Lao_Che said:
You never told me you spoke my language, Dr. Jones.
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Would have been nice to have seen Flanery's version gradually adopt more of the Ford mannerisms but there's time for it during the gap between the series and films, and I think it was more that Flanery wasn't really given the chance with the variety of the scripts. Flanery's Indy can pratfall as a spy one day and adopt a convincing Belgian-French accent the next but Ford's Indy can't imitate his father well enough to trick a foreign butler.
At least Flanery bothered (such as the way he puts on his hat) unlike George Hall.
Well, we never do see Flannery's Indy try a Scottish accent--and in the years after WWI he might not have needed to don a false accent as much and thus might've gotten a little rusty. And his accent doesn't convince everyone--for example the recruiter he talks to when joining the army, or the police who arrest him for covorting with Mata Hari in Demons of Deception--they're able to tell right away he isn't who he claims to be, with the aid of some paperwork of course.
And Indy's techniques in posing first as an Arabic laborer (Raiders), a Nazi soldier (in Raiders) and again in LC, and as a Butler in LC, and a Scotsman in LC all do resemble traditional espionage methodology. He's basically acting as a spy for the American government during Raiders anyway, and I'd imagine it isn't just his knowledge of the occult that made Army Intelligence seek him out of all people--I'm sure they know something of his covert activities during WWI.
And Indiana in the films not only knows and can speak Chinese but also can speak Hindu and understand it--speaking to and translating the Village Elder for Willie and Shortie, and can read ancient Sanskrit. He also knows early Latin (his easy reading of the Grail tablet), and has at least a little knowledge of ancient Egyptian language/symbols (Raiders map room scene), as well as the Greek alphabet in the beginning of LC. So he knows a fair number of languages thoroughly in the films, and it's said he can speak 27 in the YIJC--which given his fluency in languages in the Ford films does seem believable, though he may have gotten rusty with some over time.
When ''describing'' Marcus for the Nazis, he claims Marcus can ''speak a dozen languages'', has friends from ''[Germany] to the Sudan" and knows ''every local custom.'' Given what we see of Indy in the films, I'd imagine his false description of Marcus is actually a description of himself--He has friends in all corners of the world, which would be likely given his travels both in the YIJC and throughout the novels, and we see he does know some local customs--for example the respect he shows the Villagers in TOD and his Indian hosts later in the film.
And there is a number of little Ford mannerisms in Flannery's beyond the hat--little gestures he does and he is, like Ford's Indy, sarcastic at times, and also has an acidic criticism of those he feels act foppish (for example his rebuking of the two Princes in Adventures in the Secret Service and his sarcasm to Vascari in Masks of Evil).
My main issues with Flannery are his voice--which is the same, sole issue I had with the idea of Selleck playing Indy--and his build. He doesn't have the deep, intense voice of Harrison or the powerful build, which makes him less imposing. Otherwise as I said above he did a very good job. They do look alike, especially as the series goes on--I'd say by 1919, 1920 he's starting to resemble the Indy we see in 1935. He could defintively have bulked up between 1920 and 1935--though when we see him shirtless in Treasure of the Peacock's Eye (1919) he already has the build of his older self and is an adept fighter--for example using the weapons available in the room in a street fighting manner when he and Remy are ambushed in their hotel room, or his fight with the racists in Winds of Change (1920), where he kicks a--.
And Marion does say to him in Raiders, "you're not the man I knew ten years ago", which could be referring to both his appearance and his personality--which would fit in nicely with the idea that he grows into being Indiana Jones--he starts off the YIJC as Henry Jones, Jr., and through the course of the series (and the novels, which bridge the gap), he fully becomes Indiana Jones. And then in KOTCS we see a reversal--He begins to revert back into Henry Jones, Jr.--for example, he could've easily shot the Ugha Warrior confronting Mutt, but instead decides to simply show the threat of force rather than using it--the Indy of ROTLA would've definitively just shot the Ugha Warrior.
Finally, in the YIJC there is some nods to the later movies--we see him visit Venice in 1918, and he remarks "Ah, Venice" in LC, showing that he had indeed been there before. Or his whole relationship with his father in the YIJC and novels--Not speaking over his academic choices--is treated with great continuity in both the novels, YIJC and films. The fact that Henry tells Indy he left ''just when he was becoming interesting'' fits in well with the YIJC--leaving at 16 and again at 20--Just when Henry would literally to have a greater interest or ability to relate with him.