Growing up in the 50’s and 60’s in America Russia was the evil empire. It seemed like every few months they set off a bigger and bigger hydrogen bomb. We practiced drop and cover drills in elementary schools. Khrushchev banging his shoe on the table. Khrushchev telling the us "WE WILL BURY YOU! Backyard bomb shelters Cuban missile crisis. Hell during that one, we had no clue if we would exist tomorrow.
In the 50s if you wanted an evil empire it was the commies.
“Snakes. Why did it have to be snakes? On this motherfucking plane!”
Indiana Jones only needs the generic foes - gun runners, tribal ganglords, envious arifact hounds.