- "Yes, this is a castle, and we have many tapestries. But if you are a Scottish lord, then I am Mickey Mouse!"
- ―The butler to Indiana Jones as "Lord MacDonald."[src]
A Butler was in service at Castle Brunwald in 1938. He had a nephew called Otto back in Salzburg.
Biography[]
A man served as butler at Castle Brunwald, a castle located on the Austro-German border and used by the Nazis as a secret base.[1] He had a nephew named Otto, who lived in Salzburg.[2]
In 1938, the butler was surprised when a couple turned up unannounced one stormy night, claming to be "Lord Clarence MacDonald and his lovely assistant," and refused to allow the pair to view the tapestries as they were not expected. The unconvinced butler told "MacDonald", a disguised Indiana Jones, that if he was a Scottish lord then he himself was Mickey Mouse. This earned the butler a good punch to the face which knocked him unconscious.[1] The two hide him in a closet, where he was shortly later found by the guards.[3]
Behind the scenes[]
The Butler was portrayed by the Franco-British actor Vernon Dobtcheff in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.[1]
During the development of the film's script, written by Jeffrey Boam, Indy was originally going to deceive the Butler without hitting him, telling him that his name was Dr. Lyle Norbert and that he was looking for Baron Grunwald (reflecting Castle Brunwald's earlier name) in order to see the tapestries.[4]
The Butler's original line before Jones knocks him out was, "If you are a Scottish lord, then I am Jesse Owens!", due to the most recent Olympics having been hosted by Nazi Germany in 1936 prior to the film's setting. This was changed because the filmmakers thought that many people would be unfamiliar with who Jesse Owens was. Director Steven Spielberg altered the reference to 1930s Hollywood actress and sex symbol Mae West, but again concluded that modern movie audiences might miss the joke, so he finally changed the reference to Mickey Mouse, a character thought to have greater renown.[5] After this, it was originally planned that Jones and Elsa Schneider would hide the butler in a sarcophagus, but it was cut.[4] Rob MacGregor's novelization retains the moment, though he is placed in a closet instead, which is where the guards find him. The Owens reference also remains in the book. There, however, Indy claims to be an English lord, not a Scottish one.[3]
The Butler's joke varies in other Indiana Jones media. In Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: The Graphic Adventure his line is simply "...a movie star", while Indiana Jones will introduce himself not as Clarence MacDonald but as "Robert McFalfa", a nod to the Bob Falfa character played by Harrison Ford in George Lucas' American Graffiti. In the game it is possible to alternatively pass the Butler simply by talking. This will give the player more IQ (Indy Quotient) points. In the Spanish dub of Last Crusade, the Butler says that if Indy is a Scottish lord he is Popeye the Sailor Man, another famous cartoon character of the 1920s and '30s, rather than Mickey Mouse.[6]
In LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures, the Butler shares a likeness with Alfred Pennyworth from LEGO Batman: The Video Game (a mustache being the only thing distinguishes them). After he discovers that Jones, who has simply switched his fedora with Elsa's hair, is lying, Jones hits him with a punch that stuns the Butler long enough to allow the archaeologist to shove him out of the castle and close the door on him. Along with René Emile Belloq and Walter Donovan, the Butler is one of the only three enemy characters without a weapon.[7] In the sequel, however, the Butler is absent despite the Castle Brunwald scene being present.[8]
Appearances[]
- Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
- Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade novel
- Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade junior novel
- Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade comic
- Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade storybook
- Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: The Graphic Adventure
- LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures (Non-canonical appearance)
Sources[]
- The Complete Making of Indiana Jones
- 40 Great Indiana Jones Quotes on Lucasfilm.com (backup link on Archive.org)
Notes and references[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
- ↑ Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: The Graphic Adventure
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade novel
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 The Complete Making of Indiana Jones
- ↑ Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade - Deleted Scenes at TheRaider.net
- ↑ Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: The Graphic Adventure
- ↑ LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures
- ↑ LEGO Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues