George McHale

Insomniac

New member
This thread is a long awaited and well needed discussion about the creative process behind Mac and the elaborate background of Gorege McHale and I also hope we can discuss our feelings about this character's originality or maybe personality!


Or anything else that may come up!
:hat:
 

James

Well-known member
Stoo said:
For starters, I've mentioned before that in the credits of "Crystal Skull" he is named "Michale"!:confused:

Clearly, this is just one more reminder that Mac is constantly leading a double life, and is not to be trusted. ;)
 

Stoo

Well-known member
James said:
Clearly, this is just one more reminder that Mac is constantly leading a double life, and is not to be trusted. ;)
Ha! Good one, James!:D Here's an excerpt from the "Lost Journal":

June 6, 1944 (which was D-Day/Invasion of Normandy)

Dear Penelope,

If you get this, it means you have met my mate Indiana Jones, who has come to tell you the bad news about me--if the War dept. hasn't already. When you see Indy--first, don't even think about it. He's not your type! (And a little loyalty for a while would be appreciated, by the way! I like to fancy I'll be mourned for a respectable period.) Second, know that I died doing the right thing, and that I was thinking of you always. Third, after a reasonable time, though I'm clearly irreplaceable, you should try to find someone else and be happy. But not Indiana!

Yours,
Mac
 

James

Well-known member
Steve Perry references that letter in IJ and the Army of the Dead, and I knew I had read it somewhere. :hat:
 

Team Indy

New member
Dear Penelope,

If you get this, it means you have met my mate Indiana Jones, who has come to tell you the bad news about me--if the War dept. hasn't already. When you see Indy--first, don't even think about it. He's not your type! (And a little loyalty for a while would be appreciated, by the way! I like to fancy I'll be mourned for a respectable period.) Second, know that I died doing the right thing, and that I was thinking of you always. Third, after a reasonable time, though I'm clearly irreplaceable, you should try to find someone else and be happy. But not Indiana!

Yours,
Mac

Rather ironic, considering that in the Crystal Skull novelization, he was shown flirting with Marion. Granted, he likely didn't know that Marion was Indy's girlfriend, but it's still ironic.
 

James

Well-known member
Team Indy said:
Rather ironic, considering that in the Crystal Skull novelization, he was shown flirting with Marion. Granted, he likely didn't know that Marion was Indy's girlfriend, but it's still ironic.

Even if he knew she was Indy's girl, it still works pretty well. Mac is character that essentially pawned his moral compass long ago. :D
 

Team Indy

New member
James said:
Even if he knew she was Indy's girl, it still works pretty well. Mac is character that essentially pawned his moral compass long ago. :D

Well, that's just common knowledge. All he cares about is money, and nothing else. He reminds me of Willie Scott in this aspect.

Hey, what if Willie Scott and Mac got together? They'd be the perfect couple.
 

Jack Nelligan

New member
Team Indy said:
Well, that's just common knowledge. All he cares about is money, and nothing else. He reminds me of Willie Scott in this aspect.

Hey, what if Willie Scott and Mac got together? They'd be the perfect couple.


I think Willie ended up a washed up Vegas performer being taken care of in her old age by Short Round who she took back to the states and raised. Now he owns a casino! :D
 

Stoo

Well-known member
Team Indy said:
Rather ironic, considering that in the Crystal Skull novelization, he was shown flirting with Marion. Granted, he likely didn't know that Marion was Indy's girlfriend, but it's still ironic.
Not ironic at all. Penelope was Mac's old girlfriend from 13 years before the events of "Skull". If he was flirting with Marion, then Penelope was probably long gone...:p
 

Insomniac

New member
One thing I've wanted to clear up is how much does "MicHale" reflect other main character!


Elsa:30%
Sallah:25%
Belloq:25%
Remy:25%
Willie:20%
Marcus:15%
__________
145%

Or something like that!

If the percentage is greater than 100 does it make him origonal or a rip off?
 

Cole

New member
Ah, good ole Mac..........I love how some pretentious fans suddenly become expert filmmakers and complain about Mac's "underdeveloped" character.

Mac is a fairly cliched character in the sense that he embodies a running theme in the Indy franchise........Indy being betrayed by friends and the aspect of greed vs. respect in archeology.......greed always being the undoing.

So the post about Mac reflecting the other characters......I definitely see that.

Still, as a pretty minor character, I enjoyed Winstone's performance. It was another smart casting decision......Winstone just has that "look" for the character. Villainous, greedy, self-interested.......but not completely hateful.

The way in which Mac "switches sides" is fairly unique to his character........I guess it's reflective of the McCarthy/Cold War era - double agents, not knowing who to trust - "you have reasons to question your friends these days."

I admit the revelation of Mac being a "triple agent" wasn't completely shocking (was it supposed to be?)........but I don't think that immediately means it's poorly written. Some people just being overcritical methinks.
 

Dayne

New member
I like his character, but as I was watching the movie the other day, something came to mind. During the warehouse 51 scene where Mac exposes his betrayal to Indy, I thought "it would be cool if he was faking it." Think about it, he could have been just playing along with the Russians to get a different vantage point, yet still be on Indy's side without his knowing. That way it would trick the audience (along with Indy) into thinking that Mac is actually a traitor, but then find out near the end of the warehouse chase that he was just waiting for the opportune moment to strike back agianst the Russians. Like maybe when the rocket sled launched, only a few of the commies in the group get roasted, then MacHale, seeing his opportunity shoots the others in the back before making his own escape. Indy would subsequently do his thing in Doomtown and then (much to his surprise) meet up with Mac at the airbase who, we find out was picked up by the military.

There's a little revisionist thinking for you and I don't know if it's worthy enough to mention or not, but I guess it just comes from my desire to see Mac as an ally/sidekick as well. I actually kinda hope he returns in the next one just because I think there's more stuff they could do with his character, but something tells me that's pretty unlikely... :(
 

James

Well-known member
Dayne said:
I thought "it would be cool if he was faking it." Think about it, he could have been just playing along with the Russians to get a different vantage point, yet still be on Indy's side without his knowing.

This is actually how Winstone played the role. During an interview, he offered the following interpretation of the character:

"When he's with the Russians, he thinks he's working for the good guys. And when he's with the good guys, he thinks he's working for the Russians. He's been a double agent so long, he's no longer sure which side he's really on...but he knows Indy's his mate."

This is similar to how David Koepp described the role, since the idea was to have a character that had lost his own identity to the Cold War.
 

Col. Detritch

New member
I thought Mac was an excellently character and embodied the Cold War to a tee! But it is true, the traitor thing has been done, it?s one of the concepts for Indy. But the playing both sides part was original and wonderfully put to use. That's what he did; he would join the side that was winning like a true and proper mercenary fashion!

His death was IMO, a step up in greed from Elsa's death and I enjoyed it. I was however sad to see such a fantastic character killed; thats why I think its great he's back in AotD (Army of the Dead):hat:
 

avidfilmbuff

New member
To me, Mac is a symbol of all the fears that existed during the Cold War. A fear that even your closest friends or neighbors were on the side of the Soviets.
 
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