Secret of the Incas (1954) Charlton Heston, Never released on DVD or BRD? (1 Viewer)

[Bert Greene]

I usually felt that when it came to those early-50s Paramounts, the Nat Holt productions were a bit better than the Pine-Thomas ones. Yet I still like them both fairly equally, as they both share that cultural sweet-spot for period adventure which I like. That is, that little niche in time between the points where earlier fare might often be a bit too comically two-dimensional, and the later fare too burdened by the self-consciousness of dreary cynicism, characters carrying psychological demons, and Hefner-level leering. Anyway, I caught up with "Jamaica Run" (1953-Par) for the first time in decades, and while I still thoroughly enjoyed it, I admit I did find it a weaker film than I recalled. But it hasn't swayed me from wanting to revisit a lot of those titles, "Secret of the Incas" included.

One similar vintage Paramount item that I'd like to also see again is not an adventure, per se, but rather, "The Girls of Pleasure Island" (1953). I'm not even sure I saw the film in its entirety, many moons ago. I just seem to rememeber bits and pieces. But a few years back, when I saw Audrey Dalton at a film convention, she related the funny tale of contacting her relatives in England, shortly after she had moved to America to work in films, relating to them about a movie she was starting work on... "The Girls of Pleasure Island." To their shocked and horrified reaction... "The Girls of... WHAT kind of movies are you acting in over there?"

 

[Worth]

It's available legally in HD from iTunes, Amazon, Vudu.

Yup. I bought it for $5 on iTunes.

 

[Beckford]

that cultural sweet-spot for period adventure which I like. That is, that little niche in time between the points where earlier fare might often be a bit too comically two-dimensional, and the later fare too burdened by the self-consciousness of dreary cynicism, characters carrying psychological demons, and Hefner-level leering.

Very well put. You've captured the essence of what made the little adventure movie universe in full flourish from 1951 to 1954 so unique. Those years also coincide with the last palmy era of the movie musical when - along with their heavyweight attractions ("An American in Paris", "The Band Wagon" etc) MGM was tossing off baubles like "The Belle of New York" "Dangerous When Wet" "Give a Girl a Break" and "Everything I Have is Yours" on a regular basis. Augmented by sterling stuff from other studios such as Warner Bros.' "Calamity Jane" and undercelebrated or downright forgotten pleasures like "The Farmer Takes a Wife"(from Fox) and "Aaron Slick from Punkin Crick"(Paramount)

 

[Capt D McMars]

There's a very nice restored/remastered copy floating around BitTorrent sites. Not that I would participate in such an illegal activity...but my friend told me there's a nice copy available.

I wonder what the source materials were, not that I'd aquire such a version...asking for a friend!!

 

[Capt D McMars]

Yup. I bought it for $5 on iTunes.

an HD remastered edition? Or just a SD copy of the movie?

 

[Robert Crawford]

an HD remastered edition? Or just a SD copy of the movie?

My mini-review of the iTunes HD digital from last summer.

 

[Kent K H]

One similar vintage Paramount item that I'd like to also see again is not an adventure, per se, but rather, "The Girls of Pleasure Island" (1953). I'm not even sure I saw the film in its entirety, many moons ago. I just seem to rememeber bits and pieces. But a few years back, when I saw Audrey Dalton at a film convention, she related the funny tale of contacting her relatives in England, shortly after she had moved to America to work in films, relating to them about a movie she was starting work on... "The Girls of Pleasure Island." To their shocked and horrified reaction... "The Girls of... WHAT kind of movies are you acting in over there?"

Very nice! I have a framed original poster for Girls of Pleasure Island because I’m a fan of Pete Hawley’s art.

 

[J. Casey]

Version of SECRET OF THE INCAS on Amazon has poorly registered Technicolor elements.

 

[david hare]

That's probably where the iTunes HD Digital is derived from those same elements.

Robert, my biggest problem with the ViaVision BD of Naked Jungle is incorrectly open matte at 1.37 AR. This comes just after Incas in 1954 and as far as I can tell both movies were masked for 1.85. Incas DVD is 1.85, but the DVD and now the BD of Jungle is 1.37. obviously both DVD and BD from the same master

 

[Robert Crawford]

Robert, my biggest problem with the ViaVision BD of Naked Jungle is incorrectly open matte at 1.37 AR. This comes just after Incas in 1954 and as far as I can tell both movies were masked for 1.85. Incas DVD is 1.85, but the DVD and now the BD of Jungle is 1.37. obviously both DVD and BD from the same master

The Naked Jungle filming started in June, 1953 while Secret of the Incas started filming in mid-October, 1953. Perhaps, The Naked Jungle should have been in 1.85, but I thought the movie looked fine open matted in 1.37.

 

[Ed Lachmann]

Almost picked up the Spanish DVD of Secret of the Incas from Amazon.es but am wary that it probably has sub-standard PQ. Will, however, bite for Mitch Leisen's I Wanted Wings and a widescreen Serpent of the Nile with my beloved Rhonda Fleming and Raymond Burr as Antony. PQ be damned, I have to have those two!

 

[Robin9]

Almost picked up the Spanish DVD of Secret of the Incas from Amazon.es but am wary that it probably has sub-standard PQ. Will, however, bite for Mitch Leisen's I Wanted Wings and a widescreen Serpent of the Nile with my beloved Rhonda Fleming and Raymond Burr as Antony. PQ be damned, I have to have those two!

