That Time Indiana Jones Was Upstaged in His Own Movie

The Big Picture

• The Last Crusade
  wasn’t meant to be the final Indy film, but it’s all about Indy finding his father, not the Grail.
• Sean Connery shines as Indy’s dad, adding depth and humor, redefining the dynamic between father and son.
• Spielberg wanted to add a personal touch to the series by focusing on father-son reconciliation over flashy effects.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny saw Harrison Ford’s archaeologist search for a mythical artifact one last time, but it sure wasn’t the initial concluding chapter to this franchise. The intended capper, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade was to make for a trilogy of movies, pitting the hero in a race to find the Holy Grail, while also trying to find his missing father. It’s not so much a breathless action-adventure story, as it is about healing and the mundane moments. Director Steven Spielberghimself, has explained what the Holy Grail means in this third chapter. Other than an ancient relic and plot device, it has deep importance in the relationship between a father and son who have lost each other over decades of differences. Just who could play Indy’s father, and actually upstage Ford in what was at the time to be his final adventure? That honor goes to Sir Sean Connerywho was the first to make 007 gain the license to kill on the big screen, and having him in the cast, linked James Bond and Indiana Jones in more ways than one.

Indy’s Biggest Conflict in ‘Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade’ Are Daddy Issues

The Last Crusade follows Indy as he once again defeats Nazis and he doesn’t hide his feelings for them. “I hate these guys,” he says, probably wishing for their faces to get melted off or their bodies blasted through like in his previous encounter. But the Holy Grail won’t be doing anything like that. It’ll suck the living essence out of someone who drinks from the wrong chalice, but the movie eases down on a prized artifact’s fantastical powers in order to play into who Indy is really on the hunt for. “Find the man, and you will find the grail,” Donovan (Julian Glover) tells Indy, to persuade him to take up this mission. It is one of the most important lines of dialogue spoken in the moviepractically stating what the story is all about. There are speed boat chases through Venice, Nazi-driven tanks going after Indy, and the exciting and thrilling set pieces an Indiana Jones adventure promises when you go and watch. Yet, the Holy Grail isn’t the main reward for its hero, it’s finding his father, the man he can’t stand and who he wishes to approval from.

Before directing Raiders of the Lost ArkSteven Spielberg had hoped to get attached to make a James Bond movie. He failed, twice, in pitching himself to producer Albert Broccolihoping the blockbuster success of Jaws could help. The third time would be the charm, although it wasn’t exactly what he might have been expecting. Spielberg reflected on a fateful visit to his friend George Lucaswho also was feeling unfulfilled, in an interview for The Guardiansaying, “We started complaining to one another about the problems you get making these big films. He’d tell me about his difficulties with the robots on Star Wars and I’d tell him my nightmare stories about the mechanical shark in Jaws. Then I mentioned I’d always wanted to make a James Bond picture and George said, ‘I’ve got something better than Bond.’ He told me the plot of Raiders and he said the very best thing would be, we wouldn’t have a single piece of hardware in the film.” The rest is movie history. Knowing this backstory, it makes sense when it came time for The Last Crusade, in Spielberg’s own words for an Empire retrospective on the third outing, “Who else but Bond could have been worthy enough to play Indiana Jones’s dad?”

Sean Connery Upstaged Harrison Ford in ‘Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade’

Nearly 50 minutes into Indiana Jones and the Last Crusadethe movie properly introduces Sean Connery’s role as Henry Jones Sr., this buildup helping to instill into the audience the absence Indy felt from his estranged parent. Harrison Ford had no problem with the real possibility he would be getting upstaged, as he got to share scenes with Connery, and the movie isn’t too bothered with upstaging the iconic hero either, giving a new player plenty to do. There’s nothing worse than Indiana dealing with his father never calling him by his name, the one he and fans know and love. “Junior,” repeatedly leaving Henry’s mouth. “Don’t call me that, please,” Indy utters, not getting the chance to let the pounding to his head relax after his father smashes a vase into him. This is their first scene, where Indy arrives to save his father from the Nazisonly then to become a second thought in Henry’s mind.

“It breaks the heart,” Henry sighs, then relief floods in as he recognizes the Late 14th Century Ming Dynasty vase he destroyed is a forgery (“See, you can tell by the cross-section.”). Like father, like son, they share traits. They have distinct outfits which can tell them apartfrom Indiana’s more rugged look to Henry’s scholarly appearance. They have phobias, from Henry hating rats to Indiana’s petrified interactions with snakes. Then there are the action scenes to illustrate how different these two are, showing Indy physically defending off Nazis — sticking a pole into their motorbike can do the trick — to the stern displeasure of Henry Sr. who can’t believe the violence his son is committing.

