Why does Indiana Jones wear a leather jacket in the dessert?

[Stearmen]

I have to confess, every time I try on a Fedora and look in the mirror, even if I am not wearing a leather jacket, and the hat is black, I still pause at buying it, because of this franchise! I know, stupid. I am hoping, now that my hair is greying, people will think, "what a dapper old gentleman," when they see me!

 

[DesertDan]

I liked the RotLA the most, it was the best of all the Indiana Jones movies. But I will also say that I liked all the IJ movies even Crystal Skull (Shia ...not so much). I just hope that they leave it alone at this point. Harrison Ford is too old to be believable as a globe trotting adventurer now and having him as 'Daddy Jones" to "Adventurer Mutt" doesn't work. I feel that having a younger actor playing him now is a non-started too.

But, what do I know?

As to the original topic. If I were a globe-trotting adventurer travelling light, a good quality leather jacket would most definitely be a part of my kit, no matter what part of the world I was going to.

 

[Dumpster Diver]

Yesah, I have quite the Horseshoe at my age which is truly what a fedora is for Fixing IMO so I might actually be getting *REAL* use from one as opposed to Just plain old Off-showing and peacocking. Im 30 But still, as tempted as I am to wear some of my Stetson made Fedoras in my collection I feel Im not quite at the Right age to enjoy wearing them...maybe If I make it to 60 I will just go for it.

When I think of Fedoras in Movies I think of the opening Scene from 12 Oclock High. Now THAT is classic.

 

[Big J]

Yesah, I have quite the Horseshoe at my age which is truly what a fedora is for Fixing IMO so I might actually be getting *REAL* use from one as opposed to Just plain old Off-showing and peacocking. Im 30 But still, as tempted as I am to wear some of my Stetson made Fedoras in my collection I feel Im not quite at the Right age to enjoy wearing them...maybe If I make it to 60 I will just go for it.

When I think of Fedoras in Movies I think of the opening Scene from 12 Oclock High. Now THAT is classic.

Yes! Riding out to the old airfield on a bicycle in a suit and a fedora.
You've got to the crux of the problem, there, I think- modern people associate a fedora with Indy. Before Indy, you'd have got the Cassablanca comments. With a suit, I don't think you'd get the Indy comments, but , with a leather jacket you do, which is odd, because DiCaprio wore a fedora with a leather jacket in The Aviator, but I guess that film made no impact in the common consciousness.

 

[navetsea]

I'm 36 yrs old, and I KNOW fedora is not for me, at least until I'm 60 or something

 

[Yesteryear]

Yes! Riding out to the old airfield on a bicycle in a suit and a fedora.
You've got to the crux of the problem, there, I think- modern people associate a fedora with Indy. Before Indy, you'd have got the Cassablanca comments. With a suit, I don't think you'd get the Indy comments, but , with a leather jacket you do, which is odd, because DiCaprio wore a fedora with a leather jacket in The Aviator, but I guess that film made no impact in the common consciousness.

I was wearing my grey fedora with an A-2 once and somebody said I look like Howard Hughes, it was a welcome compliment over the exhausted 'Indiana Jones' comments. Though the remark was from a fellow pilot, which explains why Howard Hughes would be on their mind.

 

[Big J]

I was wearing my grey fedora with an A-2 once and somebody said I look like Howard Hughes, it was a welcome compliment over the exhausted 'Indiana Jones' comments. Though the remark was from a fellow pilot, which explains why Howard Hughes would be on their mind.

That's exactly what I'm talking about!
My sister said that I looked like HH once. But that was about 20 years ago when I was going through a Kurt Cobain grunge phase and wasn't shaving or getting my hair cut.

 

[Vespizzare]

I can't say I read all the other replies, so maybe somebody already said this. But when I saw the title of this topic, I immediately thought of that line from the beginning of the movie Patton that goes something like, "I never realized it was so cold in the desert."

