Charlton Heston: The First Indiana Jones?

Charlton Heston: The First Indiana Jones?

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Noted in Dave Kehr's blog: commenting on the death of the great Heston, the long-memoried expert on pre Star Wars film writes "one of Heston's most influential roles remains one of his least known: that of Harry Steele. Dashing though cynical adventurer who wears a fedora and a leather jacket, as he searches for Incan treasure in a manner that distinctly suggests a certain later day hero created by Steven Spielberg and George Lucas. The film is Jerry Hopper's 1954 Secret of the Incas and Paramount has been strangely reluctant to release it to TV or DVD ... reportedly, Spielberg and Lucas screened it for members of the production team planning Raiders of the Lost Ark."

One Raiders of the Lost Ark fansite, theraider.net. has already commented: "the atmosphere of the story is so similar that any Indiana Jones fan will be smitten with this film."
Why doesn't Paramount fess up and re-release this? It'd be worth $20 to see Heston as Steele, searching for a jeweled relic in the Inca Temple of the Sun among real life locations in Machu Picchu (as visible above, but here's a better look at the poster). He's up against a first-rate villain (Thomas Mitchell, of Gone With the Wind, Stagecoach, and many other classics). And then there's the matter of the film's discovery, the debuting "bird girl of the Andes" Yma Sumac. Seen here at YouTube demonstrating her world-famous 5 octave pipes in one of her numbers from the film. Don't believe the horrible lie that Yma Sumac is really Amy Camus from Brooklyn!

http://www.cinematical.com/2008/04/08/charlton-heston-the-first-indiana-jones/

Heston were similar attire as seen in THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH, which strangely in INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE, they have Indy in a circus train, heh.

Yes, I rememeber watching that Heston movie as a kid and at first thingking it was an Indiana Jones knock-off or something

To be hoenst, I didnt care much for Connery being Ford's dad. Heston I thought wouldve made a better choice(it just fit also Ford came across as a modern day Heston type), even as a kid I thought so.

But I assume Connery was chosen because he was more popular(larger box office draw) and Speilberg's wetdream of directing a James Bond.

Wiki also has a piece on the subject which I noticed, seems the production as well as Lucas and Spielberg hushed it up:

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Influence on Raiders of the Lost Ark
Charlton Heston and Nicole Maurey

The 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 bear 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 referred to the film as "almost a shot for shot Raiders of the Lost Ark."[3]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secret_of_the_Incas

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and I always thought it strange that the filmmakers did not credit it later as the inspiration for the series" and referred to the film as "almost a shot for shot Raiders of the Lost Ark."

I don't find it strange at all. Why should these gigantic sick egos admit they aren't gods who create things from nothing?

You are probably right, Jones had more in common with Heston's characters than with James Bond. But I suppose they wanted to give Jones a sort of "arysthocratic" background and invented an academic father who was almost an English Lord. I liked the Connery character a lot, indeed.

The Jones in the Obi-Wan Club in the prologue of "Temple of Doom" and Jones in Venecia in "Last Crusade" was the closer thing to James Bond, with elegance, sofistication, conspiracy and romance. Then he puts the leatherjacket on and turns into a Charlton Heston type, dirty adventurer who drinks, has bar-fights and uses any kind of gun he can find against his enemies without remorse.

Spielberg, as we all know, turned into a so ridiculously moralist ala Hollywood-style that he opted for becoming an anti-gun filmaker. Wich is absolutely ridiculous, you can be as pacifist as you want in your personal life but man, making "pacifist action-movies" is just SILLY! From about two decades to today, in his movies never a gun is properly used: that means they can be fired but they will never hit anything There are other stupid rules on his cinema that I was enjoying reading yesterday on a quite funny "Jurassic Park II" review. There the characters are all moralistically superior to the "bad guys", because heroes are super cool pacifists pro-nature and "bad guys" are capitalists. Therefore, heroes have the right to sabotage the villains' order, even if that cause accidents and deaths. It doesn't matter, because since the heroes are the heroes, they aren't responsible of any death caused by their good-hearted inspired actions. Capitalists on the other hand deserve to die.

It's so amazingly idiot that these Hollywood filmakers turn being anti-capitalists into a mode, when they are the biggest monsters in the world: George Lucas for example has money enough in one of his saturday pants to erradicate the hunger in the whole Third World. He won more money in the first weeks of the release of "The Phantom Menace" ONLY in the box office (wich was 100% totally for him, 0% for the cinemas, and this is a true fact!!!!!!!) than what other filmakers win in his whole career. And then they came with heroes who only care about loving the Earth and combate this so evil capitalist world... LOL

So Indy was slowly turning more and more like this. Remember the "Young Indiana Jones Chronicles", where he already was a pacifist and NEVER used a gun, not even was involved in a fight? (One wondered how the hell this cute nerd would become into the total bad-ass killing-machine he will be on his 30's, lol). Sooner or later that disgusting fake morality had to arrive to the movies, and this is why the "Crystal Skull" is so soft. Honestly I don't remember it too much right now, since I watched on cinema and then I never re-watched it because I don't want to puke again. But I am sure Indy wasn't using his 45 caliber too much, or if he did, he missed all of the shots I remember at one point he grabs a bazooka and that was something like HEY!! HEY OH YES!!! because one feels Spielberg is going to ignore his own rules and let Indy blow some villains into pieces... but I really don't remember if he finally uses it or not. I just can remember frustration as a viewer. Man, they even invented a retarded fencing fight in order to have some action without needing to fire any gun... ....

Speilberg and Lucas are obviously Leftists.

Ever notice how Speilberg also has some English character in all the Indiana movies; Raiders of the Lost Ark you had Marcus Brody and Sallah(the guy sings a pro-British Empire song in a then British occupied Egypt in the real 1930's ok,lol). In Temple of Doom you had: Captain Blumburtt and Weber(Dan Aykroyd cameo). In the Last Crusade( Henry Jones, Marcus Brody and Sallah. In the Crystal Skull 'Mac' Michale, Professor Oxley and Dean Charles Stanforth.

Connery was likable and good in the role, I agree of course. But Connery is usually always likable no matter what shit part he's in even his worst movies. But to me it still felt off. But his part was a more dandy/posh version of 007 days. It is very hard to truly see James Bond in the Henry Jones Sr part. It may be closer to his role in The Name of the Rose than anything else he did that I can recall off hand.

Kingdom of Chrystelmeth Skull was a lousy movie, even Ford didnt care for it, but he shouldve spoken up and not always rely on Lucas and Speilberg--but they own the damn franchise.

*Young Indiana I never watched aside from one episode when it first came on TV, that series blew balls.