Disguised as American serviceman "Franklin", a Russian soldier helped his colonels, Antonin Dovchenko and Irina Spalko, infiltrateHangar 51 in 1957.
Biography
Franklin was one of the soldiers who accompanied Irina Spalko and Dovchenko to Hangar 51 in Nevada, disguised as an American soldier named Franklin. On the way there, he was goaded into a race with Jimmy Keegan despite "Roosevelt"'s objections. When Indiana Jones made his bid for freedom, it was Franklin's machine gun that he grabbed with his whip and threw to Mac.
Later, Franklin accompanied "Lincoln" and "Hoover" to Doom Town searching for Indy. They heard the air raid siren and Lincoln yelled for them to come on, but as they drove away the nuclear shockwave destroyed their car, killing all three.
Behind the scenes
Franklin was played uncredited by stuntman Jon Braver in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Like many of the Soviet Special Forces who infiltrated Hangar 51, Franklin shares his name with a US president, in his case Franklin Delano Roosevelt, like in Roosevelt's case.
According to his insignia, "Franklin" was pretending to be a corporal in the US Army.
The scene of Crystal Skull in which Indiana Jones takes away Franklin's weapon was originally planned to culminate with Franklin's death. The originally filmed scene showed Jones using his whip to make Franklin shoot himself and later use it again to take the gun for him. However, the scene was cut from the final edit of the film,[1] although this fate for Franklin is used in the film's novelization and comic book adaptation.
Appearances
- Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (First appearance)
- Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull novel
- Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull comic