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Indiana Jones Plot Formula Formulas
Steven Spielberg and George Lucas Films Movies
Compiled and Created by the Legendary SuperShadow

1) Start of Indiana Jones Movie

ROTLA (Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark): Paramount Pictures mountain logo fades into a similarly-shaped mountain
TOD (Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom): Paramount mountain logo fades into a mountain on a gong
TLC (Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade): Paramount mountain logo fades into a similarly-shaped rock

2) Story idea by George Lucas

3) Production credits appear at the beginning of each film

4) Indy movie begins when Indy is hunting for a precious, historical object/artifact

ROTLA: South American Golden Idol
TOD: Nurhachi's Ashes
TLC: Cross of Coronado

5) Indiana Jones retrieves the object/artifact, then the villain(s) take it from Indy

ROTLA: South American Golden Idol found by Indy, but lost to Belloq
TOD: Nurhachi's Ashes taken from villains, but eventually lost
TLC: Cross of Coronado stolen from villains, but lost back to villains, but eventually recovered from the villains many years later

6) Flying creatures heard making noises

ROTLA: Birds in South American jungle
TOD: Chickens in air craft make sounds, vampire bats make ominous noise around palace and jungle
TLC: Birds heard in background in Utah, birds make noise when Indy's father scares them to attack Nazi air craft

7) Scary, hidden things which frighten people

ROTLA: Statue hidden from view in South American jungle
TOD: Statue hidden in jungle to palace
TLC: Circus animals, hidden on train, terrify Indy and his pursuers on multiple occasions

8) Water

ROTLA: South American river, water aqueduct damaged during truck chase action sequence, motorcycle crashes in water during truck chase, submarine seen at sea
TOD: Waterfall in Thuggee mine, pools of water in mine, Thuggee flood mine shaft with water, water wheel in village, elephant sprays Indy & Willie with water at end of movie
TLC: Young Indy swings on water tower spout, water in knight's tomb in Venice, boat chase in Venice on water, rains at castle, Donovan drinks water from the wrong grail

9) Poison

ROTLA: South American warriors with Belloq fire poison darts
TOD: Indy poisoned in Shanghai, Indy given tainted potion enters black sleep
TLC: Donovan poisoned by water from wrong grail

10) Location and date of year at bottom of screen at beginning of each movie

ROTLA: South America 1936
TOD: Shanghai 1935
TLC: Utah 1912, Portuguese Coast 1938

11) Betrayal

ROTLA: South American guide pulls gun on Indiana Jones, another guide with Indy betrays Indy when they retrieve the Golden Idol, little monkey turns out to be working with the Nazi and Egyptian spy
TOD: Indy betrayed in Shanghai involving diamonds, young prince of palace turns on Indy & Short Round
TLC: Elsa betrays Indy, Donovan betrays Indy

12) Cobwebs and dust

ROTLA: Area holding Golden Idol
TOD: Dust in Thuggee mine
TLC: Dust removed from knight's casket under library in Venice, in area with dangerous traps leading up to the resting place of the Holy Grail, dust seen coming out of entrance to Holy Grail cave

13) Torches

ROTLA: Utilized to light area holding Golden Idol, used in the Well of Souls in Egypt
TOD: Torches utilized in Thuggee religious ceremony, Short Round uses torch to wake Indy up from the black sleep, torches seen in mine shaft
TLC: Torches used in knight's tomb in Venice, torches used by Nazi in book burning in Berlin

14) Human carcases

ROTLA: Forrestal body found by Indy in area with Golden Idol, bodies in Well of Souls
TOD: Short Round & Willie Scott find Human bodies in secret tunnel in palace
TLC: Human bodies seen in knight's tomb

15) Open pit

ROTLA: Along path in area where Golden Idol is located
TOD: Open pit in Thuggee temple room
TLC: Last trap protecting Holy Grail is an extremely deep pit, deep chasm splits open in Holy Grail cave

16) Indy Jones makes deal to save a life

ROTLA: Trades the Golden Idol for the bull whip
TOD: Drinks tainted potion and enters the black sleep
TLC: Indy helps Donovan retrieve Holy Grail so Indy can save his father, who has been shot

17) Indy's helpers or guides die

ROTLA: South American guide who takes Golden Idol from Indy
TOD: Helper with Indy at beginning in Shanghai shot
TLC: ?

