Adventures , fencing , romance , battles and action ; being shot on location in Panama . Film inspired on the life of Vasco Núñez De Balboa (Frank Latimore) , though it has actual and fictitious elements . Vasco traveled to the New World in 1500 and along with his followers (Jorge Martin , José Canalejas , Frank Braña , Alfonso De La Vega , and Jesús Puente as Francisco Pizarro) , after some exploration , settled on the island of Hispaniola . He founded the settlement of Santa María La Antigua Del Darién in present-day Panama in 1510 , which was the first permanent European settlement on the mainland of the Americas , though a settlement by Alonso De Ojeda the previous year had already been abandoned . Meanwhile, Vasco falls in love for a beautiful native called Anayensi (Pilar Cansino) . With the title of governor came absolute authority in Santa María and all of Veragua . One of Balboa's first acts as governor was the trial of Fernández De Enciso (Carlos Casaravilla) , accused of usurping the governor's authority . De Enciso was sentenced to prison and his possessions were confiscated . However , he was to remain imprisoned only for a short time : Balboa set him free under the condition that he return immediately to Hispaniola and from there to Spain . With him on the same ship were two representatives from Balboa , who were to inform the colonial authority of the situation : Diego Colón , Christopher's son (Pastor Serrador) and request more men and supplies to continue the conquest of Veragua . Balboa continued defeating various tribes and befriending others, exploring rivers, mountains, and sickly swamps , while always searching for gold and slaves and enlarging his territory . He was also able to quell revolts among those of his men who challenged this authority, and, through forcé , diplomacy , and negotiation, he earned a certain respect and fear among the natives . At the end of 1512 and the first months of 1513 , he arrived in a region dominated by the Cacique Careta (Tito Garcia) , whom he easily defeated and then befriended . Careta was baptized and became one of Balboa's chief allies .
Entertaining adventure movie , plenty of action , thrills , colorful cinematography ; all meld together under Jose Maria Elorrieta's so-so direction . Ordinary filmmaking , mediocre budget and regular acting win out , but it results in an average adventure flick . It contains some spectacular battles with several expert stunts and little credible Indians . Evocative cinematography in Eastmancolor by Alfonso Nieva , shot in Ballesteros , CEA studios and Panama ; in fact producers thanksgivings to Panamá ambassador and Doctor Reverte . Atmospheric score , including a catching leitmotif by Contreras. The motion picture was middlingly directed by Jose Maria Elorrieta , a craftsman who had already filmed other adventures . He was a writer and director, known for Rosa De Lima (1961), Muchachas En Vacaciones (1958) , The Hawk of Castile (67) and many other films until his early death at 53. As Elorrieta had prolific career , working from the 40s to 70s he directed all kind of genres such as Terror : ¨Escalofrío Diabólico¨, ¨La LLamada Del Vampiro¨, ¨El Espectro del Terror¨, ¨Las Amantes Del Diablo¨; Western : ¨Los Siete De Pancho Villa¨, Fuerte Perdido¨ with German Cobos , and adventures as ¨La Muchacha Del Nilo¨, El Tesoro De Makuba¨, ¨La Esclava Del Paraíso¨ and ¨Hawk of Castile¨.
The picture is based upon historical events : Vasco Nuñez attempted to arrive in Catay , Cipango and Molucas islands ; he , then , crossed the Isthmus of Panama to the Pacific Ocean in 1513, becoming the first European to lead an expedition to have seen or reached the Pacific from the New World . Balboa received the unexpected news of a new kingdom – rich in gold – with great interest . He returned to Santa María at the beginning of 1513 to recruit more men from Hispaniola. Using information given by various friendly Caciques , Balboa started his journey across the Isthmus of Panama on September 1, 1513, together with 190 Spaniards , a few native guides, and a pack of dogs. Using a small brigantine and ten native canoes , they sailed along the coast and made landfall in Cacique Careta's territory . The expedition now reinforced with 1,000 of Careta's men entered Cacique Ponca's land . Ponca had reorganized and attacked, but he was defeated and forced to ally himself with Balboa . After a few days, and with several of Ponca's men, the expedition entered the dense jungle on September 20, and, with some difficulty , arrived four days later in the lands of cacique Torecha, who ruled in the village of Cuarecuá . In this village, a fierce battle took place, during which Torecha was defeated and killed in battle. His followers decided to join the expedition . However, the group was by then exhausted and several men were badly wounded , so many decided to stay in Cuarecuá to regain their strength . The few men who continued the journey with Balboa entered the mountain range along the Chucunaque River the next day . According to information from the natives , one could see the South Sea from the summit of this range . Balboa went ahead and, before noon that day , September 25, he reached the summit and saw, far away in the horizon , the waters of the undiscovered sea . The emotions were such that the others eagerly joined in to show their joy at Balboa's "discovery". Andrés De Vera, the expedition's chaplain , intoned the Te Deum , while the men erected stone pyramids, and engraved crosses on the barks of trees with their swords, to mark the place where the "discovery" of the South Sea was made .
