Daredevils of the Desert

Remy

New member
I'm not sure if the original 1993 hour-long episode meant for ABC (but not shown) was seen by anyone or not, but since I know another hour of footage was filmed and added years later for the VHS release, I was just wondering if anyone knows what the episode consisted of originally and which sequences were filmed years later and added on?
 

Stoo

Well-known member
"Daredevils" is actually a mixture of both newly-filmed scenes and extended scenes of previously shot footage.
The additions are pretty extensive so I still haven't finished going over them all. Will let you know when I'm done.:)
 

Remy

New member
Thanks, Stoo! Looking forward to your findings.
What amazes me is that neither the original shorter Daredevils of the Desert nor the Dracula half of Masks of Evil aired on ABC in '93. They seem to have been two of the more commercial episodes that might have potentially increased the show's audience. But I guess by that point, it may not have made a difference. Bless George Lucas for believing in his show and making all the footage eventually available (minus the original bookends of course, etc...)
 

Stoo

Well-known member
Avilos said:
Nice to see a fellow Wisconsinite Remy! I live near Plymouth.
"Wisconsinite"? Aren't you guys known as Cheeseheads!:p
Anyway, I'd love to know what you Wisconsinites think of "Happy Days".

As for "Daredevils", I can tell you, right of the bat, that the bridge scene is new and the night trek
to the desert ruins with T.E. is not in the original. Several scenes with the Light Horse were extended
(the mess hall, the horse race, the Houdini scene, the desert march, prep for battle). The opening attack
at Gaza is longer but the sad part is...some shots were REMOVED!(n)

Anyway, there are so many extra parts in this episode that it deserves 1st prize for:
Most Extensive Re-Edit In The Series.
 

Remy

New member
Hello, Avilos! I live in Racine.

Happy Days? Well, Racine is very close to Milwaukee. But I've never seen Arnolds in Milwaukee. I am Fonzie, however.

Some shots were removed from Daredevils? Bizarre.

I love how the fight with Daniel Craig goes on forever to fill time.
 

Avilos

Active member
I happen to love Happy Days. I'm a huge fan of 1950s pop culture. Back to the Future is my favorite movie. I grew up in a suburb of Milwaukee. My Dad actually was a teenager in Milwaukee during the 50s! So that show always had a special affection from me.

In August Milwaukee is FINALLY putting up a statue of the FONZ! Most of the cast is going to be there. I am hoping to go to that.

There was no real Arnold's. But my Dad says that there was only one Drive-In at the time that also had indoor seating, like Arnold's did. In the 50s it was called the Milky Way. Now its called Kopp's Frozen Custard. I have been there many times.
 

Remy

New member
Oh, my wife and I have been to Kopps more than once. They have huge hamburgers!
I also enjoyed Happy Days (before Fonzie became a schoolteacher). The episodes from the Ralph Malph years were fantastic.

Sorry we're so far away from Minnesota. We still like Minnesotites.

I'll have to ask my dad about the Milky Way Drive-In.
Didn't know Kopps had such an interesting history. Cool.
 

Stoo

Well-known member
Avilos said:
I am willing to relocate for Miss Right. ;)
She's married!;)

Thanks a lot for the "Happy Days" thoughts & info guys. Cool news about The Fonz statue and Kopps/MikyWay!
What about the Shotz brewery location? The early seasons are the best but I watched it until the very end.
Waaaay past when Fonzie jumped the fridge...uh, I mean, shark!:cool:

Here's a Ralph Malph joke for you: "How do you make an egg fu yung?"

Anyway, how about those Daredevils? I seem to remember someone posting that in one of the new parts
(desert bandits sequence, perhaps?) the actress isn't even Catherine Zeta-Jones hidden behind the veil!!!
Must take a closer look but I recall the costume looked a bit different somewhere.
 

Avilos

Active member
I always figured that Shotz was inspired by Schlitz Brewing Company which used to be located in Milwaukee. I agree the early episodes of Happy Days were the best.

Married? SIGH! ;)
 

tupogirl

New member
Avilos said:
I always figured that Shotz was inspired by Schlitz Brewing Company which used to be located in Milwaukee. I agree the early episodes of Happy Days were the best.

Married? SIGH! ;)


Sorry, man! LOL!

