Young Indiana Jones and the Curse of the Jackal is the pilot episode of The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles television series. It debuted on ABC on March 4, 1992. The story introduce viewers to the two young actors who would be playing the title character in the series. Corey Carrier plays a nine-year-old Indiana Jones in the first half, and in the second half Sean Patrick Flanery continues the story as a sixteen-year-old Indy. This 'single' story is actually the first adventure of each of the two periods of Indiana's life. George Hall appears at the beginning, middle and end of the movie (in the so-called "bookend" segments) as a 93-year-old Indy.
Plot summary
A class of students is touring a museum. Two boys break off from the group. While running down a hallway, a cane trips the two and they fall. An elderly man—Indiana Jones—asks them why they aren't in class. They tell him that the museum is boring and full of junk. Jones is insulted by their remarks, stating that some of the greatest adventures of his life reside in the museum. He asks them if they are from the city, and reveals that he was born "just across the river". This doesn't impress the boys, but Jones asks them to listen to him. He proceeds to tell them about his childhood and family. He introduces his mother, father, and dog. He then explains that one day, his father asked he and his mother to accompany him on a lecture tour around the world. They agree, and travel first to London, where Jones meets his tutor for the trip, Miss Helen Seymour.
T.E. Lawrence cycling in the Egyptian desert.
Back in the museum, Jones expresses his admiration for Lawrence. The two boys ask what happened next, and Jones explains that Lawrence pursued Demetrios, but Demetrios' steamship left before Lawrence arrived. The boys ask what became of the jackal, but Jones refers to it as "another story", and prepares to leave. He wants to go home so as to make sure and feed his cat Henry, but the boys persist. Jones decides to stay, and he leads them to another room. He explains that eight years after his adventure in Egypt, he was on spring break visiting his cousin Frank in Santa Fe. He and his cousin had decided to cross the border into Mexico, to "see the senoritas".
Jones reveals that he almost missed meeting up with Remy, and that two weeks later, they boarded a boat in Vera Cruz with the intent of joining the war in Europe. The boys ask Jones what happened to the Jackal. He points his cane to a glass case behind them. They look at each other in astonishment. Jones walks out of the museum and, after making sure no one is looking, slides down the railing of a staircase.
Appearances
Cast
- Sean Patrick Flanery ... Indiana Jones
- Corey Carrier ... Henry 'Indiana' Jones Jr.
- George Hall ... "Old Indy"
- Ronny Coutteure ... Remy
- Lloyd Owen ... Professor Henry Jones, Sr.
- Ruth de Sosa ... Anna Jones
- Margaret Tyzack ... Miss Seymour
- Mike Moroff ... Pancho Villa
- Joseph Bennett ... T. E. Lawrence
- Oliver Ford Davies ... Ship's Captain
- Pip Torrens ... Howard Carter
- Tariq Alibai ... Rasheed Sallam
- Vic Tablian ... Demetrios / Claw
- Tony Alleff ... Bassam Ghally
- Tony Robinson ... Pierre Duclos
- Keith Marsh ... Bishop
- Diana Taylor ... Teacher
- Alan Agor ... First Kid
- Shane Fernando ... Second Kid
- Antonio Valero ... Julio Cárdenas
- Peter Marinker ... Gen. John J. Pershing
- Stuart Milligan ... George Patton
- Stephen Graf ... Frank
- Carlos Douglas ... Mexican Banker
- Ed Bishop ... Sentry
- Gregorio ... Old man in pueblo
- Chuck Wentworth ... Pilot
- Francesco Quinn ... Francois
Other characters
Locations
- Egypt
- Alexandria
- Cairo
- Great Pyramid
- Port Said (On map)
- England
- London
- Oxford
- Oxford University (Mentioned only)
- Jerusalem (On map)
- Mexico
- United States of America
- Atlantic Ocean
Artifacts
Production
- Director of Photography: David Tattersall
- Editor: Edgar Burcksen
- Production designer: Gavin Bocquet
- Costume designer: Charlotte Holdich and Louise Page
- Music by: Laurence Rosenthal
- Executive Producer: George Lucas
- Produced by: Rick McCallum
- Written by: Jonathan Hales
- Based on a story by: George Lucas
- Egypt segment directed by: Jim O'Brien
- Directed by: Carl Schultz
The black horse Sean Patrick Flanery rode in this episode was named "Hurricane", and was the same black horse Harrison Ford rode in the feature films.
Release
Television
Home video
Though Curse of the Jackal was released in its original form on home video in the UK, it was split in two and re-edited with other material for The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones VHS series in the United States. The "Egypt, May 1908" segment with Corey Carrier was combined with a new segment ("Tangiers, 1908") to become My First Adventure, which aired on the Family Channel in 2000, but was never released to video. The "Mexico, March 1916" segment with Sean Patrick Flanery was combined with the "Princeton, February 1916" episode and released as Spring Break Adventure.
Adaptations
This episode was adapted into the first and second issues of The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles comic book series.
Reception
See also
- Archaeology - Unearthing Our Past
- Howard Carter and the Tomb of Tutankhamun
- Colonel Lawrence's War - T.E. Lawrence and Arabia
- Wanted: Dead or Alive - Pancho Villa and the American Invasion of Mexico
- General John J. Pershing and His American Army
- George S. Patton - American Achilles
