Remember this classic scene from the movie Raiders of the Lost Ark?

Here is the story of how Harrison Ford and Director Steven Spielberg made that scene so memorable.

Spielberg’s script

I caught an excellent interview with Spielberg on a Smartless Podcast where he not only explained how the above scene came to be, but also disclosed something else that he did to lighten up the scene even more so. It involved Gabby Hayes. (For those of you not knowing who Gabby Hayes was (click here.))

Spielberg was concerned that by having Indy pull out his gun and shoot the sword dude point blank, Indy might come across too much as a cold blooded murderer. Thus, he instructed Harrison to wipe his brow before going for his gun and as he did so, push the hat’s brim back a bit to give him a Gabby Hayes appearance.

Re-watch the video above and you will see Harrison’s hat brim pulled down as the scene begins and then there is his “Gabby appearance” at the scene’s end. Very subtle, but it was very effective. (To hear Speilberg discuss all of this on the Smartless Podcast (click here and pick it up at the 58:25 mark. The rest of the interview is also pretty interesting if you are so inclined.)

Some more movie trivia for you. Walt Disney has the most Academy Award nominations with 59. Name the second place holder. Answer Composer John Williams with 54. He did all of the music for the Raiders’ movies including the theme song.