# Raiders of the Lost Ark Plot Holes Redux **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 29, 2003, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-plot-holes-redux/210275 "2003-10-29T18:20:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Ol\_Gaffer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Ol\_Gaffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ol_Gaffer)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2003, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-plot-holes-redux/210275/21 "2003-10-29T20:23:12Z")
I **am** an archaeologist because of these movies. While I have never had to tie myself to a submarine, I have had to kick a little Nazi ass from time to time. I have to say, though, that the field is starting to become over-populated with these intellectual namby-pamby’s who get all worked up over the prospect of fighting cultists or destroying temples in order to retrieve some gold orb. Damn college kids these days. ---
**Author:** ![Kaspar\_Hauser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b3f665/32.png) [@Kaspar\_Hauser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaspar_Hauser)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2003, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-plot-holes-redux/210275/22 "2003-10-29T20:27:49Z")
Why did Belloq go around eating bugs? ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2003, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-plot-holes-redux/210275/23 "2003-10-29T20:29:26Z")
Sorry, **Edward the Head** ’s post was the last one before I posted mine - looks like **Zebra** and **Umbriel** have more or less answered those points in my post above. > [@](#): > > Actually, I recall reading that in the original script, there was a scene where the u-boat does submerge and there are the requisite several tense moments where Indy tries to avoid being washed off before he ties himself to the periscope with his whip. Indy: “Whew! Lucky I tied myself to the periscope with my whip. Now if they’ll just surface again every 45 seconds or so to let me take another breath…” ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2003, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-plot-holes-redux/210275/24 "2003-10-29T20:38:37Z")
I’d bet the periscope was stuck in the ‘up’ position. Probably a Yugo. ---
**Author:** ![Snickers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Snickers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snickers)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2003, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-plot-holes-redux/210275/25 "2003-10-29T22:00:45Z")
Isn’t the staff that Indy uses much too tall? Here’s how I remember it: Indy, Marion, and Sallah take the crystal that she saved from the fire to the old man. He tells them what the inscription says, saying something like “the staff is 7 kadoms high.” Indy says, “About 6 feet.” The old man then turns the crystal over (to the side the Nazis don’t have burned in that guys hand) and says, “but subtract 1 kadom for …” Sallah and Indy both say something like "their staff is too tall–they’re digging in the wrong place. Then we go to the dramatic staff and lasering scene. We feel that the correct staff that Indy has should be about 5 feet tall, based on what we were told earlier. However, Indy’s got one that’s at least a foot taller than him - instead of subtracting the kadom, they added one. Right? Anyway, that’s how I remember it. Snicks ---
**Author:** ![Snickers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Snickers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snickers)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2003, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-plot-holes-redux/210275/26 "2003-10-29T22:08:14Z")
It seems I remembered correctly - just checked imdb for Raiders and they have it there as a goof. Snicks ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2003, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-plot-holes-redux/210275/27 "2003-10-29T22:15:13Z")
“Too bad the Hovitos don’t know you like I do, Belloq.” Yeah, and too bad the Hovitos couldn’t hit water if they fell out of a friggin’ canoe. Either they’re vegetarians, or they’re the worst hunters Peru has ever known. ---
**Author:** ![Icerigger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icerigger/32/432_2.png) [@Icerigger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icerigger)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2003, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-plot-holes-redux/210275/28 "2003-10-29T22:57:41Z")
BTW The U-boat from Raiders was borrowed from Wolfgang Peterson’s Das-Boot. ---
**Author:** ![lno](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a8b319/32.png) [@lno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lno)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2003, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-plot-holes-redux/210275/29 "2003-10-29T22:59:18Z")
Or MAYBE the Hovitos really DID know that Belloq was a scheming worm, and deliberately let Indy get away in order to … uh … Don’t get in the way of my theory. I’ll make it fit the facts, damnit. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2003, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-plot-holes-redux/210275/30 "2003-10-29T23:14:12Z")
**Snickers** posted the one I was going to mention. However, I would have gotten the quotes right, from memory. Indy: “'S about seventy-two inches.” _\_ 😛 > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Kaspar Hauser \* > \*\*Why did Belloq go around eating bugs? \*\* I seem to recall something from the film’s editor on this. Apparently, he took out two or three frames at this moment so the fly would appear to disappear into Belloq’s mouth. Heh heh. ---
**Author:** ![FilmGeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@FilmGeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FilmGeek)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2003, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-plot-holes-redux/210275/31 "2003-10-29T23:32:18Z")
With all the talk about the U-boat scene, where did Indy’s hat go? He doesn’t have it on the island but he has it again later. Hmmmm… ---
**Author:** ![Kaspar\_Hauser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b3f665/32.png) [@Kaspar\_Hauser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaspar_Hauser)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2003, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-plot-holes-redux/210275/32 "2003-10-30T17:05:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Cervaise \* > \*\*I seem to recall something from the film’s editor on this. Apparently, he took out two or three frames at this moment so the fly would appear to disappear into Belloq’s mouth. Heh heh. \*\* That’s so bizarre. To what end, I wonder? ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2003, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-plot-holes-redux/210275/33 "2003-10-30T17:11:28Z")
I thought the staff showed the location of the tomb every day at noon or something. So it wouldn’t matter what day it was, just that he had the staff the right length (which, it appears, he didn’t. I guess a 7-foot tall staff is more imposing than one shorter than Indy.) ---
