Willie Scott

"The biggest trouble with her is the noise."

- Indiana Jones

Wilhelmina "Willie" Scott was an American singer and actress who found some measure of success in Shanghai in the early 1930s.

Biography
"I'm going home to Missouri, where they never ever feed you snake before ripping your heart out and lowering you into hot pits. This is not my idea of a swell time!"

- Willie Scott

Wilhelmina Scott was raised on a farm in Missouri, but from a young age her ambitions lay firmly in Hollywood. While her parents were poultry farmers, one of her grandfathers had been a stage magician.

Having won a beauty contest, she tried to make a career as a singer, dancer, and actress, but was unable to break into the American film industry during the Great Depression, and struck out in Chicago and New York City. Scott escaped to the Far East, where she landed roles in several Shanghai productions. Her efforts earned her the attention of local crime lord Lao Che, who hired her as a singer for his popular nightspot, Club Obi Wan.



In 1935, Scott (now known by her stage name, Willie) had just completed her main role in singing a Mandarin version of Cole Porter's Anything Goes when she joined the table of her boss, Lao Che, who was in negotiation with the archaeologist Indiana Jones. Not realizing the seriousness of the situation, she made light of Jones' profession. When Kao Kan drew a revolver on Jones, Jones grabbed a long fork to take Scott hostage. After Jones was poisoned, Scott scrambled around looking for the misplaced diamond, while Jones sought the antidote. Scott found the vial of antidote and slipped it into her dress. As gunfire erupted, Jones cut a gong loose, and rolled it toward a window, grabbing Scott, and escaped to the street.



In Short Round's car, Scott proved to be unhelpful by losing Jones' revolver, and was dismayed when Jones reached into her dress to retrieve the antidote. As they reached Nang Tao Airport, Earl Weber recognized her as he helped them board a plane to escape. After the plane took off, she had some angry words for Jones, claiming that he couldn't take his eyes off her. She changed out of her evening dress into Jones' more functional dinner jacket and pants, after he changed into his adventuring gear.

Waking up on the flight, Scott discovered that the pilot and co-pilot had abandoned the plane. She woke up Jones, who realized that the plane was going to crash without fuel. Grabbing onto Jones, she and Short Round leaped out of the plane, and used an inflatable raft to safely land and skid down the mountains into a river.

Traveling in India, Scott felt out of her element, being forced to rough it, and shrieking every time something frightened her. Disliking the smell of her elephant, she dumped her entire bottle of perfume on the head of her mount - though her elephant ended up dumping her in a puddle.



Reaching Pankot Palace, she was relieved for the nicer amenities, but was disgusted by menu of exotic foods at the Guardian of Tradition Dinner, like Primate Parfait. Jones was later able to provide her with an apple. A fledgling romance between Scott and Jones stalled abruptly when Willie nearly became the victim of human sacrifice, perpetrated by the underground Thuggee cult and its maniacal leader, Mola Ram.

Just as Scott was being lowered into a pit of molten lava, Indy and Short Round came to her rescue. With the aid of Captain Blumburtt and his Eleventh Poona Rifles, Pankot Palace was freed from the grip of Ram and the Thuggee; and Willie, Indy, and Short Round returned to the United States.

Legacy
Indiana Jones kept a flyer of her performing at Club Obi Wan and an autographed picture from her in his journal. He also recorded a list of pros and cons about her - with "Speaks her mind" as both a pro and a con.

By 1957, Jones had placed a framed photograph of Scott in his living room.

Behind the scenes
In Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Willie Scott was portrayed by Kate Capshaw, who married Steven Spielberg in 1991.

In Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, a prop photograph was created showing Scott in her dress from Paris that can been seen in the background of the fifth chapter on the DVD at Indiana Jones' house while he discusses Francisco de Orellana with Mutt Williams.

The picture sits by a lamp next to the window.

Appearances

 * Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb
 * Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
 * Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom novel
 * Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom comic
 * Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
 * LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures
 * LEGO Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues
 * LEGO Indiana Jones Adventures: Shanghai Chase

Notes and references
ウィリー・スコット