- Jones: "Who's the guy in the uniform down there?"
- Ravenwood: "That's camp commander Dietrich's aide, Gobler."
- ―Indiana Jones and Marion Ravenwood spy on Gobler.[src]
Major Gobler was Colonel Herman Dietrich's personal assistant and helped oversee the dig site in Tanis.
Biography
As the Nazis were not making progress on the Ark of the Covenant's location, Gobler suggested they interrogate their prisoner Marion Ravenwood, against Belloq's wishes. He felt that since she had owned the Headpiece to the Staff of Ra for years, she would know additional information on locating the Ark.
Following the destruction of the Flying Wing caused by Indiana Jones, Gobler had the Ark moved onto a truck and drove up behind it in a Mercedes-Benz troop car along with another officer and a gunner. During the drive, Gobler saw Jones boarding the truck from a horse and commandeering it. Gobler drove up alongside the truck as his gunner tried to shoot the archaeologist.
In Jones's struggle for control of the truck, the driver stepped on the brake and Gobler rammed into the back of Jones's truck sending a Nazi off the back of the truck and into Gobler's windshield.
Gobler goes over the cliff.
Gobler brought the vehicle next to Jones but the archaeologist swerved the truck into the car, sending it briefly off the road. When Gobler regained control, he pursued the truck again. Jones bumped into Gobler again and this time the car found itself going towards a cliff. With a scream of terror, Gobler and his fellow occupants went over the edge to their doom.
Behind the scenes
The role of Gobler was played by Anthony Higgins in Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Recent airings of Raiders of the Lost Ark on USA and the Sci-Fi Channel appear to have redone the shot of Gobler's car falling down the chasm in CGI. This was not done for the 2008 DVD release however, and there is no official comment from LucasFilm on the matter as of the moment.
The LEGO set Race for the Stolen Treasure includes both the truck carrying the Ark, as well as the troop car, but, oddly, not Gobler. In his place is a nameless German soldier. Similarly although Hasbro released a toy version of the troop car for its toyline, they did not make a figure of Gobler available to drive it. Gobler has also been absent from both LEGO video games.
Appearances
- Raiders of the Lost Ark novel (First appearance)
- Raiders of the Lost Ark
- Raiders of the Lost Ark comic