- "In all things, water is the difference between life and death, and there's not a drop between here and Beersheba."
- ―T.E. Lawrence[src]
"Palestine, October 1917" is the twenty-seventh episode of The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles and the twenty-first episode in season two. Although it was produced for ABC and released in other territories, the episode went unaired in the United States. For home video, it was extended with additional scenes shot at the time as well as footage from the feature film The Lighthorsemen (also directed by Simon Wincer) to become Daredevils of the Desert.
This is one of only four hour-long episodes of The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles (along with "Istanbul, September 1918," "Paris, May 1919," and "Prague, August 1917") to be made without bookend segments featuring George Hall as Old Indy.
Plot summary[]
Operating as Henri Defense for French Intelligence, Indy is seconded to assist the British and Australian forces working to take Jerusalem via Beersheba. After reuniting with T.E. Lawrence and inadvertently helping Richard Meinertzhagen pull off the Haversack Ruse, he and another agent are sent to protect the wells of Beersheba from German attack and Turkish sabotage, lest those Allied forces be stranded in the desert without water.
Appearances[]
Cast and characters[]
- Sean Patrick Flanery as Indiana Jones
- Catherine Zeta Jones as Maya
- Julian Firth as Richard Meinertzhagen
- Cameron Daddo as Jack Anders
- Douglas Henshall as T.E. Lawrence
- Haluk Bilginer as Colonel Ismet Bey
- Kerem Atabeyoglu as Rashid
- Colin Baker as Harry George Chauvel
- Tony Bonner as M.W.J. Bourchier
- Daniel Craig as Schiller
- Terrence Hardiman as Fitzgerald
- Stuart Bennett as Kevin
- Todd Boyce as Dex
- Bernard Brown as General Hodgson
- Vincenzo Nicoli as Kazim
- Robert Swann as General William Grant
- Alan Talbot as Sergeant Porter
- John Vine as Allenby
- Ali Yalaz as Greasy Man
- James Bowers as British Artillery Spotter
- Halil Dogan as Turkish Sentry Captain
- Okan Bayülgen as Turkish Spotterman
- James McMartin as British Artilleryman
- Ozgur Erkekli as Turkish Artilleryman
- Kanat Tibet as Turkish Artilleryman #2
- Ben Miller as French Officer
- Tolga Yalcinkaya as Turkish Adjutant
- Simon Murray as German Officer
- Abraham (Mentioned only)
- Henry Walton Jones, Senior (Mentioned only)
- Friedrich Kress von Kressenstein (Mentioned only)
- Helen Margaret Seymour (Mentioned only)
Locations[]
- Ottoman Empire
- Mutasarrifate of Jerusalem
- Beersheba
- Gaza
- Jerusalem (Mentioned only)
- Rafa
- Vilayet of Edirne (Indirect mention)
- Gallipoli (Mentioned only)
- Mutasarrifate of Jerusalem
- Australia (Mentioned only)
- Egypt (Mentioned only)
- Cairo (Mentioned only)
- United Kingdom (Indirect mention)
Behind the scenes[]
Production[]
- Produced by: Rick McCallum
- Created by: George Lucas
- Music by: Laurence Rosenthal
- Written by: Frank Darabont
- Directed by: Simon Wincer
Director Simon Wincer first suggested the premise for "Palestine, October 1917" when he met George Lucas while on location for "German East Africa, December 1916," seeing a list of dates and corresponding episodes on a piece of paper belonging to Lucas and noticing that there was no planned story for the month in which it takes place. Wincer then began developing the episode with writer Frank Darabont immediately after completing work on "Petrograd, July 1917."[1]
Actress Minnie Driver was originally cast as Maya, only to be replaced by Catherine Zeta Jones after Driver pulled out to accept a longer role in a different production.[1]
Principal photography for this episode took place from February 4 to February 21, 1993,[2] with location filming in Çeşme and Manisa, Turkey.[3] The production "was at times a dangerous experience, with death threats from the Islamic Jihad in Turkey and war tensions on the Iraqi border."[4] The fight scene between Daniel Craig and Sean Patrick Flanery was not written in the original script, but conceived by Lucas during production because he felt the episode's climax "lack[ed] a little something."[1]
In addition to The Lighthorsemen, some brief footage from the feature film Lion of the Desert was also used.[5]
Continuity[]
- The historical Battle of Beersheba occurred on October 31, 1917, as accurately indicated by the day calendar on Ismet's desk.
- Despite the episode's title, however, the Second Battle of Gaza depicted at the beginning took place in April 1917.
- Haluk Bilginer is mistakenly credited as "Colonel Ismet Bey," since "Bey" was not a name but a title attached to officers of that rank in the Ottoman Empire. This is the equivalent of referring to İsmet İnönü as "Colonel Ismet Colonel" or "Colonel Ismet Sir."
- Ned Lawrence was referenced in several other episodes which occur earlier, but this is his first chronological appearance since Young Indiana Jones and the Curse of the Jackal.
- Indy tells Ned that he is still scared of mummies thanks to the stories Lawrence told him in Egypt.
- Indy is armed primarily with a Star Ruby Pistol, while Maya is armed with a Model 1914 Mauser Pocket Pistol and Schiller is armed with a Mauser C96 semiautomatic.[6]
- The Wilhelm scream can be heard during both the opening and the final battle.
Release[]
Television[]
"Palestine, October 1917" never aired in its original form in the United States. The episode's first known airing was in Sweden on November 21, 1993, and it is also known to have aired in the United Kingdom, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, and Italy between 1994 and 1997.[7]
Home video[]
This episode was expanded upon to become Daredevils of the Desert in 1996, which was released on VHS in 1999 and on DVD in 2007 (as part of The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Volume Two, The War Years).
Soundtrack[]
Although none of the episode's score by composer Laurence Rosenthal was released on any official soundtrack,[8] numerous tracks were used in the games LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures, LEGO Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues, and Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings.[9]
Notes and references[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Jared, Stephen. "Simon Wincer Interview." TheRaider.net (May 13, 2008).
- ↑ Young Indy Filming Timeline
- ↑ Palestine 1917 (Daredevils of the Desert) - Young Indy Film Locations
- ↑ George Lucas: The Creative Impulse — Revised and Updated Edition
- ↑ Lancia-Ansaldo 1Z Replica in The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles - Internet Movie Cars Database
- ↑ The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles: Volume 2 - Internet Movie Firearms Database
- ↑ Young Indiana Jones Air Dates
- ↑ Chapter 15: Daredevils of the Desert - Young Indiana Jones Music
- ↑ Reuse of the Music - Young Indiana Jones Music
See also[]
- Colonel Lawrence's War - T.E. Lawrence and Arabia
- Lines in the Sand - The Middle East and the Great War
External links[]
| The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles | |
|---|---|
| Episodes | |
| Related | |