I recently noticed that the 5th Indiana Jones movie was shown at the Cannes Film Festival, and is due to be released to the general public in about a month, so I thought it would be appropriate to do a trivia dive on the one that started it all, 1981's "Raiders of the Lost Ark." "Raiders" has a special place in my heart for a couple of reasons. First off, it's a classic movie--great action, cool story line, compelling characters, great directing and top notch production values. Secondly though, in my early days of college I took an intro to archaeology course largely on a whim, kind of because I like the Indiana Jones movies so much. So, in a weirdly indirect way, this movie series helped shaped the direction of my life. (I should say that these movies' depictions of archaeologists are incredibly unrealistic, and Indiana Jones himself is dreadfully unethical in every way. But, that's often the case with movies, and I love them even with all of these limitations.) Anyway, let's get to it. Same format as always--there will be very obscure, difficult questions, followed by their answers. And many SPOILERS ahead, clearly.
Questions:
1) In the opening scene, what local tribe is after Indy and his group?
2) Where, and in what year, is the opening scene set?
3) What was the name of the competitor/colleague whose body Indy finds in the temple?
4) What are the names of Indiana Jones' two guides/partners? (Not counting the local bearers who run away early on.)
5) What are the designation letters of the plane that Indy escapes in?
6) What is the name of pilot Jock's pet snake, who scares Indy?
7) What is written on the back of Jock's shirt?
8) In the classroom scene, what archaeological site is Indy discussing?
9) At that site, which chamber was undisturbed?
10) What days did Jones announce he had office hours?
11) What was the class's homework reading assignment?
12) In what city does Indy say is the only place Belloq can sell the idol he stole in the opening sequence?
13) What university was Professor Ravenwood associated with?
14) What is Professor Ravenwood's first name?
15) Before it was stolen by the Egyptians, where was the Ark of the Covenant kept?
16) According to Indy and Marcus Brody, what Egyptian pharaoh stole the Ark, and in about what year?
17) What airline does Indy take to Nepal?
18) What American city does he leave from?
19) Where does the flight stop (presumably for fuel) during this trip, before reaching Nepal?
20) What magazine is the German spy tailing Indy reading on this trip?
21) What is the name of Marion's bouncer/security guy?
22) How much does Indy offer for the headpiece of the Staff of Ra, and how much does Marion demand for it?
23) How many associates does Toht bring with him to get the headpiece from Marion?
24) What airline do Marion and Indy take from Nepal to Cairo?
25) What two places does the flight stop at during this flight?
26) According to Marion, how many kids does Sallah have?
27) What is the name of Sallah's wife?
28) What is Belloq doing in the bar in Cairo when Indy confronts him?
29) What does Belloq say the Ark really is?
30) What is the name of this tavern where they talk?
31) How many kadams high should the Staff of Ra be?
32) According to Sallah, what is the approximate conversion rate of a kadam to an English foot?
33) When Indy uses the Staff, how high does it appear to be?
34) In addition to Indiana Jones and Sallah, how many people are in the digging team that uncovers the Well of Souls?
35) What "Star Wars" characters are briefly seen depicted on the wall above the Ark in the Well of Souls?
36) What is written on the German crate that the Ark is placed in?
37) What is the name of Colonel Dietrich's main assistant officer?
38) Whose garage does Indy head for in Cairo?
39) How many vehicles are in the German caravan transporting the Ark back to Cairo?
40) What is the license plate of the truck carrying the Ark?
41) What is the make of this truck?
42) What is the name of the steamship that Indy and Marion ride in (briefly)?
43) And who is this boat's captain?
44) What musical show does Sallah sing songs from, on several occasions?
45) In their romantic kissing scene on the boat, where does Indy say it doesn't hurt?
46) The Ark is opened on an island. What country is this island a part of?
47) What is written on the American crate that the Ark is finally put in?
48) Discounting background characters, 2 people played 2 roles each in the film. Who are they, and what parts did they play?
49) Producer Frank Marshall has a brief acting role in the movie. Name it.
50) Would it have been better for humanity if Indy and the Americans had done nothing, and let the Germans find the Ark, or at least let them take it from Indy and transport it back to Germany?
51) On that note, did the Nazis and Belloq intentionally let the Americans steal their original communication about Professor Ravenwood?
52) Did Indiana Jones commit statutory rape?
