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A boy and an Indiana Jones Adventurebilt the Henry hat

I captured this moment in the intense afternoon sun. He has an Indiana Jones Adventurebilt the Henry hat on. I used the rule of thirds as a composition guide. L...
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I captured this moment in the intense afternoon sun. He has an Indiana Jones Adventurebilt the Henry hat on. I used the rule of thirds as a composition guide. Little info: Costume: Upon requests by Spielberg and Lucas, the costume designer gave the character a distinctive silhouette through the styling of the hat; after examining many hats, the designers chose a tall-crowned, wide-brimmed fedora. As a documentary of Raiders pointed out, the hat served a practical purpose. Following the lead of the old "B"-movies that inspired the Indiana Jones series, the fedora hid the actor's face sufficiently to allow doubles to perform the more dangerous stunts seamlessly. Examples in Raiders include the wider-angle shot of Indy and Marion crashing a statue through a wall, and Indy sliding under a fast-moving vehicle from front to back. Thus it was necessary for the hat to stay in place much of the time.

The hat became so iconic that the filmmakers could only come up with very good reasons or jokes to remove it. If it ever fell off during a take, filming would have to stop to put it back on. In jest, Ford put a stapler against his head to stop his hat from falling off when a documentary crew visited during shooting of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. This created the urban legend that Ford stapled the hat to his head. Anytime Indy's hat accidentally came off as part of the storyline (blown off by the wind, knocked off, etc.) and seemed almost irretrievable, filmmakers would make sure Indy and his hat were always reunited, regardless of the implausibility of its return. Although other hats were also used throughout the films, the general style and profile remained the same. Elements of the outfit include:

The fedora was supplied by Herbert Johnson Hatters in England for the first three films. An Australian model was used by costume designer Deborah Landis to show hat maker Richard Swales the details when making the iconic hat from "the Poets" parts. The fedora for Crystal Skull was made by Steve Delk and Marc Kitter of the Adventurebilt Hat Company of Columbus, Mississippi.

The leather jacket, a hybrid of the "Type 440" and the A-2 jacket, was made by Leather Concessionaires (now known as Wested Leather Co.) for Raiders of the Lost Ark and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. For Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, jackets were made in-house at Bermans & Nathans in London based on a stunt jacket they provided for Raiders of the Lost Ark. Tony Nowak made the jacket for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

The Indiana Jones shirt is based on a typical safari-style shirt. Its distinctive feature is two vertical strips running from the shoulders to the bottom of the shirt tails and continued over both breast pockets. A common debate regards the original shirt color. Surviving samples of the original shirts seem to be darker in reality than they appear on screen. Most fans look for an off-white "stone" color for their replicas. The original shirts, however, may have been more of a "tan" or "natural" color. The shirt varied little from film to film, the only notable difference being the darker buttons in Temple of Doom and Last Crusade. Originally designed by Andreas Dometakis for the films, this shirt was once one of the hardest pieces of gear to find.

The trousers worn by Indiana Jones in all five films were based on original World War II Army and Army Air Corps officer trousers. Although not original Pinks they are based on the same basic design and do carry a slight pinkish hue. The trousers made for Raiders are said to be more of a greyish-brown whereas the trousers made for Temple of Doom and Last Crusade were supposedly a purer reddish brown. The trousers were made of a khaki wool-twill, pleated with seven belt loops, two scalloped button flap rear pockets, a button fly and a four-inch military style hem. They were all most likely subcontracted by the costume department and made by famed London based cinema costumers, Angels and Bermans, to be tailored perfectly for Harrison Ford for the production.

The satchel was a modified Mark VII gas mask bag that was used by British troops and civilians during World War II.

The whip was an 8- to 10-foot (2.4 to 3.0 m) bullwhip crafted by David Morgan for the first three films. The whips for Crystal Skull were crafted by a variety of people, including Terry Jacka, Joe Strain and Morgan (different lengths and styles were likely used in specific stunts).

The pistol was usually a World War I-era revolver, including the Webley Government (WG) Revolver (Last Crusade and Crystal Skull), or a Smith & Wesson Second Model Hand Ejector revolver (Raiders). He has also used a Colt Official Police revolver (Temple of Doom), a Nagant M1883 (Young Indiana Jones), and a 9 mm Browning Hi-Power (Raiders). The weapon is carried in a military pattern flap holster.

The shoes were made by Alden. A stock style (model 405) that had been a favorite of Ford's before the films, they are still sold today (though in a redder (brick) shade of brown than seen in the films) and are popularly known as "Indy Boots."

The fedora and leather jacket from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade are on display at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C. The collecting of props and clothing from the films has become a thriving hobby for some aficionados of the franchise. Jones' whip was the third most popular film weapon, as shown by a 2008 poll held by 20th Century Fox, which surveyed approximately two thousand film fans.

Indiana Jones (character):
Dr. Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones, Jr. is the title character and protagonist of the Indiana Jones franchise. George Lucas created the character in homage to the action heroes of 1930s film serials. The character first appeared in the 1981 film Raiders of the Lost Ark, to be followed by Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom in 1984, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade in 1989, The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles from 1992 to 1996, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull in 2008, and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny in 2023. The character is also featured in novels, comics, video games, and other media. Jones is also the inspiration for several Disney theme park attractions, including Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril, the Indiana Jones Adventure, and Epic Stunt Spectacular! attractions.

Jones is most famously portrayed by Harrison Ford and has also been portrayed by River Phoenix (as the young Jones in The Last Crusade), and by Corey Carrier, Sean Patrick Flanery, and George Hall in the television series The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles. Doug Lee has supplied the voice of Jones for two LucasArts video games, Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis and Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine, David Esch supplied his voice for Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb, and John Armstrong for Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings. Troy Baker provides the voice and motion capture for the character in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle (2024).

Jones is characterized by his iconic accoutrements (bullwhip, fedora, satchel, and leather jacket), wry, witty and sarcastic sense of humor, deep knowledge of ancient civilizations and languages, and fear of snakes.

Since his first appearance in Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones has become one of cinema's most famous characters. In 2003, the American Film Institute ranked him the second-greatest film hero of all time. He was also named the greatest movie character by Empire magazine. Entertainment Weekly ranked Jones 2nd on their list of The All-Time Coolest Heroes in Pop Culture. Premiere magazine also placed Jones at number 7 on their list of The 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time.
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1 Comment |
dillardtaylor
 
dillardtaylor Apr 09
Thanks for the fabulous write-up!!! Love this stuff!!!
TimoDahlgrenPhotography Platinum
Thank you very much Dillard! Glad to hear that you read and appreciate my additional information!
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