18) Indy Jones is at the mercy of the villain, but miraculously finds a way to survive or escape

ROTLA: Indy escapes from Belloq and the South American warriors, Indy and Marion escape from Well of Souls, Indy and Marion survive opening of the Ark
TOD: Indy survives being poisoned by bad guys, villains make Indy drink tainted potion instead of just killing Indy
TLC: Indy face to face with circus lion, but miraculously escapes unharmed, Indy miraculously survives fall over cliff at end of tank battle

19) Takes air craft to escape danger

ROTLA: Indy escapes in air plane in jungles of South America
TOD: Heroes escape from Shanghai on air craft
TLC: Heroes escape Germany in air ship zeppelin

20) Foreign language spoken

ROTLA: Belloq to South American warriors, Marion in her bar in Nepal, Nazi guard to Indy when he is disguised as Nazi in submarine dock, Belloq speaks foreign tongue when opening the Ark of the Covenant
TOD: Willie Scott sings in foreign language at beginning of film, Indy speaks foreign tongue in Shanghai, villagers in India speak own language, rick shaw driver shouts, Short Round and Indy during poker game, Mola Ram while pulling heart out of individual, Indy speaks in foreign language when fighting over sacred stones at rope bridge
TLC: Chanting of American Indians heard in background at beginning of film, Young Indy counts in Greek to father, Nazi speak German

21) Fruits

ROTLA: Indy given apples by his students, Marion eats dates, little monkey poisoned by tainted fruit, Nazi throws melons after losing the Ark
TOD: Indy brings fruit to Willie Scott at palace
TLC: ?

22) Role of military, soldiers or guards

ROTLA: U.S. Army Intelligence recruits Indy to find the Ark, Sallah mentions U.S. Marines after Indy rescued by children, Nazi military
TOD: Palace guards, British military officer at palace, Thuggee guards, British and Indian military help rescue heroes at rope bridge
TLC: Nazi military

23) Famous city mentioned

ROTLA: Cairo, Chicago and Berlin
TOD: Paris, Delhi and Oxford
TLC: Venice, Berlin

24) Archaeological dig in progress

ROTLA: Dig for the Ark in Egypt by Belloq and Nazi
TOD: Dig for sacred stones under palace
TLC: Dig for artifacts in Utah at beginning of film

25) Characters discuss subject of religion

ROTLA: Various characters talk about the Ark, the most important religious object in Old Testament
TOD: Villagers explain their religious beliefs to heroes, Mola Ram explains Thuggee religion
TLC: Donovan talks about Holy Grail with Indy

26) Adult beverages

ROTLA: Indy drinks with Marcus Brody at Indy's home, Indy drinks in Cairo bar after Indy thinks Marion is dead, Belloq & Marion drink wine, Marion offers to buy Indy a drink at the end of film
TOD: Served during feast at palace
TLC: Drinks served at Donovan's home, Indy mentions having champagne with Marcus Brody, adult drinks served on air craft zeppelin

27) Map of the world seen on screen to show where Indy Jones is traveling in air craft

28) Shadows

ROTLA: Shadows seen on wall in Marion's bar during gun fight, shadows seen in Well of Souls
TOD: Shadows seen in room with spikes, which nearly kill Indy and Short Round
TLC: Shadows seen at various times

29) Action sequence involving automatic weapons

ROTLA: Gun battle in Marion's bar, in gun battle in Cairo market place,
TOD: Automatic weapons fired at Indy at Shanghai
TLC: Fired at Indy during boat chase, used in tank convoy battle

30) Indy visits different parts of the world

ROTLA: South America, Nepal, Egypt and the United States
TOD: China and India
TLC: Portuguese Coast, Austria, Germany, Italy, Republic of Hatay and the United States

31) Mysterious wind

ROTLA: Wind blows in Marion's bar when Marion holds the headpiece of the Staff of Ra, breeze blows when expert tells Indy what is written on the headpiece
TOD: Breeze reveals hidden entrance to underground area in Willie Scott's room in palace
TLC: Mysterious wind in Holy Grail cave

32) Tobacco

ROTLA: Marion smokes in her bar, Nazi smokes in Cairo, Belloq smokes in Cairo bar
TOD: ?
TLC: Elsa smokes in car while leaving castle

33) Torture

ROTLA: Marion threatened with hot fire poker in her bar, threat of torture in Belloq's tent at Egypt dig site
TOD: Thuggee torture Indy and Short Round
TLC: Donovan shoots Indy's father with gun

34) Heroes try to hide from villains

ROTLA: Marion hides in basket while pursued in Cairo market place, Indy Jones hides in ship at sea boarded by Nazi
TOD: Indy hides behind gong while machine gun fired at Indy
TLC: Young Indy hides in magician's box on circus train, Indy and his father hide on air ship to escape Nazi

