Not a chance in hell, not with that kind of military presence: machine guns, dozens of uniformed troops, an armed flying wing, armed vehicles, etc. The invasion of Poland and the outbreak of WWII was just three years away at that point.
“I don’t know, I’m making this up as I go!” – Henry ‘Indiana’ Jones, Jr.
If you want to get into the discussion of plotholes, the biggest one is that if Dr. Jones had merely stayed at home, grading term papers and reading an H. Rider Hazzard novel, the Nazis never would have even found the Ark. By his actions, he led them right to it. And even if they had found it, their lack of humility (“Shut your eyes, Marion. Don’t look at it, no matter what happens!”) would have ended with them vaporized anyway. The entire film is an essentially pointless adventure, as evidenced by the final scene where the Ark is safely stored away in an anonymous crate in an enormous warehouse (lampshading Citizen Kane). The genius of the film–and it is genius, very likely the best film Steven Spielberg has or will ever make–is that it never gives you the time to ponder its implausibilities. It moves forward at a relentless pace that doesn’t let you consider the one dimensionality of the villains or how unlikely Jones is to achieving his goal. It is one of the best films ever made, but not upon the strength of the plot.
Stranger
I’ve always wondered if those Nazis digging for the lost Ark ever ran across Professor Kornstadter and his five graves expedition (1940s movie “Five Graves to Cairo” were Field Marshall Erwin Rommel had secretly planted supplies before the war just in case and played by none other than Erich Von Stroheim).
I don’t know if anyone has ever commented on this but in the scene where Indy escapes from the Peruvian headhunters, the plane is taking off, he finds a giant snake at his feet and yells to the pilot. The pilot responds “it’s just my pet snake Reggie”. Since the pilot was wearing a Yankees hat and it was 1980, I always wondered if that was a joke about then Yankees outfielder Reggie Jackson. Spielberg ever comment about that?
You say that as if the war was scheduled in advance and everyone was informed. I think you are forgetting that within a year Britain was actively pursuing a policy of appeasement towards Germany; as a result the Munich Agreement and the Anglo-German Declaration were signed in 1938. Even in 1936 there were large factions in British politics which advocated pacifism towards Germany. It’s therefore not inconceivable that the Germans would have been allowed to conduct peaceful archaeological work in some far-flung British possession. I do agree, however, that the German military certainly wouldn’t have been invited along…
but if Indy had just stayed home doing nothing
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he couldn’t have saved Marion
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they might not have opened the Ark until they got it to Berlin, and killed a lot more Nazis
but getting the girl is more important in movies
Indy led Toht and his merry band to Marion’s bar, and thence, to the amulet. Without that, it is unlikely that they would have found the Well of Souls, and thus, the Ark.
Stranger
You know what.
I had always assumed that the Nazis would have gotten the Staff of Ra right there at the bar if Indy hadn’t shown up
It never occurred to me that Indy had led them to the bar, but it makes sense now that I heat it.
they were digging everywhere in that desert though. they might have stumbled upon the well of souls without it eventually
I think “never” is a little strong. They could eventually have found Marion & the headpiece of the staff by other means - and then they would have had the entire headpiece, and dug in the right place. Concur they all would have died in the melty-face scene though.
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Toht (or “Toad” as I always called him) is on the Pan Am Clipper, following Dr. Jones all the way to Nepal to find Marion (presumably Abner stashed her there to keep the headpiece safe). The Army Intelligence guys, far from beng one step ahead, are being shadowed by the Nazis. The plot of the film really is an exercise in futility.
Now let’s talk about Goldfinger…
Stranger
I’m pretty sure it wasn’t actually Toht on the plane with Indy - ISTR it was some more normal looking guy. And how do you know that wasn’t part of the Nazis plan anyway? They knew Professor Ravenwood had the headpiece, and Indy had been very close to him. Leak to US Army Intelligence that they’re looking for the headpiece and they think Dr. Jones knows something about it. Get them to get Indy to track down the headpiece, and follow him. That’s why they had someone already in place following him on the plane, and a whole team ready to take the headpiece from Marion after they got to Nepal.
