Movies That Influenced The Indiana Jones Franchise
by ncsudreamweaver | created - 08 Jun 2019 | updated - 09 Jun 2019 | PublicFilmmakers George Lucas and Steven Spielberg created the Indiana Jones movies as an homage to the classic adventure films & series that they grew up with. These movies were in some way an inspiration for Spielberg & Lucas when they were creating the Indiana Jones character and the movies. I have listed below 10 movies (in order of release date) that the filmmakers most likely drew inspiration from. Under each movie, I have mentioned a way in which each movie influenced or inspired the Indiana Jones movies. Please feel free to leave a comment, and let me know if there are any other movies that you feel I should mention.
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1. Gunga Din (1939)
Approved | 117 min | Adventure, Comedy, War
In 19th century India, three British soldiers and a native waterbearer must stop a secret mass revival of the murderous Thuggee cult before it can rampage across the land.
Director: George Stevens | Stars: Cary Grant, Joan Fontaine, Victor McLaglen, Douglas Fairbanks Jr.
Votes: 12,796
Temple of Doom seems to pay homage to this classic adventure film and the Thuggee cult storyline.
2. Stagecoach (1939)
Passed | 96 min | Adventure, Drama, Western
A group of people traveling on a stagecoach find their journey complicated by the threat of Geronimo and learn something about each other in the process.
Director: John Ford | Stars: John Wayne, Claire Trevor, Andy Devine, John Carradine
Votes: 53,761
The classic truck chase in Raiders of the Lost Ark in which Indy goes under the truck seems to have been influenced by a similar scene with John Wayne in this classic Western film.
3. China (1943)
Approved | 79 min | Drama, War
During the Japanese invasion of China, a cynical, macho profiteer meets a compassionate, beautiful schoolteacher.
Director: John Farrow | Stars: Loretta Young, Alan Ladd, William Bendix, Philip Ahn
Votes: 632
When George Lucas and Steven Spielberg wanted to give their production crew an idea as to what their vision for Raiders of the Lost Ark was, they held two screenings during pre-production. During one screening they showed Secret of the Incas (1954) and during the other, they screened this film. The main character's look in this movie also influenced the Indiana Jones character.
4. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
Passed | 126 min | Adventure, Drama, Western
Two down-on-their-luck Americans searching for work in 1920s Mexico convince an old prospector to help them mine for gold in the Sierra Madre Mountains.
Director: John Huston | Stars: Humphrey Bogart, Walter Huston, Tim Holt, Bruce Bennett
Votes: 132,415 | Gross: $5.01M
There are multiple inspirations from this movie. For example, Humphrey Bogart's fedora in this movie looks just like Indy's fedora. Also, Indy's trek through Peru at the beginning of Raiders of the Lost Ark seems to be a homage to this movie, with three grungy explorers searching for "gold" in the wilderness of South America with their gear on donkeys.
5. King Solomon's Mines (1950)
Passed | 103 min | Action, Adventure, Romance
Adventurer Allan Quartermain leads an expedition into uncharted African territory in an attempt to locate an explorer who went missing during his search for the fabled diamond mines of King Solomon.
Directors: Compton Bennett, Andrew Marton | Stars: Deborah Kerr, Stewart Granger, Richard Carlson, Hugo Haas
Votes: 7,014
An adventure movie in the vain of Indiana Jones that influenced the franchise.
6. The Naked Jungle (1954)
Approved | 95 min | Adventure, Drama, Thriller
The Leiningen South American cocoa plantation is threatened by a 2-mile-wide, 20-mile-long column of army ants.
Director: Byron Haskin | Stars: Charlton Heston, Eleanor Parker, Abraham Sofaer, William Conrad
Votes: 4,407
This movie definitely influenced the jungle scenes in Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.
7. Secret of the Incas (1954)
Approved | 100 min | Action, Adventure
An adventurer searchers for hidden treasure in the Peruvian jungles.
Director: Jerry Hopper | Stars: Charlton Heston, Robert Young, Nicole Maurey, Thomas Mitchell
Votes: 1,964 | Gross: $1.40M
Charlton Heston's character in this movie influenced the character of Indiana Jones as well as the wardrobe.
8. Valley of the Kings (1954)
Approved | 86 min | Adventure, Drama
In 1900, in Egypt, archaeologist Mark Brandon is asked by Ann Mercedes to find the tomb of Ra-Hotep but their quest is marred by intrigue, betrayal, murder and danger.
Director: Robert Pirosh | Stars: Robert Taylor, Eleanor Parker, Carlos Thompson, Kurt Kasznar
Votes: 1,631
An archaeological adventure film that is a precursor to Raiders of the Lost Ark, with a very similar plot.
9. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
Approved | 218 min | Adventure, Biography, Drama
The story of T.E. Lawrence, the English officer who successfully united and led the diverse, often warring, Arab tribes during World War I in order to fight the Turks.
Director: David Lean | Stars: Peter O'Toole, Alec Guinness, Anthony Quinn, Jack Hawkins
Votes: 314,352 | Gross: $44.82M
The beautiful shots and landscapes of this classic adventure film influenced the Indiana Jones franchise, specifically the archaeological dig scenes in Raiders of the Lost Ark.
10. Dr. No (1962)
PG | 110 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
A resourceful British government agent seeks answers in a case involving the disappearance of a colleague and the disruption of the American space program.
Director: Terence Young | Stars: Sean Connery, Ursula Andress, Bernard Lee, Joseph Wiseman
Votes: 179,395 | Gross: $16.07M
The character of Indiana Jones is considered by many as an American version of the James Bond character. Steven Spielberg even wanted to direct a James Bond movie, and George Lucas told him that he had a character that he had been working on that was "even better".
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