Grey Cloud

Raiders90

Well-known member
Stoo said:
With what SPF-as-Indy says.;) The death of Anna Jones?
If you watch closely, you can see Indy has his holster during the snowstorm...then it disappears (along with another piece of gear!:eek:)

Bill, thanks for posting those links to the paintings. They are absolutely beautiful. Some of them remind of N.C. Wyeth (one of my faves)! I'm sure your familiar with his stuff.
Yeah, I've got some making-of footage that I'll have to dig out and post in one of the "Mystery of the Blues" threads.
Thanks, '86.:hat: New York is indeed far but this gives a clue as to the lengths the villains were willing to travel within the unknown backstory of the chase for the pipe! Anyone other opinions on the possible Grey Cloud/Alberta connection?

If you look close, he doesn't have his gun in the holster--it actually looks like a walkie talkie.
 

Raiders90

Well-known member
I so wish that the adventure with Grey Cloud could be expanded on somehow, like into a comic or something, that shows the whole thing. Even though he has limited screen time I actually like Grey Cloud the best out of Indy's companions/allies (including Sallah and Mac). The actor did a great job and gave a pretty obscure character gravitas. The whole snowbound early 50s setting in Wyoming somehow feels exotic even though Indy is in the heart of the States. Something about it (perhaps the Native connection?) reminds me of the Utah, 1912 segment from LC. I actually wish Indy could have a full adventure which he Native religion at its core. It would be something new.
 

Raiders90

Well-known member
Stoo said:
Here's my reason for believing that Grey Cloud lives in Alberta, Canada and is, possibly, a Crow. The attention to detail with regards to the license plates in the Indy films ("Crusade" and "Skull", specifically, since I haven't checked out the other 2) is always spot-on and I don't believe it's any different for Young Indy either.

This is only shot in "Blues" where you can see the truck's plate before it gets covered in snow. I checked the 1950 license plates from ALL 50 states and it didn't resemble any of them but it is a PERFECT MATCH to 1950 Alberta! (As usual in the Indy movies, the bad guys have period New York plates.)

The truck also has a rifle rack in the cab behind Indy and Grey Cloud which is a clue that the vehicle belongs to GC and Indy is at the wheel simply because he's the better driver. (For some reason, that's the impression I got when it first aired but was never sure.) What do y'all think?

License_Alberta.jpg

License_NewYork.jpg


Concerning Anna's cause of death, I think I'll go with what Indy says and not Mr. Chee.;)

Couldn't it also be that Indy simply swiped the car at some point during a quick getaway? Given the presence of Indy's beard I see this adventure as taking a big longer than usually and perhaps he and Grey Cloud travelled a fair distance before ending up in Wyoming. I also wonder what the nature of the bad guy is - is he simply an unscrupulous collector of Native artifacts? A gangster?
 

TheFirebird1

Active member
Raiders112390 said:
Couldn't it also be that Indy simply swiped the car at some point during a quick getaway? Given the presence of Indy's beard I see this adventure as taking a big longer than usually and perhaps he and Grey Cloud travelled a fair distance before ending up in Wyoming. I also wonder what the nature of the bad guy is - is he simply an unscrupulous collector of Native artifacts? A gangster?
Both options are completely possible, and the good thing is that they're at least somewhat compatible to each other, but it's probably more likely that Indy boarded Grey Cloud's car back in Canada. As for the unnamed baddie in the episode playing a Toht expy, he probably is some sort of antiquities dealer with connections to local mobs.
Raiders112390 said:
I so wish that the adventure with Grey Cloud could be expanded on somehow, like into a comic or something, that shows the whole thing. Even though he has limited screen time I actually like Grey Cloud the best out of Indy's companions/allies (including Sallah and Mac). The actor did a great job and gave a pretty obscure character gravitas. The whole snowbound early 50s setting in Wyoming somehow feels exotic even though Indy is in the heart of the States. Something about it (perhaps the Native connection?) reminds me of the Utah, 1912 segment from LC. I actually wish Indy could have a full adventure which he Native religion at its core. It would be something new.
Completely agree. Saginaw Grant brought a believability to his character that reminded me a bit of John Rhys-Davies' portrayal of Sallah, and it would've been great to see an expansion of those bookends (imagine if they had made a TV movie back then for it). I think Indy dealing with Native American culture would be great for a lot of stories in the expanded universe, especially if he traveled with Grey Cloud.
Edit: Also, Stoo, great work on matching the plates to their locations/issue dates.
 

Raiders90

Well-known member
By the way, do we think the adventure takes place in early 1950 (IE January - March 50) or toward the end of the year (like Nov - Dec 1950)?
 

Stoo

Well-known member
More Clues

Raiders112390 said:
Couldn't it also be that Indy simply swiped the car at some point during a quick getaway? Given the presence of Indy's beard I see this adventure as taking a big longer than usually and perhaps he and Grey Cloud travelled a fair distance before ending up in Wyoming.
:confused: That's less 'simple'. What you're suggesting is either:

A) They crossed the U.S. border in a stolen truck.
B) They stole ("Crusade"-style) a Canadian truck that happened to be in Wyoming at the time.

