Directed by:
Jerry HopperCinematography:
Lionel LindonComposer:
David ButtolphCast:
Charlton Heston, Robert Young, Nicole Maurey, Thomas Mitchell, Glenda Farrell, Michael Pate, Leon Askin, William Henry, Edward Colmans, Marion Ross, Alvy Moore (more)VOD (1)
Plots(1)
SECRET OF THE INCAS looks terrific with sweeping vistas and wide expanses of Peru's Machu Picchu region. Who better to carry off the familiar role of the avaricious swindler destined to come around and prove hes not such a bad guy after all than Heston? Heston has been stone faced before, but this time hes positively granitelike. In Cuzco, he bilks tourists to come up with the funds to secure an airplane so he can fly up to the Andes. There he believes hell find the fabled treasure of the Incas, a jewel-laden ritual mask known as the "Sunburst." At the same time, a man of equally dubious morals, Mitchell, is also after the same relic. Farrell is a tourist, and Heston gets her to help him nab the plane. Several groups descend on Machu Picchu at the same time. Young is after the mask for quite another reason: he hopes that its discovery might help the local natives get their heritage back. At the site, the various groups get into a fracas. To add to the complications, Maurey, a knockout who happens to be along on the trip, falls for Heston. In the end, Heston gives the Sunburst to the natives, confesses his love for Maurey, and the two leave to spend their lives together. He wants the mask, engages in all sorts of derring-do to get it, then throws it aside for the love of a good woman. Sumac (who everyone at the time thought was a real South American, but who was actually one Amy Camus, a native of New York) has a remarkable five-octave singing voice and does three tunes by Moises Vivanco, "High Andes," "Virgin of the Sun God," and "Earthquake." (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Cast
Charlton Heston
USA
Best movies:
Ben-Hur (1959)
The Big Country (1958)
The Agony and the Ecstasy (1965)
Robert Young
USA
Best movies:
The Mortal Storm (1940)
Three Comrades (1938)
They Won't Believe Me (1947)
Nicole Maurey
France
Best movies:
Royal Affairs in Versailles (1954)
Diary of a Country Priest (1951)
The Jayhawkers (1959)
Thomas Mitchell
USA
Best movies:
It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
Gone with the Wind (1939)
Glenda Farrell
USA
Best movies:
I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932)
The Talk of the Town (1942)
Johnny Eager (1941)
Michael Pate
Australia
Best movies:
The Camel Boy (1984)
Julius Caesar (1953)
The Court Jester (1955)
Leon Askin
Austria-Hungary
Best movies:
One, Two, Three (1961)
Airplane II: The Sequel (1982)
Knock on Wood (1954)
William Henry
USA
Best movies:
El Dorado (1966)
The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell (1955)
Showdown (1963)
Edward Colmans
UK
Best movies:
Columbo (1971) (series)
Viva Zapata! (1952)
The Gun Runners (1958)
Marion Ross
USA
Best movies:
Teacher's Pet (1958)
Lust for Life (1956)
Sabrina (1954)
Alvy Moore
USA
Best movies:
Here Come the Littles (1985)
How the West Was Won (1976) (series)
Riot in Cell Block 11 (1954)
Booth Colman
USA
Best movies:
The Name of the Game (1968) (series)
The Lawyer (1970)
The Man Who Wasn't There (2001)
Grandon Rhodes
USA
Best movies:
Song of Love (1947)
White Heat (1949)
Storm Warning (1951)
Martin Garralaga
Spain
Best movies:
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
Casablanca (1942)
Juarez (1939)
Robert Tafur
Colombia
Best movies:
Gilda (1946)
Mighty Joe Young (1949)
Going My Way (1944)
Kurt Katch
Russian Empire
Best movies:
Song of Love (1947)
Edge of Darkness (1943)
The Young Lions (1958)
Harry Stanton
USA
Best movies:
Hello, Dolly! (1969)
Funny Girl (1968)
Father of the Bride (1950)
Fritz Ford
USA
Best movies:
Sabrina (1954)
Escape from Alcatraz (1979)
The Big Heat (1953)