REVISITING SPIELBERG #6 - Spielberg and Lucas Join Forces for "Raiders of the Lost Ark" (1981)

After making “1941”, Steven Spielberg had made three films where he went over budget and over schedule. That was fine when “Jaws” and “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” made over $300 million and $250 million, respectively, at the box office. However, “1941” made just shy of $100 million and that meant that it was the first time Spielberg experienced box office disappointment.

Despite the fact that Spielberg was a household name at this point, studios did not want to make a movie with the young filmmaker due to his reputation. Meanwhile, another filmmaker and friend of Spielberg’s, George Lucas, had made a massive success with 1977’s “Star Wars” and Lucas became a highly in demand filmmaker.

Lucas went to Spielberg and asked what Spielberg wanted to make next. Spielberg replied that he had always wanted to direct a James Bond movie. Unfortunately, producer of the Bond series, Albert R. “Cubby” Broccoli, thought that Spielberg was too young and he also preferred to hire British filmmakers at that point in time.

Lucas told Spielberg that he thought he had an idea that Spielberg would love. It was to be an adventure film from a story concept that Lucas had developed with fellow filmmaker Philip Kaufman. The movie harkened back to the old adventure serials that used to play in the 1930s and ‘40s. At the time, it starred a young adventurer named Indiana Smith. Spielberg was immediately interested in the idea.

Harrison Ford plays Indiana Jones in "Raiders of the Lost Ark".

Unfortunately, when Lucas was trying to shop the story around, almost every studio said that they would love to work with Lucas, but he couldn’t hire Spielberg as the director. Thankfully, one studio made a gamble. Paramount Pictures told Lucas that he could hire Spielberg but only if the director could promise to bring the film in on budget and on schedule.

Lucas agreed to the deal and Spielberg was hired to direct the adventure film. They then hired Lawrence Kasdan to help them develop the final script. Originally titled “The Adventures of Indiana Smith”, the first thing Spielberg wanted to change was the surname as he was not a fan of it, so all three men agreed that the character would become Indiana Jones.

Lucas and Kaufman had already come up with some heavy beats for the film. This included things such as making the Ark of the Covenant the central item Indy is trying to discover and that this would pit him against the Nazis, playing off the real-life fascination that Adolf Hitler had with the occult.

Taking the new name of the character and the ideas already developed into account, Kasden turned in the script for what would be called “Raiders of the Lost Ark”. The next question was who would their Indiana Jones be?

Spielberg and fellow filmmakers try to figure out a shot in "Raiders of the Lost Ark".

Spielberg was initially interested in Harrison Ford for the role, but Lucas was hesitant as he had already used Ford in his two previous films, “American Graffiti” and “Star Wars”. As he put it in an interview, Lucas stated that his hesitation was that he didn’t want Ford to become the Robert De Niro to his Martin Scorsese.

So, screen tests were held and actors who auditioned included Tim Matheson (who Spielberg had previously worked with on “1941”) and an actor named Tom Selleck. It was Selleck who almost got the role, but there was one problem. Selleck had signed a contract to star in a CBS pilot named “Magnum P.I.” and the series was greenlit and Selleck became unavailable.

It was at this time that Lucas relented and they sent the script to Ford. After reading the script, Ford easily signed a three film deal due to how much he liked Kasdan’s screenplay. The other major role to cast was that of Marion Ravenwood, a character that Kasden named after his wife’s grandmother and a street that he saw in Los Angeles.

The actress who came close to getting the part was a young newcomer named Sean Young, known mostly for her stage work. Lucas and Spielberg liked her, but then Karen Allen came in for an audition. Allen had more experience in film than Young and it was for this reason that Allen was cast in the part.

After getting their cast hired and the production set up at Paramount, it was time to start filming.

Harrison Ford and Karen Allen on the set of "Raiders of the Lost Ark".

The movie follows Indiana Jones, a professor and archeologist who often searches for rare artifacts, sometimes with great danger involved. His main rival is Belloq (Paul Freeman), a French archeologist that doesn’t have a moral bone in his body. That’s why it’s easy for Belloq to work with the Nazis in their search for the Ark of the Covenant.

When Indiana Jones learns of this, he heads out to find Abner Ravenwood who was an expert when it came to the Ark. Unfortunately, Indy discovers that his old mentor is dead and he soon runs back into his old flame and Abner’s daughter, Marion Ravenwood. They soon join forces in order to beat the Nazis by discovering the Ark first.

The movie definitely feels like an old school B movie with a modern day sheen of expert filmmaking and special-effects. Ford was born to play the role of Indy and no other love interest in the Indy films comes close to Allen as Marion and the chemistry she shared with Ford.

Then there is the music by John Williams who created yet another flawless score with one of the most memorable themes for a movie that has ever been recorded. This is a movie where all the elements came together from the director to the cast to the script and all the way to the music.

It also proved to be a comeback story for Spielberg behind-the-scenes as well. He more than lived up to his promise to Lucas. He actually finished the film ahead of schedule and under budget. Therefore, it was a gamble that also paid off for Paramount Pictures.

Made on a $20 million budget, the movie initially grossed over $354 million at the box office worldwide. It was also the start of a major motion picture series starring Ford that went all the way to 2023. After this, Spielberg could basically write his own ticket and the prime age of his filmmaking career truly began.

Speaking of which, the next time we revisit Spielberg, he returns to the land of science fiction and aliens. It’s a little picture released in 1982 known as “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial”. Until then, grab your fedora and bullwhip and revisit one of the best damn adventure films to ever be made!