My belief is that this was Grey Cloud's truck and he did all the driving up until the "getaway" because that appears to be the first time he saw Indy behind the wheel. The indicator is in this exchange:

Grey Cloud: Good driving!
Indy: It's not my first time, y'know.

Why would Indy say that if they'd been travelling around together for a lengthy amount of time? Surely, Indy would've already done some driving in some other vehicle that didn't belong to Grey Cloud. (He could mean that it wasn't his first time in a car chase but that's not the way I interpret it.)

As for your beard theory? No, because his hair is even longer. Take it as just Indy's look at the time. In my mind, this adventure was brief. Otherwise, we'd be down to this:

Indiana: Cloudy, where's my razor?
Grey Cloud: You keep asking me that, Dr. Jones! Buy a new one!
Indiana: Not enough time. We need to get that pipe.

TheFirebird1 said:
Stoo, great work on matching the plates to their locations/issue dates.
Thanks, Firebird. See below for more. :)

Raiders112390 said:
By the way, do we think the adventure takes place in early 1950 (IE January - March 50) or toward the end of the year (like Nov - Dec 1950)?
Based on the Alberta license plate, it's between January - March 1950. As you can see from this photo, their plates expired on 31 March of each year. By winter late 1950, it would've been a different colour scheme. (As a wee lad, I remember a similar system in early '70s Quebec.)

AlbertaLicencePlates_zpstpowsuvj.jpg
 

Raiders90

Well-known member
Stoo said:
:confused: That's less 'simple'. What you're suggesting is either:

A) They crossed the U.S. border in a stolen truck.
B) They stole ("Crusade"-style) a Canadian truck that happened to be in Wyoming at the time.

My belief is that this was Grey Cloud's truck and he did all the driving up until the "getaway" because that appears to be the first time he saw Indy behind the wheel. The indicator is in this exchange:

Grey Cloud: Good driving!
Indy: It's not my first time, y'know.

Why would Indy say that if they'd been travelling around together for a lengthy amount of time? Surely, Indy would've already done some driving in some other vehicle that didn't belong to Grey Cloud. (He could mean that it wasn't his first time in a car chase but that's not the way I interpret it.)

As for your beard theory? No, because his hair is even longer. Take it as just Indy's look at the time. In my mind, this adventure was brief. Otherwise, we'd be down to this:

Indiana: Cloudy, where's my razor?
Grey Cloud: You keep asking me that, Dr. Jones! Buy a new one!
Indiana: Not enough time. We need to get that pipe.

Thanks, Firebird. See below for more. :)

Based on the Alberta license plate, it's between January - March 1950. As you can see from this photo, their plates expired on 31 March of each year. By winter late 1950, it would've been a different colour scheme. (As a wee lad, I remember a similar system in early '70s Quebec.)

AlbertaLicencePlates_zpstpowsuvj.jpg

Good eyes old friend, and I agree with your conclusions. I actually wish we had gotten more early 50s Indy adventures. I like his longer hair and beard look; it makes him look more like a grizzled old adventurer, more of a rogue.

By the by, do you have any idea why MotB is not included in the Amazon Prime streaming version of the show? It is the only episode missing.
 

TheFirebird1

Active member
Stoo said:
:confused: That's less 'simple'. What you're suggesting is either:

A) They crossed the U.S. border in a stolen truck.
B) They stole ("Crusade"-style) a Canadian truck that happened to be in Wyoming at the time.

My belief is that this was Grey Cloud's truck and he did all the driving up until the "getaway" because that appears to be the first time he saw Indy behind the wheel. The indicator is in this exchange:

Grey Cloud: Good driving!
Indy: It's not my first time, y'know.

Why would Indy say that if they'd been travelling around together for a lengthy amount of time? Surely, Indy would've already done some driving in some other vehicle that didn't belong to Grey Cloud. (He could mean that it wasn't his first time in a car chase but that's not the way I interpret it.)

As for your beard theory? No, because his hair is even longer. Take it as just Indy's look at the time. In my mind, this adventure was brief. Otherwise, we'd be down to this:

Indiana: Cloudy, where's my razor?
Grey Cloud: You keep asking me that, Dr. Jones! Buy a new one!
Indiana: Not enough time. We need to get that pipe.

Thanks, Firebird. See below for more. :)

Based on the Alberta license plate, it's between January - March 1950. As you can see from this photo, their plates expired on 31 March of each year. By winter late 1950, it would've been a different colour scheme. (As a wee lad, I remember a similar system in early '70s Quebec.)

AlbertaLicencePlates_zpstpowsuvj.jpg
First off, that's fantastic detective work, Stoo! (y). Second, I agree with your conclusions completely. As for when it's set, the heavy snow would probably suggest early-to-mid February (when winter is usually the harshest here in the States).
And Raiders, I agree. It'd be cool to see Indy having some more adventures in the late forties-early fifties (maybe even a final saga with his father).
Raiders112390 said:
By the by, do you have any idea why MotB is not included in the Amazon Prime streaming version of the show? It is the only episode missing.
Noticed this too. Perhaps unforeseen copyright issues are to be blamed, but that seems like a stretch. I'd attribute it more to human error.
 
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