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A common fan theory states Indiana Jones supposedly had no effect on the outcome since the Nazis actually did get the ark. This may be false, however, because Belloq states in the beginning of the movie that following Indy around is his usual way of finding things, which is the basis of their rivalry. This, along with scenes where Belloq is advising the Nazis, may indicate that Belloq has told them to follow Indy around until he leads them to the Ark, as he had led Belloq to previous discoveries. Even though the intercepted German communique mentioning Ravenwood would indicate that the Nazis are already on their way to Marion to retrieve the head piece to the Staff of Ra, and Indy simply beats them to it, this may be simply misdirection: there is a very reasonable possibility that Belloq and the Nazis purposely let the Americans intercept that message, knowing that they would call upon Indy to seek out Marion. All they would have to do was follow Indy, which would explain the presence of the German spy on the plane.
The famous scene in which Indy shoots a marauding and flamboyant swordsman was not in the original script. Harrison Ford was supposed to use his whip to get the sword out of his attacker's hands, but the food poisoning he and the rest of the crew had gotten made him too sick to perform the stunt. After several unsuccessful tries, Ford suggested "shooting the sucker." Steven Spielberg immediately took him up on the idea, and the scene was successfully filmed.
Indy's line to Marion when they are on the ship ("It's not the years, honey, it's the mileage") was ad-libbed by Harrison Ford.
The out-of-control airplane actually ran over Harrison Ford's knee, tearing a ligament in his left leg. Lucky for him, the heat had turned the rubber tire's soft, so it did not crush the bone. Rather than submit to Tunisian health care, Ford had his knee wrapped in ice and carried on.
Freeze-framing during the Well of Souls scene, you can notice a golden pillar with a tiny engraving of R2-D2 and C-3PO from the Star Wars saga. They are also on the wall behind Indy when they first approach the Ark.
When Brody first goes to Indy's house to discuss the mission, Jones is dressed the way he is because he is entertaining a young woman in his bedroom. The script originally planned to show her before moving to the next scene, to give Indy a more worldly persona (like James Bond). However, her appearance was cut, as Steven Spielberg thought that being a playboy did not fit Indy's character. (This also helps explain why several of the co-eds fawn over Jones and why one girl wrote "love you" on her eyelids).
Frank Marshall: Pilot of the flying wing. All the stuntmen were sick on the day that Marion hits the pilot of the Flying Wing over the head, so producer Frank Marshall agreed to do it. Unfortunately for him, the shot took three days, and a lot of it involved him sitting in a cockpit that was in excess of one hundred degrees.
Terry Leonard: The stuntman who appears as the German truck driver also performed numerous stunts as Indiana, including jumping from the horse to the truck and sliding under the truck.
Dennis Muren: Appears as a Nazi spy who is tracking Indiana Jones on the airplane. Only his eyes can be seen, though, as most of his face is hidden behind the magazine he's reading, which is Life volume 1 number 2 (November 30, 1936), which has pages 42-43 dedicated to the water color paintings of Adolf Hitler.
Glenn Randall Jr.: The stunt coordinator appears as the mechanic with the monkey wrench at the flying wing.