**Author:** ![gonzoron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a6a055/32.png) [@gonzoron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzoron)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2003, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-plot-holes-redux/210275/34 "2003-10-30T17:38:09Z")
I always found it a bit odd when Marcus gets captured in Last Crusade. The Nazis built a fake building around a truck just to catch this guy? ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2003, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-plot-holes-redux/210275/35 "2003-10-30T18:31:36Z")
> [@](#): > > If they ran on the surface the whole way and therefore weren’t going for stealth, why use a U-boat at all? Those things aren’t exactly built for cargo transporting, and they’d probably have to run on a skeleton crew just to fit all those troops aboard (somehow I doubt they issue MP-38/MP-40’s to sailors on a sub). This is actually quite correct. At the time, Germany had no warships (and no supply ships for them) in the Meditteranean. Leaving aside the “secret submarine base”, they wouldnb’t have anything else. If they hired a merchant ship, it could have raised questions and they would have risked the Egyptians or whomever finding out what was going on. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2003, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-plot-holes-redux/210275/36 "2003-10-30T21:17:25Z")
The thing about the sub is that if it did run under the water and he tied himself to it they probably would not run that deep. Maybe 60 feet deep. Periscope depth is something like 32 feet. (well at least in WWII submarine PC games it is). But even if he had a long bit of rope it would have to be really long for Indy to float on the surface. The foward movement of the sub would meen that the rope would be on a diagonal from the sub to the surface as Indy drags behind it. The idea that Indy could ride this way was just silly. It would have made more sense if he somehow snuck on the sub while the Nazis were on the freighter. Maybe in a 'borrowed uniform or something but riding undetected on or in a sub is a real streach of the suspension of disbelief. As far as getting off the island I never cared about that. I knew he would either borrow a plane or a boat and get off, no question. ---
**Author:** ![Umbriel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9de053/32.png) [@Umbriel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Umbriel)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2003, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-plot-holes-redux/210275/37 "2003-10-30T22:01:00Z")
I’ll second **smiling bandit** ’s take on using a sub. They had originally intended to fly the Ark out on the flying wing (not a real German plan and scratch built for the movie. Way cool, but with weirdly massive landing gear). It would probably take weeks to dispatch a warship from Germany, a merchant ship would be too easy to track, but a sub might conceivably have been operating in the area anyway. U-boats were also rather fast running on the surface, so it would have made a pretty good courier in that respect too. On the downside, there would probably have been a real problem getting the ark, plus its crate, into the sub. I don’t believe any hatch on a U-boat was more than about 2 feet in diameter The Ark, at a cubit and a half high and wide, was roughly 2.25 feet square, and thus couldn’t fit though a round hatch of less than something like 3.2 feet in diameter. U-boats had torpedo loading hatches on the deck, but I don’t think they were much bigger, if at all. **Dooku’s** citation of **HPL** ’s question about lookouts is on the money. There’d be several lookouts in the conning tower at all times, and generally the whole crew would rotate up there for a few minutes at a time just for the fresh air. Regarding the weapons issue that **Dooku** mentions, I think a U-boat might easily have carried at least a half-dozen submachineguns for boarding actions. SMGs would be preferred over rifles by virtue of being shorter and handier. Again, though, they should have been of the older MP-35 model. In fact, they might have kept older weapons like that on submarines all the way through 1945, since they wouldn’t have seen much use anyway. ---
**Author:** ![jimpatro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b9e5f3/32.png) [@jimpatro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jimpatro)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-plot-holes-redux/210275/38 "2003-10-31T02:14:53Z")
Umbriel, I always thought that landing gear was just not right! You could probably fit the Ark in one of those landing gear. Ach der lieber! ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-plot-holes-redux/210275/39 "2003-10-31T03:46:00Z")
Indy threatens to blow up the Ark with a bazooka; did any army have shoulder-launched rockets in 1936? Perhaps not so much a plot hole as a implausible plot device: Indy is contacted by members of “Army Intelligence” who tell him about the German expedition to unearth the lost Ark of the Covenent. Everyone seems conviinced that the Ark is indeed an ancient device of incredible power (who knew there were so many fundies in the Roosevelt administration?). Now in reality land, rational people would have said: Now, **if** you credit that the book of Exodus is reliable history (when many still doubt that there was really a King David, much less a Moses), and **if** the site the Germans are digging at really is the lost city of Tanis, and **if** there’s a spark of truth in the legend that that is where the Ark of the Covenent ended up, **then** you might believe that the Nazis were about to obtain an old box that might have significant propaganda value. Also, given that Marion’s last words in the movie were “let’s get a drink”, I have a worrying suspicion that within ten years she was institutionalized for alcoholism. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-plot-holes-redux/210275/40 "2003-10-31T05:55:55Z")
The fact that there really was The Wrath Of God in the Ark should tell you that in Indy’s universe the supernatural is real, and therefore will be believed. Arguably. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-plot-holes-redux/210275.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-plot-holes-redux/210275.md?page=3)