Answers:
1) The (fictional) Hovitos.
2) South America, 1936. The film isn't more specific, but supplementary media pinpoints it as Peru.
3) Forrestal.
4) Satipo (sometimes rendered as "Sapito"), and Barranca.
5) OB-CPO. Presumably a jokey reference to the "Star Wars" characters Obi-Wan and C3-PO.
6) Reggie.
7) Air Pirates.
8) Turkdean Barrow, a real site in Gloucestershire, England.
9) Chamber 3.
10) Thursday, and not Wednesday.
11) Michaelson, chapters 4 and 5.
12) Marrakech (a real city in Morocco).
13) The University of Chicago (also a real institution).
14) Abner.
15) The Temple of Solomon, in Jerusalem.
16) Shishak, in about 980 B.C. (This is the Biblical spelling. Archaeologists believe this probably corresponds to Shoshenq I. Also, real archaeologists think Shoshenq actually ruled about 40 years later than this, from about 943-922 B.C.)
17) Pan American.
18) San Francisco, California.
19) Hawaii, Wake Island, and the Philippines.
20) Life Magazine, the November 30, 1936 issue.
21) Mohan.
22) $3,000, and then $5,000.
23) Initially 3--2 Sherpas, and 1 German, but another large Sherpa joins the fight later for a 4th.
24) Air East Asia.
25) Karachi, India (now in Pakistan), and Baghdad, Iraq.
26) 8 or 9.
27) Fayah.
28) Smoking a hookah. (Tobacco, or something else?)
29) A transmitter, a radio for speaking to God.
30) The Marhala Bar.
31) 5. Initially 6, but then 1 should be taken back to honor the Hebrew God.
32) About 1:1. As far as I can tell, this is probably a bit inaccurate. Modern estimates are that a kadam was probably more like 10 inches, not 12.
33) It's a good foot over Indy's head. Since Indy is about 6 feet tall, that makes it about 7 feet high, or significantly more than the 5 that they earlier said. A mistake by the filmmakers.
34) 9.
35) R2-D2 and C-3PO.
36) Eigentum der Deutschen Wehrmacht. Or, in English, "Property of the German Wehrmacht."
37) Gobler.
38) Omar's.
39) 4. The truck carrying the Ark, the lead staff car, a jeep, and the motorcycle with side car.
40) WH-11294.
41) Mercedes.
42) The Bantu Wind.
43) Katanga.
44) The 1878 Gilbert & Sullivan comic opera, "H.M.S. Pinafore."
45) His left elbow, his forehead on the right side, his right eye, and finally his lips.
46) A fictitious, unnamed island in Greece.
47) Top Secret Army Intel. 9906753 Do Not Open!
48) Vic Tablian plays both Barranca and the Monkey Man. Former wrestler Pat Roach plays both the giant Sherpa and the First Mechanic (who fistfights Indy).
49) He was the pilot of the plane that Marion and Indy blow up.
50) It appears likely, since the original plan seemed to be to fly it directly to Germany, meaning it probably would have been opened, and killed Hitler and many other high-ranking Nazis, probably resulting in World War II and the Holocaust never happening. True, the Nazis might not have gotten the headpiece to the Staff of Ra, but they had already uncovered part of the wall of the Well of Souls, so they would have probably discovered it and the Ark shortly afterward anyway.
51) It sure seems like it. They didn't know where Professor Ravenwood was, but figured Indy might. They were clearly following Indy, since they had a spy on the plane. It was certainly Belloq's practice to follow Indy around, and then swoop in and steal relics from him.
52) Alas, it's almost definitely "yes." In the very early versions of the story George Lucas had Marion as only being 11(!), with baby teeth even, when the relationship with Indy began. Later he increased it to a still too young 15 years old. Spielberg and others wisely removed all references to an actual age. Marion does mention that she was "a child," but this could be interpreted as an exaggeration or a reference to her maturity level, while she was biologically 18 or 19. I don't know why Lucas wanted to include this creepy plot point. The story of Indy and Marion's forbidden love affair still works if she was a legal 18-20--Professor Ravenwood still would have regarded this as a betrayal, but at least Indiana Jones wouldn't be a sex criminal. Lucas seems to include some weird sex things in his movies, like Luke and Leia's creepy quasi-incest, and Padme Amidala's romance with Anakin after having known him as a small child.
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