Question: In the last shot of the knight waving goodbye to the Joneses, is it just me or has the actor been swapped out with a dummy?
Phaneron
9th Aug 2020
Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade (1989)
8th Jun 2020
Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade (1989)
Question: Why did the zeppelin turn around, and how did the approaching airplane fighters know it was them in the zeppelin's airplane?
Answer: The zeppelin is turning around because Indy sabotaged the radio. They are presumably going back to get it repaired, lest they end up getting into danger on a long journey with no way to reach out for help. The approaching planes likely deduced it was the Joneses absconding with the plane, as it would be unlikely for anyone else to be taking it when the zeppelin was simply returning to its point of origin.
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Answer: It is the real actor and not a robotic dummy. He moves a bit slowly and deliberately, apparently for effect, but it's a real person.
raywest ★
Just to be clear, I'm not referring to when we see the knight raise his hand to wave goodbye to them, but rather right after Indy says "Please Dad," and he and Henry begin to flee the collapsing temple, you can see the knight in the background with his arm raised and he looks rather stiff. You can see it at around 2:22 of this clip: https://youtu.be/PAfZ7V2VyD8.
Phaneron ★
I took a closer look. There is the shot where the knight raises his hand and you can see him moving. It then cuts to Indy and Henry, then a cut back to the knight where it briefly looks like it could be a mannequin, then there is another cut and back to the knight again and this time it's definitely the live actor. So yes, for that brief long shot, I think it could be a dummy. This may have been for the purpose of efficiency in the filming, it being easier to use a stationary prop for doing multiple takes, rather than the live actor just standing there. Sometimes they do what is called "pick up" shots, where, post-production, a part of a scene or close-ups are re-shot or added weeks or months later, and it would just be easier to use mannequin rather than recall the actor.
raywest ★
But he does move, so most likely a real person.
lionhead