 

[Big J]

I can't say I read all the other replies, so maybe somebody already said this. But when I saw the title of this topic, I immediately thought of that line from the beginning of the movie Patton that goes something like, "I never realized it was so cold in the desert."

Actually, that's a good point.
I remember reading the stories of the SAS guys who got into trouble in the First Gulf War. When they went into E&E phase, they were surprised by how cold the desert was at night, it even snowed.

 

[Seb Lucas]

Actually, that's a good point.
I remember reading the stories of the SAS guys who got into trouble in the First Gulf War. When they went into E&E phase, they were surprised by how cold the desert was at night, it even snowed.

Yep, you can head off here in 120 degree heat and wake up early next morning and your water is frozen. It's not just a leather jacket, it's sweaters, scarves and a woolen cap in the desert.

 

[Justhandguns]

Yep, you can head off here in 120 degree heat and wake up early next morning and your water is frozen. It's not just a leather jacket, it's sweaters, scarves and a woolen cap in the desert.

I was tricked once when I transit via the Dubai airport. They were renovating the terminals so we needed to really step out of the plane to take the shuttles back to the gates. It was 3pm in the afternoon, and it was 45 Celsius (113F), and I was in my fleece jacket...... What the heck! Then on the return flight, I thought it might be smart to just wear a T-shirt...... then when I stepped out, it was just 12C (53F)!!! Because it was in the middle of the night!

 

[Edward]

There are so many uplifting stories of veterans of WWII who meet their former enemies years later at reunions or commemorative events and talk to one another and share their stories. It was great to hear of Marines and Japanese veterans of the battle of Iwo Jima meeting up and bonding over shared experiences as well as acknowledging the mutual horrors they faced in their youth. Not everyone can move past their anger, hate and grief. When those who lived through WWII can forgive their former enemy, who am I to retain a hate or mistrust for a nation or a people?

I've always found it interesting that so often the men who fought were able to forgive (at least future generations), and don't care about people wearing an A2 with rank pins. Those who, in my experience, seem to harbour most prejudice and pettiness often weren't even alive at the time. [huh]

So I am joining this discussion a bit late......

I agree with Dumpster Diver, I do not count Crystal Skull as a real Indy movie at all. Dr Jones should be tied to ancient religious relics, not some Alien shaped crystal skulls and UFOs. The other huge mistake of the movie was casting Shia LaBeouf as junior-junior, he just doesn't cut it. The interesting thing is, if they tried to replace the Nazis with the Russians, why not bring the communist Chinese in? That would be far more interesting if you see a young Mao trying to get a share of the supernatural artefacts?

P.S. As much as I like Magnum PI himself, I think Tom is just Tom, if it was him playing Indy, it would just be another Tom Selleck adventure movie, and most likely there would only be one movie with no sequels.

Had it been Selleck, Indy would never have been so charismatic, and the attention round here would be about the same given to Charlton Heston or eloha shirts.

As to why no Chinese involvement in the plot:

A. Red China was very young and very insular in 1957.

B. In 2008, as now, China is a huge market for Hollywood. Getting your film censored there can cost multi-millions in lost revenue. This is why the Red Dawn remake substituted North Korea for China as the villain.

I liked KOTCS. Not the best one, but I enjoyed seeing Jones cope with being an older man. Him taking on the father role was a nice reversal of the Crusade schtick. It deserved more credit for its pastiche of 50s scifi, every bit as well done as the pastiche of 30s pulp adventure in the earlier films.

I don't want them to make more now, though. Mind you, much as I'd struggle with a non-Ford Indy, if they could find a younger man who could be to Ford as Quinto to Nimoy or Pine to Shatner, a tv series filling in the 1938-57 period would be great. Something with the budget of The Walking Dead or Mad Men.

 

[Frunobulax]

Not mentioned here are The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles. I think Neal Patrick Flannery (?) did a very credible job as a young Indy. The stories were pretty fun, too, and captured some of the spirit.

