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Marion Ravenwood

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Template:Indiana Jones character Marion Ravenwood Jones (previously Williams) is a fictional character from the 1981 film Raiders of the Lost Ark. Played by Karen Allen, she enters the story when Indiana Jones visits her in Nepal, needing her help — specifically, he needs an artifact in her possession, originally obtained by her father, archaeologist Professor Abner Ravenwood (Indy's mentor), in order to locate the Ark of the Covenant. After 27 years of absence, the character returns in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and is once again played by Allen.

Appearances

Introduced in Raiders of the Lost Ark, Marion Ravenwood is a tough, self-reliant woman, who is unintimidated by men, and able to take care of herself when the situation demands it. Her father, Dr. Abner Ravenwood, was a professor of archeology and mentor to the young Indiana Jones (who accompanied them on several digs). Jones and Marion entered into a relationship during this time, which created difficulties between the adventurer and his mentor. Though the exact details are unclear, their friendship came to an end over Jones's relationship with Marion, and Jones abruptly left the Ravenwoods around the year 1926. Since Marion's date of birth was never established until the recent publishing of DK's Indiana Jones guide book, it was not known for a long time exactly how old she was during their relationship; however, the revelation that she was born on March 23, 1909 establishes that she would have been about 16/17 years old when the relationship finished, at a time when Jones would have been about twenty-seven, ten years her senior. It is unclear how old she was when the relationship started. During Raiders of the Lost Ark Marion chastises Jones, stating

I was a child! I was in love! It was wrong and you knew it!

suggesting that it was her first love affair. After Jones broke off contact with them both, he returned to the United States to focus on his career as an archeology professor, and Marion and her father settled in Nepal and started running a local tavern.

Marion finds herself back in contact with Jones in 1936, when he asked her for the artifact originally located by her father. Reluctant at first, she was forced to cooperate when the Nazi Toht arrived to demand the piece himself, and he and his henchmen ended up destroying the tavern. Marion collaborates with Jones in the recovery of the Ark of the Covenant from the Nazis; in the process the couple rekindle their romance, and (at the end of these events) resumed their relationship. However, this did not last; Jones continued to pursue archaeological artifacts, whilst Marion first tried her hand at journalism before opening a bar in New York City named The Raven's Nest. After breaking up a week before their planned wedding, Marion later married an RAF airman named Colin Williams, whom Jones introduced her to, with a young son, fathered unknowingly by Jones, named Henry Jones III/Junior (who calls himself "Mutt"). Following the events of the crystal skull affair, Marion and Indy finally get married.[1]


File:Marion-Skull2.jpg


Marion appears in the film Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. In the film she calls once again on Indy, this time through her son, Henry "Mutt" Williams, to give her assistance in the jungles of Peru.

Concept and creation

Screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan named the character after his wife's grandmother, and took the character's surname from Ravenwood Lane in California.[2] Spielberg originally intended the role for his girlfriend Amy Irving, but they split during production.[3] Sean Young auditioned for the role,[2] Barbara Hershey was considered,[4] while Debra Winger turned it down.[5] Steven Spielberg cast Karen Allen, on the strength of her performance in National Lampoon's Animal House. Allen screen tested opposite Tim Matheson and John Shea, before Harrison Ford was cast as Indiana.[2]

Kasdan's depiction of Marion was more complex, and she was genuinely interested in Belloq in earlier script drafts.[4] She and Paul Freeman added more comedy in the tent seduction scene.[2] Allen came up with her own backstory for the character, such as what happened to her mother, her romance with Indiana at age 15 or 16, and her time in Nepal; Spielberg described it as "an entirely different movie".[4] This even included Marion prostituting herself following her father's death.[6]

After Raiders of the Lost Ark was released, Spielberg wanted Allen to return for Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, but George Lucas decided that Indy would have a different love interest in each film.[2] During the 1990s, Lucas forbid author Rob MacGregor from including her in his novels for Bantam Books' Indiana Jones series. "How did Indy meet Marion? What happened in their earlier encounters? George apparently wanted to keep that for the future. Maybe we’ll find out in Indy 4," MacGregor speculated.[7] Frank Darabont claimed it was his idea to bring back Marion for Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, during his tenure as writer from 2002 to 2004.[8]

References

  1. ^ "Indiana Jones: Marshall College: Ravenwood, Marion". IndianaJones.com.
  2. ^ a b c d e (2003). Indiana Jones: Making the Trilogy (DVD). Paramount Pictures.
  3. ^ George Perry (1998). Steven Spielberg: The Making of his Movies. Orion. pp. 44–45. ISBN 0-75281-848-1.
  4. ^ a b c "25 Years of Indy!". Empire. October 2006. pp. 73, 78.
  5. ^ Gregory Kirschling, Jeff Labrecque (2008-03-12). "Indiana Jones: 15 Fun Facts". Retrieved 2008-03-15. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  6. ^ "Karen Allen in Raiders of the Lost Ark". ACME. Retrieved 2008-04-03.
  7. ^ Aaron Gantt. "Interview with Rob MacGregor". The Indy Experience. Retrieved 2008-02-18.
  8. ^ "Comic-Con: Frank Darabont Talks 'Indy' Similarities". MTV. 2007-07-28. Retrieved 2008-02-18. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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