The Bearded Trio

Terry Richards Disappointed Over Iconic Raiders Scene It was on this day back in 2014 that it was announced we lost Terry Richards, the brilliant British stunt man whose career spanned Indiana Jones, James Bond, Star Wars and so many classics. Richards had actually passed away on 14th June, aged 81. Richards served in the Welsh Guards before being told by a friend that they needed extras with military training.  He was asked if he could fall from a scaffolding which ultimately led to his long career as a stuntman. Most fans remember him as the Cairo Swordsman in Raiders of the Lost Ark, a scene that became iconic completely by accident. Richards had trained hard for a full sword fight, but Harrison Ford was too ill to perform it. As Ford explained: “I was no longer capable of staying out of my trailer for more than it took to expose a role of film, which was 10 minutes, and then I would have to flee back there for sanitary facilities.” Ford admitted Richards was disappointed after ...

Planes and Ford Spell Trouble On The Set Of Raiders of the Lost Ark The Flying Wing scene is a memorable one in Raiders of the Lost Ark as we get to witness an exciting few minutes of action including a fight scene with Indy and a muscly German mechanic, Indy almost losing his head from a propeller all coupled with big explosions and fast-paced action.  But for Steven Spielberg the Flying Wing scene was a bit of struggle.  The prop itself didn't always perform properly and Steven had to figure out how to piece together 120 shots for the fight sequence and of course the blazingly hot temperatures on set. But it was these hot temperatures that saved Harrison Ford from having a major disaster and a potential life-changing injury.  The wheel of the Flying Wing actually ran over Ford's leg at one point as the actor lay on the ground for a fight sequence.  Ford recalls "I go down and start to roll away - and my foot slips, right under the rolling plane's tire.  Everyb...

Paul Freeman, Harrison Ford, John Rhys-Davies, Ronald Lacey and Pat Roach at the UK Premiere of Raiders of the Lost Ark, 1981. Karen Allen (Marion Ravenwood) on set of Raiders of the Lost Ark.  When you have an itch just out of reach, this will do nicely. Inside of the now famous Chachapoyan fertility idol that Indiana Jones goes after at the beginning of Raiders Of The Lost Ark. Douglas Slocombe along with Steven Spielberg and Harrison Ford examine the Chachapoyan fertility idol. Harrison Ford and Steven Spielberg in front of the The Bantu Wind, the weather beaten cargo ship Indy, Marion, and the Ark of the Covenant hitch a ride on in Raiders Of The Lost Ark Meal time on set.  During filming in Tunisia, nearly everyone in the cast and crew got dysentery or food poisoning, except a wise Steven Spielberg. He insisted on only eating out of cans that were shipped in from England. Karen Allen, Steven Spielberg, Harrison Ford and John Rhys-Davies On Set Of Raiders of the Lost ...

George Lucas Feeling Unwell On The Set Of Raiders Of The Lost Ark George Lucas And His Sea Sickness On the fourth day of shooting for Raiders of the Lost Ark, cast and crew headed out to sea for what looked like a calm day, just like the day before.  Filming was on the Bantu Wind from June 23rd to the 27th, 1980.  Unfortunately, the conditions soon became rough.  The teams were divided into small boats, The Aiglon II was Spielberg's boat, Venus des Lles were the crews.  Safety boats, tugboats, and a dory were all used.  What is a dory boat?   A dory is a small, shallow-draft boat around five metres in length. George Lucas was on the dory. The dory was actually damaged during the day as the weather worsened and a large swell caused it to run into another boat.  Several people became ill including George Lucas.  He wasn't alone though as executive producer, Howard Kazanjian also came down with sea sickness.  So much that he spent t...

Karen Allen Gets Punched In The Face By Extra On the second day of shooting for Raiders of the Lost Ark, Karen Allen sustained a blow to her face.  Obviously accidentally while she struggled with Nazi extras on the set of Bantu Wind.  Ice packs had to be applied and thankfully the hit wasn't bad enough to stop her continuing with the filming. Considering it was the first location for filming Raiders of the Lost Ark, the days ahead on the Bantu Wind were challenging.  Seasickness, changeable weather conditions and to top it all, the weather services in France were on general strike.  Despite all this, time for the this particular location wrapped up fifteen minutes early even with extra scenes shot for Sallah's goodbye. If you want to find out more about the Bantu Wind and what happened to it you can read our article about the boat here. The Bantu Wind The Bearded Trio - The Site For Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, John Williams and a whole lot more.