35) Search sequences

ROTLA: Indy searches for various objects and clues, Indy searches for Marion, bad guys search for different things
TOD: Indy searches for the sacred stones, villains search for sacred stones
TLC: Indy searches for Holy Grail, Indy searches for his father, bad guys search for Holy Grail

36) Explosions

ROTLA: Indy thinks Marion is blown up in truck, fuel truck explodes, tower explodes
TOD: Air craft explodes
TLC: Boats explode, Nazi air craft explodes in tunnel, explosions during tank action sequence

37) Villains tell extremely boring story to Indy Jones about subjects not important to the main plot

38) Different characters sing

ROTLA: Sallah sings after expert relates to Indy what is on headpiece, people sing outside of ship, Sallah sings again after kissed by Marion
TOD: Willie Scott sings "Anything Goes" at beginning of film, villagers in India chant, woman in palace sings
TLC: American Indian chanting heard at beginning of film, Indy's father and Marcus Brody sing together when reunited in tank

39) Rope is important

ROTLA: Indy enters map room with rope, Indy & Sallah use rope to enter Well of Souls, Ark raised with rope several times
TOD: Indy pulled up with rope when large Thuggee is crushed to death by rock crusher
TLC: Rope leading to archaeological dig area in Utah

40) Indiana Jones and side kick characters are captured by villains, but eventually escape

41) Indy uses his brains to solve various clues to further plot of story along

42) Eating of food

ROTLA: Nazi eat at dig site, Marion eats in Belloq's tent
TOD: Feast at palace, Indy eats fruit in front of Willie Scott
TLC: ?

43) Telescopic device

ROTLA: Indy uses telescope to locate Well of Souls, submarine has periscope
TOD: ?
TLC: Indy watches Nazi tank convoy with telescopic instrument, tank has telescope

44) Indy sacrifices well being of beautiful woman, sometimes inadvertently

ROTLA: Indy finds Marion, but Indy decides to leave Marion tied up in Belloq's tent
TOD: Indy nearly kills Willie Scott while Indy in black sleep
TLC: Indy loses hold of Elsa as Elsa tries to grab for the Holy Grail

45) Sunset

ROTLA: Sunset seen while Indy and helpers try to find entrance to Well of Souls
TOD: Sunset seen at palace
TLC: Heroes ride horses into the sunset

46) Character screams in fear

ROTLA: Marion screams in Well of Souls
TOD: Willie Scott screams when mine cart jumps track
TLC: Indy screams when he falls in the box of circus snakes, Elsa screams at seeing Donovan destroyed by the wrong grail

47) Beautiful woman changes clothes

ROTLA: Marion changes into dress given to her by Belloq
TOD: Willie Scott changes into new clothes at palace, Willie takes off wet clothes
TLC: Indy walks in on Elsa as she is changing her clothes

48) Walls with ancient inscriptions and pictures

ROTLA: Walls in Well of Souls
TOD: Walls in secret passage and Thuggee temple
TLC: Walls in knight's tomb and Holy Grail cave

49) Profanity, cursing and swear words

ROTLA: God's name spoken as profanity several times, Marion called Belloq a S.O.B. when sealed in Well of Souls by Nazi, Indy says curse word on ship
TOD: ?
TLC: God and Jesus' name spoken as profanity

50) Indiana Jones jumps around many times

51) Objects made to fall

ROTLA: Indy pushes over tall statue in Well of Souls, makes stone block fall to escape Well of Souls
TOD: Thuggee fall into chasm
TLC: Gong falls and rolls in Shanghai, Indy falls down hidden staircase

52) Character coughs

ROTLA: Marion coughs in Well of Souls
TOD: Cough heard when dirt dumped on Thuggee
TLC: ?

53) Bald headed characters with little or no head hair

ROTLA: Large Nazi soldier, who fights Indy at air craft, is bald
TOD: Mola Ram is bald
TLC: Nazi officer is bald, Indy's father is bald headed

54) Indy punched in face by villains

ROTLA: Large Nazi soldier at air craft fight
TOD: Large Thuggee in mine shaft fight
TLC: Punched in face by Nazi officer at castle

55) Fuel

ROTLA: Jet fuel spills from fuel truck and catches fire during fight
TOD: Air craft leaving Shanghai runs out of fuel
TLC: Indy smells petroleum in knight's tomb

56) Heroes fire weapons multiple times during movie

57) Heroes ride animals

ROTLA: Indy chases truck containing the Ark on a white horse
TOD: Heroes ride elephants to palace
TLC: Indy rides horse during tank chase, heroes ride into sunset on horses