as far as I remember, it was Toht (or as I like to call him, that guy with the hanger) on the plane
Haven’t seen it in a year or so, but I’m 99% sure it wasn’t Toht on the plane.
watched it just now and on further review, it is really hard to tell who it is, but I have to say that it is not Toht
in my defense, though, he is wearing glasses
I don’t think Indiana’s completely useless in the film. The Nazis may very well have found the Ark without his help - they may have found a different way to get to Marion, or just brute-forced their way to the Well of Souls. And if Indy hadn’t been there, Belloq would still have gotten himself fried on that little island, but the Nazis would have eventually sent someone out to find out what happened, and sooner or later, would have ended up in uncontested possession of the Ark. Sooner or later, they might have figured out a way to make some sort of use of it.
But THEY DID. When Indy is locked in the Well, he notices there are numerous holes through the wall. So he uses the Anubis statue to break throught the wall. On the other side (either right after the wall or a few chambers farther) is a shaft of light , leading to a loose stone, revealing that Indy was in a temple-like construction already discovered by the Nazis and actually very near the whole center of the digs.
So:
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when Jones gets stranded in the well, the ground (I mean normal ground, not subterranean where Indy is) is something like tens of metres above him. When he gets through the wall on the other side, suddenly the ground is now 2 metres above him. Even though clearly nothing indicates that is exit is significantly lower than what was the official entry into the Wells. Moreover, the temple he is getting out seems to stand above the rest of the dig. Doesnt make any sense whatsoever, but it doesnt make any sort of internal logic neither.
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Most importantly. So Jones get through a temple already discovered by the Nazis, and in which you can get to see the Wells of souls through numerous holes in the wall! WTF, how in Hell could they have missed that, given the scope of the dig???
3)Last; so the Nazis get to find partial clues to the Wells because Toth (didnt know he had a specific name but I’ll use that) has the medallion burnt on his palm. Ok, that’s nice, but when Indy does use his own medallion, the part of it that is essential is not the engraving but the crystal through which sunlight goes. Just a few imperfections (or lack of) in the crystal would point you in a totally wrong direction. Yet the Nazis dont have that crystal, nor do they have any copy of it or any information on its specifics. In the end what the Nazis have is just a creepy old sod who leaves nasty scratch marks on his penis when he feels like pleasuring himself (and has the face for that kind of tendencies).
So, that whole, “hurry Indy they got part of the clue” just means nothing. The Nazis might find the well (actually if they had just focused on 2) Hitler would already have been killed by the Ark, meaning Indy is somewhat responsible for the Holocaust. Now, that I think of it, wasnt Mel Gibson considered for the role?) but just because theyre digging everything. They should know their intel offers them no hints.
Isn’t the biggest one Indy’s trip across half the Mediterranean while sitting on top of a submarine, remaining undetected the whole way? That one made me roll my eyes even as an excitable youth who thought the movie was fantastic.
I don’t think there’s a problem here. He’s digging for the Well on top of a hill. When he finds an exit, he’s at the bottom of the hill. Additionally, we don’t really know how far he and Marion traveled after he dropped the Anubis through the wall - it’s apparent that there’s more to the complex than just the Well itself. It might be quite extensive, and we don’t necessarily know how much of it they had to go through to get out.
That’s not really all the exceptional. They found what appeared to be an empty complex - again, we don’t know how big - explored it to the extent that they could verify that it wasn’t the Well of Souls, and moved on. Indy only notices the holes in the walls because the snakes were crawling through them. I can totally see the Nazis going into a room full of snakes, with no other doors except the one they came through, and saying, “Nein, not in here, let’s move on,” without looking to closely.
That’s a good point. It’s the sort of thing I’m willing to forgive, though, because it allows two awesome scenes in the same movie: the reveal that Toht has half the seal burned into his flesh, and the iconic laser beam in the map room.
However, here’s one more inconsistency with the whole set up: after Indy uses the correct length of staff to find the Well of Souls, he snaps it in half, presumably so that the Nazis can’t use it to find the Well if he fails. But he leaves both halves in the chamber. Apparently, Nazi super-science has not yet uncovered the mysteries of packing tape.
And what did all those snakes live on all that time?
Each other.