Douglas Slocombe And His Special Skills We often say how much of a genius John Williams is for the epic music he creates, or the directing talents of Steven Spielberg but movies that become classics are a collaboration of talented people at the peak of their skills and careers.   When you celebrate a movie franchise such as Indiana Jones which marks its 40th anniversary this year, we should thank the whole of the cast for the movies that we enjoy and here at The Bearded Trio we do thank them.  However, there should be a time when we pin-point particular talents that made the Indiana Jones movies unique in look, sound and feel.   Douglas Slocombe is one of those people that should be mentioned.  The look of the Indy movies is thanks to the talents of this lighting wizard. Slocombe, one of the best cinematographers of all time definitely put his stamp on Raiders of the Lost Ark, Temple of Doom and Last Crusade as Director of Photography .  The look of ...

Indiana Jones: Connecting Generations by Tom Gross A few weeks back, I sat down to introduce Raiders of the Lost Ark to a new generation of my family: my thirteen-year-old daughter.  While I have seen the film probably a couple dozen times in my lifetime, I haven't watched it myself in probably ten years.  So, I was excited for another viewing after quite some time, and I was excited to see the film with my daughter who was experiencing it for the first time. I had forgotten how wonderful this movie is with the cinematography, the music, the story, and of course the acting.  But, what really made this movie for me during this viewing was one moment.  The moment is in the scene where Marion is taken while she is hiding in a basket.  Indiana is running through the street trying to follow her screaming voice.  A great moment when Indiana runs into the market and sees all the same baskets, but that wasn't the moment. It is the set-up for the moment.  I rea...

RAVEN BAR & WELL OF SOULS STAFF OF RA HEADPIECE FROM RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (1981) ESTIMATED: $100,000-200,000 ROBIN WILLIAMS’ “PETER BANNING” SWORD FROM HOOK (1991) ESTIMATED: $12,000-16,000 You will never dig in the wrong place again with this original Staff of Ra headpiece.  It's going up for auction from Wednesday 26th August to Thursday 27th August in Los Angeles, California.  All thanks to Prop Store Auctions.   It seems it doesn't belong in a museum but the highest bidder.  Dig deep because the estimate for the headpiece is between $100,000 and $200,000.  Why can't I just win it in a good old fashioned drinking challenge?   All the auction details are below in the full press release where you can see that there are other interesting lots related to The Bearded Trio.  Plenty of Star Wars items including Obi-Wan's lightsabre and a more conventional sword from Steven Spielberg's 1991 adventure classic, Hook ...

The Droids In Raiders of the Lost Ark.  Where To Spot Them You've heard that R2-D2 and C3P0 from Star Wars are somewhere in the world of Indiana Jones, specifically in the movie, Raiders Of The Lost Ark but you've never seen them? Well we've made it easy for you to spot. Check this photo out: It's during the scene where Indy take the Ark out of its stone case while down in the Well of Souls (around the one hour six minute mark in the film.)  As Indiana Jones and Sallah struggle to lift the stone case off, you can see to the side of Indy, a small pillar with hieroglyphics.  This is where you can see two droids.  R2-D2 and C3P0. This fun Easter egg was returned in the world of Star Wars.  Indiana Jones is referenced in the animated Star Wars show, The Clone Wars.  In the season one episode, Liberty of Ryloth we see an Ark that looks very much like the Ark of the Covenant being transported on to a ship.  According to Star Wars Fandom this is c...

Friend of the site and our Facebook page , Suzanna Charlton Francis has been sending us some wonderful photos over the last few weeks and I just had to share them on our site.  The photos are from the time Suzanna's mother was enjoying being on the set of the The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.  Pamela Mann was part of the crew as continuity and as you can see had a blast on the set mingling with the stars and crew. Return of the Jedi crew photo Suzanna tells us: "My mum Pamela Mann, enjoying some downtime during filming return of the jedi with Carrie fisher" Patricia McDermott (hairdresser) Pamela Mann (continuity) and Carrie fisher having fun during a break from shooting. The prop guys built an igloo for Pamela Mann on location in Norway on Star Wars The Empire Strikes Back. On the set of The Empire Strikes back enjoying a snowmobile in Finse, Norway Suzanna: "The birthday (spelt wrong) one was drawn by Alan Tomkins who was the art ...