But at least the Wisconsites are near a great old show, like I am. We have Mary Tyler Moore. They put a statue of her in downtown Minneapolis a few years back:).
 

davros72

New member
Avilos said:
Nice to see a fellow Wisconsinite Remy! I live near Plymouth.
Plymouth? Manitowoc here!

Love Kopp's Custard! It's partly the model for Arnold's but not completely, apparently...

http://www.onmilwaukee.com/buzz/articles/urbanlegends2.html

Not sure how I feel about the Fonz statue, though.

But back to Daredevils, it was nice to have a "full" length episode that didn't feel like two hour-longs smashed together with linking material. Plus we got to see Colin Baker, the Sixth Doctor from "Doctor Who", and Daniel Craig, the latest James Bond, in the same production. Granted, not on screen together, but still, not bad.
 

Raiders90

Well-known member
What happened to Maya?

In Daredevils of the Desert, Indy is shown to have shot Maya in the right shoulder and then she's shown riding off--we don't see her again. What do you think happened to her? Do you think she died of her gun shot wound? Was captured by the British and Australians? If we she was captured she'd likely face firing squad for being a double agent. Survived and escaped?
 

Stoo

Well-known member
"Tales of Innocence" Morocco Footage Mixed In

Raiders112390 said:
What happened to Maya?
She probably got away to 'die another day'.

As some people might know, the director Simon Wincer, used footage from his own film, "The Lighthorsemen (1987)", for this episode. I've also mentioned in other threads that "Daredevils" includes a few shots from "Lion of the Desert" (with an Italian army & vehicles!) as part of the extended VHS/DVD version of the opening assault on Gaza.

What I didn't notice until recently was that one of the new shots uses footage which was filmed for the Morocco portion of "Tales of Innocence". Watch at 3:36 on the DVD. There is a bit with a soldier waving signal flags and behind him are men on horseback. This is a composite shot and the top portion of the frame is Indy & his French Foreign Legion detachment in Morocco!

So, according to "Daredevils", not only were the British, Australians & New Zealanders present at the 1917 battle of Gaza but the Italians & the French Foreign Legion, too!:eek::p
 

Stoo

Well-known member
Trivia nugget: When Schiller (Daniel Craig) enters the detonation room and shouts, "Blow the wells!", a Turk replies, "But our men may not be clear yet."

Apparently, the voice of the Turkish soldier is our very own, lairdo! (Young Indy Assisant Sound Editor, Laird Malamed.)(y)
 

phantom train

New member
Remy said:
Thanks, Stoo! Looking forward to your findings.
What amazes me is that neither the original shorter Daredevils of the Desert nor the Dracula half of Masks of Evil aired on ABC in '93. They seem to have been two of the more commercial episodes that might have potentially increased the show's audience. But I guess by that point, it may not have made a difference. Bless George Lucas for believing in his show and making all the footage eventually available (minus the original bookends of course, etc...)

Yes, it's too bad that the DOTD & the Dracula half of "Masks of Evil" never aired on U.S. TV; It would've been great to have seen these at the time the show was originally on, but with the numerous cancellations I can see why they never aired. I also believe the Dracula section of "Masks of Evil" may have been too violent for a U.S. network TV show in the early '90's; (that being said, it probably wasn't any more violent/disturbing than some of the early '90's "X-files" episodes).

I wasn't even aware of the existence of either of these episodes until I discovered the Internet in the mid-'90's and learned that these (as well as the Kafka episode, etc.) had only aired in Europe/overseas, not the U.S. And, I never saw these episodes/tele-films until the DVD releases of the show in 2007/2008.
 
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Stoo

Well-known member
phantom train said:
I wasn't even aware of the existence of either of these episodes until I discovered the Internet in the mid-'90's and learned that these (as well as the Kafka episode, etc.) had only aired in Europe/overseas, not the U.S.
Exactly the same case with me. In '96 I was browsing the internet and found out about the extra episodes and immediately set about trying to track people down to the trade with. Within a month I had them all but some were in German. The 1st time I saw Palestine/Daredevils in English was when the VHS tapes were released in 1999.
Me said:
"Daredevils" is actually a mixture of both newly-filmed scenes and extended scenes of previously shot footage.
Turns out I was wrong about newly-filmed scenes. According to Laird, both the short & long versions were edited at the same time. It was Ben Burtt (who was editor) who noticed that there was enough footage to make a 1.5 movie so it was one of the first (if not *the* first) episodes to be extended.

I should have asked Laird why the short version contains a couple of scenes that aren't in the long one.
 
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