58) Legendary Wilhelm scream

ROTLA: Heard from screaming Nazi soldier during truck chase
TOD: Made by Thuggee
TLC: Yelled by Nazi during tank battle

59) Vehicles crash or rammed

ROTLA: Happens frequently during truck chase
TOD: Short Round crashes and rams convertible car he is driving several times
TLC: Boats crash and rammed in Venice, vehicles crashed and rammed during tank scenes

60) Falls over cliff

ROTLA: Nazi fall over cliff during truck chase
TOD: Thuggee fall from cliff at rope bridge
TLC: Nazi fall over cliff at end of tank action sequence

61) Glass broken

ROTLA: Vehicle windows damaged during truck chase
TOD: ?
TLC: Glass window in castle broken, Indy breaks drinking glass when he slides gun on table to save Elsa

62) Indiana Jones locates religious relic at the center of the main plot, but loses it

ROTLA: Indy and Sallah find Ark, but Belloq and Nazi take it from the heroes, U.S. Government hides the Ark from Indy
TOD: Indy finds sacred stones, but loses some of the stones in river
TLC: Indy retrieves Holy Grail, but Indy loses the Holy Grail

63) Indy Jones falls asleep

ROTLA: Falls asleep while kissing Marion on ship
TOD: Falls asleep on air craft full of animals
TLC: ?

64) Awesome display of power by extraterrestrial supernatural entity

ROTLA: Extraterrestrial spirit ghosts exit Ark to terrorize bad guys, holy fire comes out of Ark to destroy villains, large stream of fire leaves Ark & climbs high in the sky
TOD: Sacred stones magically glow when together, sacred stones destroy Mola Ram
TLC: Donovan is destroyed by supernatural power in Holy Grail cave

65) Indy disguises himself

ROTLA: Dresses in Egyptian clothes to hide at dig site, dresses as Nazi in submarine dock
TOD: ?
TLC: Dresses as ticket taker on air ship zeppelin

66) Wooden crates or boxes

ROTLA: Wooden crates hold Ark, boxes contain weapons
TOD: Crates seen on ship in Portuguese Coast
TLC: Motorcycle hidden in wooden crate

67) Characters with mustaches and/or beards

ROTLA: Large Nazi soldier who fights Indy
TOD: Individuals in Obi-Wan club in Shanghai, attendees at feast in palace, large Thuggee who fights Indy
TLC: Indy's father has mustache and beard

68) Knife threatens heroes

ROTLA: Bad guy threatens Marion with a knife during chase at Cairo market place
TOD: Indy pulls knife-like weapon on Willie Scott after Indy is betrayed in Shanghai, Mola Ram pulls knife on Willie and Short Round
TLC: Villain with knife on circus train threatens Indy, Nazi on top of tank pulls knife on Indy

69) Indy exchanges antiquities for profit

ROTLA: Marcus Brody tells Indy that museum will pay for artifacts found by Indy
TOD: Indy exchanges Nurhachi's ashes for diamonds
TLC: ?

70) Clocks or time pieces

ROTLA: Belloq has time piece watch in Cairo bar
TOD: Indy and Willie Scott's rooms at palace have clocks
TLC: Indy's father's pocket watch

71) Rotating blades

ROTLA: Large Nazi soldier killed by rotating blade propellers of air craft
TOD: Thuggee choked to death by ceiling fan in Indy's room in palace
TLC: Boat propeller blades at end of boat chase sequence in Venice

72) Indy rescued by beautiful woman

ROTLA: Marion saves Indy several times during gun battle in Marion's bar
TOD: Willie Scott saves Indy and Short Round from being killed by spikes in room
TLC: Elsa rescues Indy by destroying Donovan with wrong grail

73) Heroes get trapped in room

ROTLA: Indy & Marion trapped in Well of Souls by Belloq and Nazi
TOD: Indy and Short Round trapped in room with spikes and moving ceiling
TLC: Indy and his father tied up and trapped in room in castle

74) Heroes secretly spy on villains from a distance

ROTLA: Heroes watch archaeological dig in Egypt
TOD: Heroes secretly watch Thuggee religious ceremony
TLC: Indy watches people at dig in Utah, heroes secretly watch Nazi convoy of military vehicles

75) Characters laugh

ROTLA: Belloq heard laughing in South American jungle
TOD: Mola Ram laughs
TLC: Indy laughs during action sequence with tank

76) Indy cheered by group of people

ROTLA: Indy cheered by sailors at sea when they see Indy on the Nazi submarine
TOD: Villagers cheer Indy bringing back their children
TLC: ?