The fireplace escape in Castle Brunwald pulls the best out of seeing Harrison Ford and Sean Connery share the screen. The father and son’s situation turns into a domino effect, from Henry Sr. dropping a lighter meant to free the ropes tied around them, to the fire which eats up the carpet, the drapes, and soon, the whole damn room. Then the fireplace Indy and Henry take refuge in ends up as a rotating hidden doorway. While Indy fights his way through Nazis, he activates a secret door which spins Indy and Henry separately, the older Jones looking very out of place in the brawl. Henry Jones Sr. may be the more academic type compared to his son, but he still has an adventurous spirit and smarts.

Sean Connery Got in on the Fun in ‘Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade’

Henry stops an oncoming enemy plane by spooking unfortunate seagulls. His calm manner is a foil to his son’s frantic state. And while this paternal character is in no way a villain, he keeps his son on edge. During their flee from Berlin, they take flight on a zeppelin where Indy vents annoyance over his emotionally-distant upbringing, which gets challenged. If Indy wants to talk, fine, Henry will let him. Ford plays the scene nervous and stuttering, reverting to a kid who got what they demanded and has no idea what to do with it. Connery’s stare is bug-eyed as Indy stumbles over his words, thanks to years of not saying anything on a deeper level. They can easily spend the time away discussing the tomb of Sir Richard or going through the meticulous pages of the Grail-centric diary, however, that isn’t what Indy craves. The scene leaves Indy feeling vulnerable, without the movie resorting to having him get dragged behind a truck or risk losing his heart to the Thuggee cult. Henry Sr. doesn’t understand his son, not yet at least.

Connery was said to be in good spirits during the filming of The Last Crusade simply because he got to have fun in the role. After Indy’s romance with Elsa (Alison Doody) is revealed to be a sham, he wonders how his father knew her true motives. Connery famously improvises the answer, casually telling his son, “She talks in her sleep.” Father-son banter alone isn’t enough to upstage Indy. Spielberg felt Temple of Doom lacked a personal touch, and he wanted to give that to The Last Crusade. An absentee father is a frequent element in the director’s movies of the ’70s and ‘80s, inspired by his own parental experience. It could be a father with the best intentions, but still deserting his family like in Jaws. Or it can be a father gone entirely, leaving his wife behind to be a single mom and trying her best, like in E.T. This third Indiana Jones changed that by putting Henry Sr. front and center.

George Lucas explained to Vanity Fair how the MacGuffin for Last Crusade came to be, saying, “The Holy Grail has mythical connotations, has been ascribed with several powers, but nothing very specific. So we had a time when we were going to do it and we rejected it, and we thought we better add to it some healing property, to give it something to grab onto — which (has) been alluded to in the history of the Holy Grail.” This relates to Henry Sr.’s character, as Spielberg said in the interview for the Empire retrospective, “The dad thing was my idea. The Grail doesn’t offer a lot of special effects and doesn’t promise a huge physical climax. I just thought that the Grail that everybody seeks could be a metaphor for a son seeking reconciliation with a father and a father seeking reconciliation with a son.”

The Last Crusade leaves out a finale heavy in special effectsunlike the holy white hell unleashed in Raiders or the mine chase, then collapsing rope bridge in Temple of Doom (1984). Spielberg’s choice to make the artifact in Indy’s third chapter be a metaphor for reconciliation is why the finale is an emotional high for the series. Henry Sr. suffers a gunshot wound, which threatens to bring him his last breaths. Indy must save his father by finding the correct Grail and he does. Then it’s Henry’s turn to take charge. When cracks run across the chamber floor to ensure the Grail stays within its walls, Indy nearly falls into a chasm. His father holds onto him, but it isn’t enough. Henry Sr. values his son more than the chalice, finally accepting Indy and getting his full attention when he states, “Indiana…let it go.”

Composer John Williams creates new scores for Indiana Jones and the Last Crusadewith notable ones, “Scherzo for Motorcycle and Orchestra” and “The Keeper of the Grail,” sounding playfully mischievous, with a riff as sophisticated as Connery’s character. “This is intolerable!” Henry Sr. cries out, but by the end there’s the feeling he’s enjoying the adventure. Nothing says dad-and-son bonding time than flying a biplane, avoiding enemy fire, only for Henry to obliterate his plane’s wing with misjudged return firing. “Son, I’m sorry,” Henry says, “They got us.” Appearing in one movie, Sean Connery turns a newly introduced role into a beloved character for the franchise, this success owing much to his pleasure in the role and that personal touch Spielberg wanted to add in.

Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade is currently streaming on Disney+ in the U.S.

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