Happy FORTIETH (!) Anniversary To Raiders Of The Lost Ark!

Holee Crap! Today marks the FORTIETH anniversary of Raiders of the Lost Ark! That's just not possible. The film premiered way back on June 12, 1981.

I saw it first run in the theater, for frak's sake! Man, I'm gettin' old!

Back then there was no internet of course, and no spoiler sites. Which meant I went into the movie completely cold. All I knew about it was that it starred Harrison Ford and was a throwback to 1930s movie serials.

Needless to say, my friends and I were NOT prepared for the "Opening Of The Ark" scene in the third act.

When George Lucas first wrote the script, the main character was called "Indiana Smith." Director Steven Spielberg told him that the name just didn't sound right, and on the first day of shooting changed Indy's moniker to Jones. Thank the maker for Spielberg.

It's hard to imagine anyone besides Harrison Ford playing the role of Indiana Jones, but it came close to happening. Tom Selleck was a front runner for the part and would have been a decent choice for Indy. 

Some of the other alleged choices though were downright cringe-worthy. Among the actors considered for the part were: Nick Nolte, Steve Martin (!), Bill Murray (!!), Chevy Chase (!!!) Tim Matheson, Peter Coyote, Jeff Bridges and Jack Nicholson (!!!!). Raiders would have been a very different movie indeed if any of those actors had won the part. 

Can you imagine Bill Murray trying to crack a bullwhip? Or Jack Nicholson running from a giant boulder? With the exception of Tim Matheson, Jeff Bridges and maybe Peter Coyote, those were all horrible, horrible choices. Thank goodness for movie fans they had the good sense to cast Ford.

The odd casting wasn't limited to just Indy. It's hard to imagine anyone but John Rhys-Davies as Indy's pal Sallah, but supposedly Danny DeVito was up for the part. Oy gevalt! Luckily for us he was busy shooting Taxi at the time.

Just think, somewhere out there in the universe is a parallel Earth where moviegoers had to endure a Raiders of the Lost Ark starring Steve Martin and Danny DeVito. I'm glad I don't live on that Earth!