EDIT: Mods, I accidentally posted this in the Indy Trilogy forum. Is it possible you could move it to General Indy Discussion? Thanks a lot!
I remember reading in Lawrence Kasdan's Raiders of the Lost Ark revised third-draft script this particular passage:
Indy's line "I've already served" also made it into the novelization.
Now, this script snippet is interesting to me because it suggests that, at the time of Raiders, Lucas and Spielberg were imagining that Indy served as a "doughboy" in the American Army during World War I. Of course, that line never made it into the film, and so Lucas much later decided to have Indy join the Belgian Army in the Young Indy Chronicles.
It's fascinating to see this glimpse of an alternate character history for Indy that might have been. Another very interesting "road not taken" was the early idea from George Lucas' initial Raiders script treatment that our beloved Dr. Jones should a high-living, nightclub-going playboy with a Manhattan penthouse.
Also, Kasdan's Indy seems to be relatively poor with languages. This is hinted at in Raiders by his failure to speak Hovitos, and his use of a local Imam to translate the Staff of Ra headpiece. Of course, the Indy of later films and Young Indy is fluent in dozens of tongues.
This last point is perhaps best demonstrated by Sean Patrick Flanery's Indy, who (I think it was in Treasure of the Peacock's Eye) flirts with a girl while changing his language with every sentence. Again, note how Young Indy differs from Raiders in presenting a more competent, worldly Indy.
So, what abandoned aspects of Indy's character do you find most fascinating or compelling? What "lost" character traits would you like to revisit?
I remember reading in Lawrence Kasdan's Raiders of the Lost Ark revised third-draft script this particular passage:
Raiders said:BRODY
I brought along some people today.
INDY
What kind of people?
BRODY
Government.
INDY (concerned)
Government?
BRODY
Don't worry, it's not about your business. (indicates the artifacts)
They're from the Army.
INDY
I've already served.
BRODY
Army Intelligence. They're looking for Abner.
Indy's line "I've already served" also made it into the novelization.
Now, this script snippet is interesting to me because it suggests that, at the time of Raiders, Lucas and Spielberg were imagining that Indy served as a "doughboy" in the American Army during World War I. Of course, that line never made it into the film, and so Lucas much later decided to have Indy join the Belgian Army in the Young Indy Chronicles.
It's fascinating to see this glimpse of an alternate character history for Indy that might have been. Another very interesting "road not taken" was the early idea from George Lucas' initial Raiders script treatment that our beloved Dr. Jones should a high-living, nightclub-going playboy with a Manhattan penthouse.
Story treatment for Raiders by George Lucas said:RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK
STORY TREATMENT BY GEORGE LUCAS
1-25-78
Indiana Jones is a PhD archeologist and an anthropologist. He is a professor at a small Eastern college and is a respected authority in his field although he is only thirty eight years old. He is a quiet man on campus, with rugged good looks under his horn rimmed glasses. He is the heart-throb for all the young co-eds, a situation that he has helped to foster, and isn?t reluctant to take advantage of.
He is a bachelor-playboy, with a fondness for the good life; fancy nite clubs, champagne, and especially beautiful women. His nite-life is a sharp contrast to his quiet days as a college professor. In his tuxedo (and without his glasses) he is the prototype of the Eastern playboy of the 1930?s. He plays polo and pool and is quite a gambler. He lives in a large 30's-style house, and also has a penthouse apartment in Manhattan.
He can afford the good life because of his second occupation. He is a soldier of fortune, and a procurer of rare antiquities. A bounty hunter hired by museums and private collectors to find ancient artifacts and bring them back no questions asked. He is a tomb robber, but draws the line at stealing from colleges or museums. He has a keen interest in the occult, and specializes in religious objects, artifacts protected by curses, etc. He is a terrible shot, but a master with the bullwhip that he always carries with him. He is a good fighter.
Also, Kasdan's Indy seems to be relatively poor with languages. This is hinted at in Raiders by his failure to speak Hovitos, and his use of a local Imam to translate the Staff of Ra headpiece. Of course, the Indy of later films and Young Indy is fluent in dozens of tongues.
This last point is perhaps best demonstrated by Sean Patrick Flanery's Indy, who (I think it was in Treasure of the Peacock's Eye) flirts with a girl while changing his language with every sentence. Again, note how Young Indy differs from Raiders in presenting a more competent, worldly Indy.
So, what abandoned aspects of Indy's character do you find most fascinating or compelling? What "lost" character traits would you like to revisit?
Last edited: