Secret of the Incas Secret of the Incas Secret of the Incas is a 1954 adventure film 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 appearance by Peruvian singer Yma Sumac. American adventurer Harry Steele (Charlton Heston) earns a living as a tourist guide in Cusco, Peru but plans to make his fortune by finding the Sunburst, an
Secret of the Incas 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. 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