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It's the mid-30's and Adolph Hitler is searching frantically
for an ancient and sacred artifact, said to give invincible
power to its possessor. The American government must
locate the legendary relic and recover it before Hitler's
agents seize it.
Dr. Indiana Jones (HARRISON FORD), a professor of archaeology
at a small New England college, is better known to Army
Intelligence as a cunning and steel-nerved adventurer.
Indy Jones is the only man with the ability-and recklessness
-to undertake the task demanded by his country on the
eve of World War II. Jones has just returned from a
recent expedition in the dense jungles of South America,
which ended with the unwelcome intrusion of Rene Belloq,
a ruthless French treasurehunter.
Indy leaves for Patan, Nepal to find one of his old
professors who has information vital to his search.
He finds the professor's beautiful and bold daughter
Marion (KAREN ALLEN) instead. Marion's father has died,
leaving her to survive alone and penniless in the unfriendly
foreign city, and making her the only one who can give
Indy the help he needs. Reluctantly, she agrees to cooperate
with the persuasive charmer, putting aside bitter memories
of their past love affair for the right price (which
is a chance to start a new life).
However, their reunion is cut short only days later
in a crowded bazaar in Cairo, when Marion becomes the
innocent victim of an attempt by German agents to dispose
of Jones. Relentlessly pursued by Nazi henchmen, Indy
soon learns that his old rival, Belloq, has been hired
by the German archaeological team.
Indy's only chance now of keeping the object out of
Nazi hands is to infiltrate their operation deep in
the vast Egyptian desert before the Frenchman leads
them to the site of the buried relic. The ancient ruins
are teeming with life as Arabs work feverishly in the
brutal sun, under the impatient supervision of Nazi
officers. Once inside the encampment, Indy makes a more
amazing discovery-Marion is still alive and being held
prisoner. Time is quickly running out as the Nazis press
forward at a frantic pace, growing ever closer to their
final goal. Indy must risk going into the excavated
ruins himself, aided by a small band of loyal Arabs
and protected only by the darkness of the desert night.
Finally, just as day begins to dawn, they find the awe-inspiring
relic. But even Indiana Jones, a man of few fears, is
not prepared for the terror that accompanies his brief
triumph.
Seizing the treasure for their Fuehrer in Berlin, the
Nazis leave the foolhardy American and his girlfriend
to face a torturous death, while they hastily abandon
the desecrated ruins. The defeated pair manage a harrowing
escape in time for Indy to pursue the retreated convoy
along a treacherous and winding road to Cairo and, in
a heroically daring ambush, rescue the cargo from the
enraged Germans.
Attempting to get the relic safely out of Cairo on
a tramp steamer, Indy and Marion again find themselves
trapped when their vessel reaches open sea. Triumphantly,
the menacing Germans remove the relic to an awaiting
submarine and, at Belloq's sinister prompting, abduct
Marion as well.
Challenging his ingenuity and endurance to the limit,
Indy follows them to their secret supply base, hidden
deep within a remote tropical island. Here, in a tense
climax, Indy confronts Belloq and the Nazis to a lightening-paced
dramatic conclusion.
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