Charlton Heston dons a fedora as a shady character in this adventure that became one of the influences for Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Harry Steele (Heston) is a Jack-the-lad grifter working in Peru as an unofficial tour guide who hatches a plan to get out of the area when he meets a young Romanian, Elena (Nicole Maurey). Elena is being pursued by a pair of immigration officers, so Harry decides to steal their plane and head off to find a legendary Incan treasure.
While Heston sports the look of Indiana Jones, his morals are very different. Steele is in it for the money rather than archaeological reasons. His world-weary cynicism is the only thing that stops him from becoming a dislikeable character. Directed by Jerry Hopper (who would later helm episodes of TV series such as Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea), it’s a rollicking adventure and Heston is impressive as the roguish lead. Visually, it’s a Technicolour marvel, with the locations, in particular, looking spectacular. It’s remarkable how much George Lucas and Steven Spielberg lifted from Secret of the Incas for Raiders. Right down to the use of a beam of sunlight hitting an object the right way to reveal a location.
Imprint’s Blu-ray hasn’t had much of polish when it comes to the transfer, but it’s acceptable since no 4K transfer exists as yet. Extra features are not extravagant, but what there are is interesting. An archival recording of a radio adaptation of the story featuring both Heston and Maurey is well worth a listen.
