Treasure of the Aztecs (1965)

Lex Barker stars as Dr. Karl Sternau, an American who’s spent lots of time in Mexico and sympathizes with Benito Juarez’s efforts to oust French rule in the country.

He asks Abraham Lincoln for help. But with the Civil War raging north of the border, Lincoln can offer little more than his personal encouragement and sends Sternau on a mission to personally deliver that message.

He searches first for Juarez, then for some way to help the Mexican revolutionary, perhaps by locating a fortune in Aztec gold hidden somewhere south of the border.

Helping him on his journey are cowboy Frank Wilson, a clockmaker named Hasenpfeffer and a sympathetic Mexican landowner, Count Don Fernando.

But they aren’t the only ones interested in finding the gold.

Disgraced revolutionary officer Capt. Lazoro Vedoja (Rik Battaglia) forms an allegiance with the local Indian tribe and sets out to stop Sternau.

And Count Alfonzo (Gerard Barray), plagued by gambling debts and disinherited by his father, plans a more devious means of finding the goal that includes seducing an Aztec priestess named Karja (Theresa Lorca).

He wins her heart and steals her secret. Finding and keeping the treasure will prove more difficult.

Review:

Robert Siodmak made a pair of films based on Karl May novels — Treasure of the Aztecs and Pyramid of the Sun God. They were filmed back-to-back, as a three-hour epic, and crammed into one film for U.S. release as Treasure of the Aztecs.

It all plays out like a comic book, with Rik Battaglia starring as the unbelievably evil, but bumbling villain; Barker as the always trustworthy and honest Dr. Sternau.

He always arrives in the nick of time to save the heroine (or heroines) in distress. Being distracted by them? Well, that’s a problem for weaker men than him.

In one particularly ridiculous scene, Sternau and his comrades stumble upon an Indian village. And warriors are engaged in some sort of very bizarre dance. Two women, including the priestess, are tied to a stake. The good guys rescue them, fighting off dozens of warriors with nary a scrape.

And check out that wild ending, complete with one character who seemingly rises from the dead!

Directed by:
Robert Siodmak

Cast:
Lex Barker … Dr. Karl Sternau
Gerard Barray … Count Alfonso di Rodriganda y Sevilla
Rik Battaglia … Capt. Larzoro Verdoja
Michele Girardon … Josefa
Alessandra Panaro … Rosita Arbellez
Theresa Lorca … Karja
Ralf Wolter … Andreas Hasenpfeffer
Fausto Tozzi … Benito Juarez
Hans Nielsen … Don Pedro Arbellez
Gustavo Rojo … Lt. Potoca
Kelo Henderson … Frank Wilson
Jean-Roger Cuassimon … Marshal Bazaine
Friedrich von Ledebur … Count Don Fernando di Rodriganda y Sevilla
Jeff Corey … Abraham Lincoln
Djordje Nenadovic … Count Embarez
Millvoje Popovic-Mavid … Black Hirsch

Runtime: 105 min.

aka:
Der Schatz der Azteken
Mercenaries of the Rio Grande

Music: Erwin Halletz

Memorable lines:

Blonde, when the stage is stopped by men wearing sombreros: “Are they Indians?”
Dr. Sternau: “Not exactly.”
Blonde’s mother: “Well, I’m sure they aren’t French.”
Clock salesman: “No, they’re bandits.”
“No, we’re soldiers of Benito Juarez, not bandits.”

Benito Juarez: “We’re fighting for a just cause, and God is certainly on our side. But even God needs money. No archbishop would contradict me.”
Dr. Sternau: “Somebody told me the Aztecs have hidden a huge gold reserve.”

Alfonzo: “I’m afraid of the Aztec gold. It stands between us, Karja.”
Karja: “Oh, but it’s yours now. This secret has been too heavy a burden. I want to give it to you now.”
Alfonzo, smirking: “If you insist.”
Karja spills the secret. Alfonzo shoves her off a cliff.

Frank Wilson, about to be sacrificed on an Azter altar: “You’re a dirty snake, and that’s all you are, Verdoja.”
Hasenpfeffer: “A dirty rattlesnake that I’d like to crush under my foot!”

Hesenpfeffer, held captive and picking up a skull in the Aztec temple: “To be or not to be? That’s what I’m afraid of.”

Verdoja to Rosita: “I must blindfold these beautiful eyes that might see too much.”

Trivia:

Michele Girardon, a villainous here, had a prominent role in the 1962 John Wayne film “Hitari!” She committed suicide in 1975 at age 36.

Robert Siodmak’s next film was even more Western — 1967’s “Custer of the West,” starring Robert Shaw.

Former Hollywood actor Jeff Cory has a bit part as Abraham Lincoln. Corey, a U.S. Navy veteran from World War II, was black-listed during the Communist witch hunt of the 1950s. So he started teaching acting, with a list of pupils ranging from Jack Nicholson to Cher.

Both of the German films were made after the landmark success of the first Winnetou film. Horst Wendlandt and the Rialto Film Co. bought the film rights to all of Karl May’s Winnetou stories. Rival Artur Brauner of CCC Film Co. quickly did the same for the Karl May stories set in Mexico and the orient.

Djordje Nenadovic as Count Ambarez, who expects the money he’s owed or a duel to settle matters in Treasure of the Aztecs (1965)

Kelo Henderson as Frank Wilson, ready to spring into action as Rosita Arbellez (Alessandra Panaro) looks on in Treasure of the Aztecs (1965)

Gustavo Rojo as Lt. Potoca, wondering what’s on the mind of Karja (Theresa Lorca) in Treasure of the Aztecs (1965)

Lex Barker as Dr. Karl Sternau, helping the revolution with the help of good friend Don Pedro Arbellez (Hans Nielsen) in Treasure of the Aztecs (1965)

Lex Barker as Dr. Karl Sternau shows up to rescue Andreas Hasenpfeffer (Ralf Wolter) from the Pyramid of the Sun God in Treasure of the Aztecs (1965)

Rik Battaglia as Capt. Larzaoro Verdoja, spying on the lovely Rosita Arbellez in Treasure of the Aztecs (1965)

Ralf Wolter as Andreas Hasenpfeffer, the clock-maker on hand for comic relief in Treasure of the Aztecs (1965)