Guide Note

The Indiana Jones Films are a series of Action-Adventure films created by Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, and star Harrison Ford. These movies follow the exploits of a rough and tumble, Nazi-fighting archaeologist who dons an iconic fedora, leather jacket and whip.

Fast Facts

1. 1981: Raiders of the Lost Ark
2. 1984: Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
3. 1989: Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
4. 2008: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
5. Director: Steven Spielberg
6. Studio: Paramount Pictures
7. Character created by: George Lucas

In the first film, released in 1981, Indy competes in a race to find the Ark of the Covenant before the Nazis do. Indy teams up with his old flame, Marion Ravenwood (played by Karen Allen), and his good friends Sallah and Marcus Brody, to outmaneuver a scrupulous rival named Belloq who is working for the Nazis.

In the second Indiana Jones film, which came out in 1984, Indy travels with a lounge singer named Willie Scott (Kate Capshaw) and a kid named Short Round (Jonathan Ke Quan) to India, where he chances upon an ancient kingdom with a terrible heritage. Underneath the temple, Indy discovers a secret evil cult that enslaves children and sacrifices innocent men to a lava pit after removing their flaming hearts. Indy fights the head of the cult, Mola Ram, and acts to free the children from their bondage so that they may return home to their families.

In the third installment of the series, Indy picks up his father's quest to find the Holy Grail after his father mysteriously disappears in Germany. Indy meets up with the elusive Dr. Elsa Schneider (played by Alison Doody), and soon finds out that she is in cahoots with the Nazis. Indy is reunited with his father Henry (played by Sean Connery), and the two of them act to escape the Nazis and keep the grail out of harm's way.

In the fourth film, Indy is a bit older and is now fighting against the Soviet Union. He, along with a greaser named Mutt Williams (played by Shia LaBeouf) compete against a Soviet agent named Irina Spalko (Cate Blanchett) for an ancient artifact called the Crystal Skull.