The Jungle Chase occurred in 1957 during the Soviets' journey to Akator in Brazil. Indiana Jones along with Marion Ravenwood and Mutt Williams, held as captives, escaped from their captors and attempted to reclaim the Crystal Skull of Akator from Irina Spalko leading to a destructive pursuit through the Brazilian jungle.
Event chronology
Following the Soviets' departure from their encampment earlier that morning, their convoy trekked through the Brazilian forests led by the beastly jungle cutter which carved a path for the troop carriers and cars to follow behind it. Spalko in one of the lead amphibious vehicles, along with George "Mac" McHale and the captive Harold Oxley. Spalko held the Crystal Skull.
Jones, Ravenwood and Mutt were riding tied-up in the Soviet truck bringing up the rear, guarded by Colonel Dovchenko. Jones and Mutt bickered about the revelation that Jones was the boy's father until Dovchenko, unable to take the family's squabbling anymore, attempted to gag them, only for Jones to kick him in the face and knock him unconscious. Mutt then used his switchblade knife, concealed in his boot, to free himself and his parents.
Jones overtook the driver in the cab, throwing him out. With Marion driving, Jones armed himself with a rocket launcher and aimed at the jungle cutter up ahead which was in the process of making a turn. He fired, destroying the cutter and killing its driver. One of the gigantic sawblades flew out of control and cut a swath of destruction through the Soviet convoy, killing several soldiers and even partially halving the truck Jones' party was riding in.
The Soviets stopped to take stock of the destruction. Noticing the onrushing truck, Spalko realized Jones was free. Giving the Crystal Skull to McHale and assigning him and several soldiers to guard it and Oxley, she got into another car. The Soviets peeled off. The slower truck, at Jones' direction, pulled alongside a duck containing three soldiers. Jones jumped aboard, beat the three up and threw them out. Marion and Mutt joined him just as Colonel Dovchenko came to and retook the truck.
Jones' party, in the second duck, took off after Spalko's car and the first duck. Spalko shot at them with a machine gun but was forced to stop when Marion put the first duck between them and Spalko and she almost shot Oxley and her own men. Ordering Mutt to find something to fight with, Jones leaped into the other duck and began fighting with the soldiers as well as McHale. He knocked several off, got one in a headlock, and then spun the wheel so the duck ramped off a fallen log. All of the soldiers but one flew off; the remaining one managed to grab the bumper and was dragged along behind the vehicle.
Finishing with the soldier he was holding, Jones pushed the unconscious Russian into the passenger's seat and then got Mac into a headlock, as McHale pleaded with Jones that he was in fact a double-agent under orders from General Ross and secretly working against the Soviets. The remaining soldier hanging off the back climbed up, took the Crystal Skull from Oxley, and threw it to Spalko's car nearby where her driver caught it. McHale then punched the last remaining soldier off the back.
Meanwhile Marion's duck pulled alongside Spalko's car and Mutt, having armed himself with one of Spalko's own swords, used this to grab the Skull away from the Russian scientist. She drew her sword and proceeded to duel Williams with each standing astride their own moving vehicle. Spalko succeeded in getting the Skull back, tossing it into her car and preparing to finish Williams off, as Jones rammed his duck into Spalko's car, knocking Spalko into the other duck, and Mutt into Spalko's car.
Marion slammed the brakes, sending Spalko tumbling over the windshield. She would've been run over but for the machine gun which she grabbed, swinging it around and firing into the vehicle. Marion ducked as the windshield was destroyed. Meanwhile Mutt got the Crystal Skull and fought with Spalko's driver when the driver pulled a gun on him. Seeing his son's plight, Jones rammed the rear of Spalko's car, knocking Spalko back into her own vehicle. As a consequence, Spalko kicked Williams out of the vehicle and he landed on the hood of Jones' duck. As Mutt stood up, he was clotheslined by a low-hanging vine and pulled up into the treetops where he encountered several monkeys.
The chase, with Jones' duck now in the lead, came out of the jungle and began driving along the side of a cliff overlooking the very river which led to Akator. Spalko shoved her driver into the backseat and, taking over the car, began trying to ram the duck off the road as the oblivious Oxley whooped in excitement. The Soviet soldier in the duck's passenger seat awoke, looked over the edge, then got up and leaped to safety out of the duck despite Jones' attempt to stop him.
As Spalko prepared to ram the duck off the cliff once and for all, Mutt swung in on a vine and kicked her into the passenger seat. Before she or her driver realized what was happening they were being swarmed by monkeys. The driver climbed into the front and got behind the wheel again, and with him and Spalko too busy fending the monkeys off Mutt seized the Skull and jumped back into the duck unmolested. With an enraged cry of "Jooooones!!!" Spalko threw one of the monkeys off the cliff side (although it grabbed a tree branch).
Ahead, Mutt collapsed in the front seat next to his father and said, "Whoa!" Jones concurred, "Whoa." Then, turning and realizing they were headed for a sharp incline, yelled, "Whoooooaaaa!!!" as the duck flew into the air and crash-landed atop a large dirt mount, effectively bringing the jungle chase to an end.
Chase participants
- Soviet troop truck
- Indiana Jones
- Marion Ravenwood
- Mutt Williams
- Antonin Dovchenko
- Soviet soldier
- Duck 1
- Harold Oxley
- George McHale
- Soviet soldiers (5)
- Crystal Skull of Akator
- Duck 2
- Soviet soldiers (3)
- Soviet car
- Jungle Cutter