Was Sallah a last minute addition to 'Crusade?

[Jr_1981]

This line of thinking started after I saw the final scenes of the last Crusade Adventure game on youtube, Sallah is noticably absent. I got to thinking, why would he not be in the game? I doubt it would have changed things too much, than I got to thinking. If the game was based on an earlier draft of the script perhaps Sallah wasnt in there?

That lead me to think about his role in the film, unlike in Raiders, Sallah really doesnt do much in Last Crusade, he tries to save Brody from the Germans but in the end he's still captured, he helps Indy save his dad from the tank, but that's only the really notable thing he does in the film. So perhaps they figured it would be the last one and they might as well include Sallah? Doesnt seem like it would have been too tough to add him into a finished script seeing as his inclusion (or lack of) really doesnt change the outcome of the film.

 

[Sam Falco]

Spieldburg has said numerous times that he always wanted to bring back Sallah, because he wanted to re-capture the tone of Raiders, so I think Sallah was always there, the game designers just didnt deem him "necessary" to the game.

 

[Dust McAlan]

Sallah was probably meant to be in the film, but they probably couldn't figure out what to do with him. Most likely he was there for the "Raiders" spirit.

 

[Attila the Professor]

Spieldburg has said numerous times that he always wanted to bring back Sallah, because he wanted to re-capture the tone of Raiders, so I think Sallah was always there, the game designers just didnt deem him "necessary" to the game.

Indeed. There was nothing for him to do. Hell, Donovan himself only appears twice.

 

[Lord_glavin]

hey, I'm just glad they put him in the last crusade, he's just so goddam jolly

 

[Nurhachi1991]

Because Sallah is ******* awsome why would you even question him??

 

[Salacious]

Sallah rocks.

Nuff said.

 

[|ZiR|]

hey, I'm just glad they put him in the last crusade, he's just so goddam jolly

Because Sallah is ******* awsome why would you even question him??

Sallah rocks.

Nuff said.

Not to be "that guy," but WHY is Sallah so great? I don't dislike him by any means, I just don't get why some people seem to love him as much as they do.

 

[Sam Falco]

Because he's so damn charming

 

[Michael24]

And he's the best digger in Egypt.

Seriously, I've always liked Sallah. There's just something charming about his character. That grandiose voice, that hearty laugh, his loyality to Indy. In any other hands Sallah might have been a rather average character, but John Rhys-Davies just brought a great sense of charm and personality to him.

 

[Sam Falco]

He's the kind of dude you could meet and know for an hour and be like:

"Hey, watch my wallet for me while I take a leak. By the way, there's a couple hundred bucks in it and I have no idea how to track you down if you were to disappear on me."
(walks off)

Then he'd still be there when you got back, not only would your wallet be there, but he'd have knocked out some guy who tried to take it.

 

[Kooshmeister]

Indeed. There was nothing for him to do. Hell, Donovan himself only appears twice.

I hope you're just generalizing, but Donovan has quite a few scenes.

He's in two scenes in America were he meets Indy, then sees him and Marcus off at the airport, then he's in two sequences of short scenes at Castle Bruinwald, then in Hatay, then for the remainder of the film he's pretty much onscreen the entire time until his death.

 

[Laserschwert]

I hope you're just generalizing, but Donovan has quite a few scenes.

He's in two scenes in America were he meets Indy, then sees him and Marcus off at the airport, then he's in two sequences of short scenes at Castle Bruinwald, then in Hatay, then for the remainder of the film he's pretty much onscreen the entire time until his death.

I think he was talking about the game.

 

[Indy fan 235]

I love Sallah, he's a great character and John Rhys-Davies is a great actor. I was hoping for Sallah to be in the new movie, but maybe for part 5.

 

[Sam Falco]

Well I'm sure Steven wanted him in there, but obviously if they'd included Sallah, it would have been WAY too forced, as the movie takes place (I assume) mostly in the North and South American continents and Sallah lives in the middle east. In Crusade, being that the Holy Grail was the goal, that gives them a purpose to be in that area, and an opportunity for Sallah to show up, as he is the most knowledgable of their friends.

 

[Kooshmeister]

I think he was talking about the game.

D'oh.

Whoopsie...sorry.

 

[Jim Tigernuts]

Sallah wouldn't have been nearly as endearing played by Danny DeVito, that's all I can say!!! I've never been bothered by his 'uselessness' in LC, probably because I first saw it in the cinema when I was 6, and am thus blind to LC's flaws. Seriously, love is blind. Doubly true for movies.

But I've always thought Donovan gets just enough screen time, as does everyone. I LIKE the lack of supporting character's screen time, because it means we focus on INDY and his wonderful dad for most of the film. It's so intimate. Someone needs to remind the beards that we go to see an Indiana Jones film to see INDY, and everyone else comes second.

 

[whipem]

A personal Sallah probably wouldn't be a bad investment.