Yes, I'd love to have Serpent Of The Nile in my collection too.

 

[Beckford]

Yes, I'd love to have Serpent Of The Nile in my collection too.

Me too. But I'm still holding out hope that Mill Creek will decide to follow their excellent Noir Archive Boxes with Adventure and Western Boxes, culled from Columbia's 50's catalogue, rich in both these categories.
My personal candidates for the Adventure Boxes:

ADVENTURE ARCHIVE 1
ROGUES OF SHERWOOD FOREST(1950-Gordon Douglas) John Derek,Diana Lynn
TEN TALL MEN(1951-Willis Goldbeck) Burt Lancaster.Jody Lawrance,Gilbert Roland
CAPTAIN PIRATE(1952-Ralph Murphy) Louis Hayward,Patricia Medina
THE BRIGAND(1952-Phil Karlson) Anthony Dexter,Anthony Quinn,Jody Lawrance
SERPENT OF THE NILE(1953-William Castle) Rhonda Fleming,Wm. Lundigan,Raymond Burr
SLAVES OF BABYLON(1953-William Castle) Richard Conte,Linda Christian
THE BLACK KNIGHT(1954-Tay Garnett) Alan Ladd,Patricia Medina,Peter Cushing
CHARGE OF THE LANCERS(1954-William Castle) Paulette Goddard,Jean-Pierre Aumont
PIRATES OF TRIPOLI(1955-Felix E. Feist) Paul Henreid,Patricia Medina

ADVENTURE ARCHIVE 2
LAST OF THE BUCCANEERS(1950-Lew Landers)Paul Henreid,Karin Booth,Mary Anderson
LORNA DOONE(1951-Phil Karlson) Barbara Hale,Richard Greene
MASK OF THE AVENGER(1951-Phil Karlson) John Derek.Anthony Quinn,Jody Lawrance
THE GOLDEN HAWK(1952-Sidney Salkow) Rhonda Fleming,Sterling Hayden
PRINCE OF PIRATES(1953-Sidney Salkow) John Derek,Barbara Rush
HELL BELOW ZERO(1954-Mark Robson) Alan Ladd,Joan Tetzel,Stanley Baker
THE SARACEN BLADE(1954-William Castle) Ricardo Montalban,Betta St. John,Carolyn Jones
BEYOND MOMBASA(1956-George Marshall) Cornel Wilde,Donna Reed,Leo Genn
SAFARI(1956-Terence Young) Victor Mature,Janet Leigh

What a bumper crop of Blu-ray titles that would make!

 

[FWAJMB]

I wonder what the source materials were, not that I'd acquire such a version...asking for a friend!!

If I were your friend, I'd certainly not go to rarbg. Lots of suspect and highly illegal content

 

[RMajidi]

I know this title has been tossed about in threads occasionaly, but it sure sems strange that Paramonut hasn't even released it on DVD?? Who else would be up for a restoration of this Thechnicolor South American beauty? Secret of the Incas is a 1954 adventure film starring Charlton Heston as adventurer Harry Steele, on the trail of an ancient Incanartifact. 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 appearance by Peruvian singer Yma Sumac.

The film is often cited by film buffs as a direct inspiration for the Indiana Jones film franchise, with many of the scenes in Raiders of the Lost Ark bearing a striking resemblance in tone and structure to scenes in Secret of the Incas. Throughout Secret of the Incas, the main character, Harry Steele, can be seen wearing what would later become known as the "Indiana Jones" outfit: brown leather jacket, fedora, tan pants, an over-the-shoulder bag, and revolver.[14] 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."[15]

All of this and not even a DVD?? Shame on you Paramount!! Shame on you!!!

Happy to share that Secret of the Incas is among a slate of wonderful titles to be released on Blu ray on August 31 by Imprint.

I’ll leave it to others to publish the press releases for all the titles in the ViaVision Imprint thread, but I’d just like to add that the rich platter also includes The Desperate Hours.

 

[Thomas T]

Happy to share that Secret of the Incas is among a slate of wonderful titles to be released on Blu ray on August 31 by Imprint.

Well, hopefully Paramount will provide Via Vision with an anamorphic wide screen transfer rather than the full frame transfers they gave with Bridges At Toko Ri and The Naked Jungle.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Well, hopefully Paramount will provide Via Vision with an anamorphic wide screen transfer rather than the full frame transfers they gave with Bridges At Toko Ri and The Naked Jungle.

The specs stated 1.78 ratio.

Special Features and Technical Specs:

• 1080p High-definition presentation on Blu-Ray
• NEW Audio commentary by film historian Phillipa Berry
• NEW Interview with Chris Poggiali on the Influence of Raiders of The Lost Ark
• Lux Radio Theater version of Secret of the Incas with Charlton Heston and Nicole Maurey (1954)
• Aspect Ratio 1.78:1
• Audio English LPCM 2.0 Mono
• Optional English HOH subtitles
• Limited Edition slipcase on the first 1000 copies with unique artwork

 

[Rodney]

I've not seen this film, but it looks interesting enough for me to pre-order.

 

[RobertMG]

I've not seen this film, but it looks interesting enough for me to pre-order.

Via Vision Crushing it on Paramount WHY no company doing the same here?

 

[Robert Crawford]

Via Vision Crushing it on Paramount WHY no company doing the same here?

Didn’t Kino just signed another deal with Paramount?