier. I was there in May 2007 and had the greatest experience of my life. Exactly a year before Yma Sumac made her final trip to Peru to receive The Order of the Sun for her outstanding contribution to the arts, which is the highest honour a Peruvian can be awarded. Previous recipients were presidents and royalty. She even recreated the final reel of Secret Of The Incas by singing at the Temple of the Sun to a small, but very priveliged, audience of onlookers. It sickens me that I missed the living legend Yma Sumac actually displaying that amazing voice at the top of Machu Picchu. I later wrote to Madam Sumac and tried to explain the nature of her appeal to me, and how fascinating, exhilarating and utterly miraculous her voice is. To my great joy I received a reply and the wonderful lady even sent me some signed photos from Secret Of The Incas that I will treasure forever.
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http://www.secretoftheincas.co.uk/page14.html
CHARLTON HESTON
Supreme Cinematic Hero of All-Time
Charlton Heston and his wife Lydia Clarke were touring in the play “Love Letters” at selected British theatres in August 1997. Oxford, Norwich, Newcastle and my home town Lincoln were the lucky cities chosen to showcase this two-character play, which was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. All four venues sold out almost immediately, testament to the Star Quality of Charlton Heston. Even though I had previously met Heston in London in 1985, this was something very special, and I could hardly contain my excitement when the local newspaper, Lincolnshire Echo, proudly proclaimed on the front page “Behold, Moses cometh to the city”. After their performance at the Theatre Royal, the Heston’s received a four-minute standing ovation, but I don’t think the rapturous reception was for their “Love Letters” performance, excellent as it was. The cheering, stomping multitude were really giving thanks to Heston for all his magnificent performances as Moses, Ben-Hur and El Cid. Bouquets were presented to them, prompting Mr. Heston to step forward and give a speech, extolling the virtues of the good people of Lincoln and how impressed he was with the beauty and history of my home town. Another standing ovation, and then hundreds lined up to get their copies of “In the Arena” signed. When he had signed hundreds of those, everybody queued up to get their programmes autographed.
The next day, the Heston’s were taken on a tour of the historic sites of Lincoln in the Mayor’s limousine. At the Guildhall he was photographed with the Richard III sword, presented to the city in 1386. After receiving a civic gift from the Mayor, Heston explained to the council chamber that he had nothing to give in return, so he just stood up and performed Prospero’s farewell speech from Shakespeare’s “The Tempest”. After that he was driven up Lindum Hill so he could have a look at our splendid Cathedral, the third largest in England after York Minister and St. Paul’s. I met Mr. Heston outside the Cathedral just as he was getting out of the limo, and was pleasantly surprised when he told me he remembered me from the theatre the night before, when we had a chat about his movies. I walked around the Cathedral with the Heston’s and he was very interested to learn that Buffalo Bill, Henry VIII and Sir Thomas More had also visited Lincoln Cathedral. Chuck had portrayed those great historical figures. I had to marvel at the graciousness of Charlton Heston and the kindness he showed to complete strangers. Excited fans kept stopping him, asking for autographs and saying the same things he must have heard at least a million times before. I lost count of the number of times people said “Loved you as Moses and Ben-Hur,” etc. and Mr. Heston reacted as if it was the first time he had heard the compliment. “Great guy”, I thought to myself, and realised what a genuinely nice person he really was, treating everyone he met with respect. Before he left the Cathedral, he popped a huge wad of money into the Restoration Box, a very generous gesture from a noble man.
Since I started this site, the great Charlton Heston has sadly died, after a long and courageous struggle with Alzheimers. The “Hollywood colossus from a bygone age” (Guardian headline) received the unusual distinction of having his death recorded on the front of The Times with a photograph framed by a black border, in the manner of a Victorian mourning card. Charlton Heston was much more than a Hollywood Superstar, in the 1950’s he actively opposed Joe McCarthy; campaigned for John F. Kennedy and marched with Martin Luther King. On the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, Heston proclaimed King as a “20th century Moses”. He was honoured by five U.S. presidents for his notable achievements, and on the screen played 3 presidents, 3 saints and 2 geniuses. Charlton Heston was a great man who played great men, and I am proud to say that I once shook his hand. Rest in peace Old Warrior.
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http://www.secretoftheincas.co.uk/page8.html
Discuss
Discuss this movie and many others at IMDB.COM
Hear
Listen to the Lux Radio presentation of SECRET OF THE INCAS also available for download. Aired in December 1954 and starring Charlton Heston and Nicole Maurey
Watch
Ebay and Yammering Magpie are about the only source of DVD's until Paramount decide to release this officially.
Read
Read Fraser Heston’s moving eulogy to his Father here.
Dress
Dress like Harry Steele/Indiana Jones with one of the fantastic A2 Flying Jackets from the Wested Leather Co. and a Fedora from Bailey Briar. Complete the look with a silk aviator scarf. Chinos and white T's are available everywhere from Supermarkets to Department Stores, so If you want the Steele look, it wont be hard to put together. Just be prepared for everyone to mistake it for the "Indy" look.
Visit the Doctor
Dr. Macro is a fantastic resource for high quality scans of movie stars. Also some .wmv video files. The Heston gallery can be found here. Because of the high quality of these scans, they can take some time to load, frustratingly slow if you are on dial up.
Go to the Movies
Another worthwhile site documenting the diversity of Movie Theatre Architecture. Lists in excess of 20,000 Cinema's worldwide and has photos of approx 1600.
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