An Arab Henchman was one of a group of local misfits and criminals hired off the streets of Cairo, Egypt by German intelligence agents as part of their work to waylay threats and prevent interference to the Nazi excavation of nearby Tanis to unearth the lost Ark of the Covenant.
In 1936, the henchman, along with other hired toughs, ambushed archaeologist Indiana Jones and his associate Marion Ravenwood in a marketplace when the pair arrived in the city in pursuit of the Ark. However, during the attack, another goon accidentally stabbed the henchman, killing him.
Biography[]
By 1936 a German Gestapo agent and two associates had infiltrated Cairo, Egypt as part of the Nazi excavation of the lost Ark of the Covenant at Tanis.[2] Positioned to prevent threats to the ongoing work at Tanis, the German agent and his partners monitored the movements of American archaeologist Indiana Jones and bar owner Marion Ravenwood when they arrived in the city chasing the location of the Ark themselves.[1]
An Arab tough, along with several other native henchmen, was hired by the German agents to form part of an attack against Jones and Ravenwood. Each of their identities obscured by a dark keffiyeh, the robed men assembled near a marketplace where Jones and Ravenwood were shopping.[1]
Three of the hooded men initially charged the two Americans, followed by another two. As Jones was dealing with them, the Arab henchman moved to attack Ravenwood from behind, holding aloft a sword only to then eat a punch from Jones after he forced Marion to duck. Once he'd recovered, the henchman tried to retaliate, attacking Jones at the same time as another sword-wielder.[1]
The henchman after being stabbed.
However, Jones dodged the sword strike from the other tough, sending the weapon went straight through the henchman and catching some fruit on the tip. With little sympathy, the other man simply spun the still-standing henchman around to yank out his weapon and continued the fight.[1]
Behind the scenes[]
The Arab Henchman was portrayed by an uncredited performer in Raiders of the Lost Ark.
With the exception of those individually named in the film's credits, the Cairo-based Egyptian antagonists are all collectively called Arab Henchmen in the Raiders of the Lost Ark Sourcebook and share the same gameplay stats.[2]