Edward has the right idea. A Netflix series set in in the 38-57 time frame would be good. Maybe he'd even run into Peggy Carter at some point. :bounce:

 

[IXL]

.....As to why no Chinese involvement in the plot:

............

B. In 2008, as now, China is a huge market for Hollywood. Getting your film censored there can cost multi-millions in lost revenue. This is why the Red Dawn remake substituted North Korea for China as the villain.
........

I believe that in the original "Red Dawn." the invaders were Cubans, backed by the Soviets. The Chinese were on "our" side, as explained by the downed U.S. pilot encountered by the young Wolverines.

 

[Stand By]

I have to say that, when I tried on the Indy fedora in that shop (that I mentioned earlier) and thought it looked so good, I have to admit that I paused and wondered if I'd be inviting the usual trite comments …
But I knew if that hat looked good, then a proper one would look great. And I'd still love one and am hunting for a good Indy hat.
And as Seb said earlier, I couldn't care less what the masses think either. They like to all look the same - and they look and behave more and more like the crazy citizens of Mega City One (Judge Dredd, 2000A.D. comic) to me. If you ever read it as a youngster, you'll know exactly what I mean.

 

[Big J]

I believe that in the original "Red Dawn." the invaders were Cubans, backed by the Soviets. The Chinese were on "our" side, as explained by the downed U.S. pilot encountered by the young Wolverines.

Yeah, that's true. Powers Boothe around the campfire explains that the Sovs nuked China, and China was fighting back.

 

[Big J]

I've always found it interesting that so often the men who fought were able to forgive (at least future generations), and don't care about people wearing an A2 with rank pins. Those who, in my experience, seem to harbour most prejudice and pettiness often weren't even alive at the time. [huh]

I should apologize to all because I'm partly responsible for this derailment of the thread.
I'd like to make one last comment on this issue though.
I don't believe that there is any prejudice and pettiness inherent in remembering the past. It is my personal choice to avoid ,in so far as I am able, giving any of my earnings to individuals or organizations that financed or profited from genocide.
It is amazing that former combatants are able to forgive- after all of the things that they experienced directly. But although we can find many examples of those who have 'forgiven', it's not the majority, is it? And let's not forget the pre-selection in any statistics of those that have 'forgiven'- you have to be alive to forgive, and 85,000,000 people were killed in WWII. By definition, they have been denied the opportunity to chose whether to forgive or not.

 

[Big J]

I have to say that, when I tried on the Indy fedora in that shop (that I mentioned earlier) and thought it looked so good, I have to admit that I paused and wondered if I'd be inviting the usual trite comments …
But I knew if that hat looked good, then a proper one would look great. And I'd still love one and am hunting for a good Indy hat.
And as Seb said earlier, I couldn't care less what the masses think either. They like to all look the same - and they look and behave more and more like the crazy citizens of Mega City One (Judge Dredd, 2000A.D. comic) to me. If you ever read it as a youngster, you'll know exactly what I mean.

Well, for the Raiders version of the Indy fedora, I got a made to measure job from John Penman. It's great. I wear it with a blue suit or my old Aero Real Deal seal A-2 and imagine I'm Howard Hughes rather than Indy. In fact, I liked it so much I got John to make me one of his gray Casablanca fedoras, which I wear with a raincoat because I can't stand holding an umbrella.

 

[Stand By]

A blue one! Nice idea ….! Thanks for the tip!

 

[Don Tomaso]

Back OT: Why the jacket? Because it looks cool and manly and all that. The only Indy-movie I like is the first, it was back then a very whitty melange of anti-Nazi-, adventure-cum-historical-fiction-, half-humor-half-serious-, dash-of-supernatural-movie of sorts, quite unique and extremely entertaining. In short it was what Spielberg knows best. The sequels and prequels (young Indy, my god!) were all more or less a waste of time to go to the movies, flicks as necessary as an extended ads-break. Anyway, Fedora, jacket and whip were cool.