77) Indy Jones attempts to impede or thwart villains

ROTLA: Indy threatens to blow up Ark
TOD: Indy threatens to drop sacred stones in river while Indy is on rope bridge
TLC: Indy refuses to help Donovan find Holy Grail

78) Bad guys seek to obtain godlike powers

ROTLA: Nazi want Ark of the Covenant to have an invincible military, Belloq wants to unlock the powers of the Ark
TOD: Mola Ram seeks the sacred stones to make Thuggee invincible
TLC: Donovan wants Holy Grail to achieve invincibility of eternal life

79) Villains are very extremely wealthy

ROTLA: Belloq has lots of family money, Nazi control the wealth of Germany
TOD: Young prince of palace is rich
TLC: Donovan is immensely financially successful

80) Arrows or darts fired at Indy

ROTLA: South American warriors launch darts at Indy
TOD: Thuggee fire arrows at Indy
TLC: ?

81) Smoke

ROTLA: ?
TOD: Smoke is seen while Willie Scott sings at beginning of film, smoke seen in Thuggee religious temple
TLC: Tank smokes after crash

82) Dressed in white

ROTLA: Marion wears white dress from Belloq
TOD: Indy wears white tuxedo in Shanghai
TLC: People in Venice dressed in white

83) Snakes appear at least once in each film

ROTLA: Snake in air craft, which rescues Indy in South America, many snakes in Well of Souls
TOD: Snake handled by Willie Scott in jungle
TLC: Snakes in circus train

84) Vehicles with convertible tops

ROTLA: Nazi military officer car in truck chase sequence, truck has removable top
TOD: Short Round drives a convertible in Shanghai
TLC: Villain in Utah rides in convertible

85) Obese heavy set character

ROTLA: Sallah
TOD: Individuals at feast at palace
TLC: Friend of Indy who is Boy Scout

86) Indiana Jones literally runs from danger many times

87) Indy Jones finds secret entrance to hidden area underground

ROTLA: Indy finds entrance to place holding the Golden Idol, Indy finds secret entrance to Well of Souls
TOD: Indy finds secret entrance in Willie Scott's room to Thuggee lair
TLC: Indy finds spot that marks secret entrance to knight's tomb in Venice, Indy and his father find secret entrance in fire place in castle

88) Characters constantly lose their hats

89) Indy Jones wears suit with tie or tuxedo

90) Indy Jones wears legendary Indy shirt, leather jacket, fedora hat and bull whip

91) Eye glasses worn by various characters

ROTLA: Indy wears eye glasses while teaching class
TOD: Villain at palace wears eye glasses
TLC: Indy's father wears eye glasses, Indy wears eye glasses in class

92) Villains keep heroes under surveillance or follow the heroes

ROTLA: Egyptian spy and Nazi follow Indy & Marion in Cairo
TOD: Bad guys follow heroes to escape air craft in Shanghai
TLC: Indy watched by Nazi and Donovan

93) Different characters reveal background information about Indiana Jones' life history and past adventures

94) Skulls

ROTLA: Skulls in Well of Souls
TOD: Skulls in Thuggee areas under palace
TLC: Skulls in knight's tomb in Venice

95) Main character(s) has secret, which is revealed to Indy Jones

ROTLA: Indy eventually finds out Belloq is secretly working with the Nazi to find the Ark
TOD: Indy Jones ultimately learns the young prince of the palace is secretly a part of the Thuggee religion
TLC: Indy discovers both Elsa and Donovan are secretly conspiring with the Nazi to find the Holy Grail

96) Bad guys threaten to kill the beautiful woman if Indy Jones doesn't do what the villains want Indy to do

ROTLA: Nazi threaten Marion
TOD: Mola Ram threatens Willie Scott at rope bridge
TLC: Nazi officer pretends to threaten Elsa

97) Heroes and villains insult each other

98) Situation gets progressively worse and worse for heroes especially in action sequences

99) Ominous weather conditions

ROTLA: Storm clouds while Indy searches for secret entrance to Well of Souls
TOD: Bad weather while heroes ride elephants to palace
TLC: ?

100) Bad guys constantly get killed chasing the heroes

101) Indy Jones kisses beautiful woman at least once

102) Indy knocks person unconscious

ROTLA: Indy knocks out Nazi soldier at submarine dock to take the Nazi's uniform
TOD: Indy knocks out Thuggee
TLC: Indy Jones knocks out butler at castle, Indy knocks out Nazi on air craft zeppelin

103) Rocks as part of landscape

ROTLA: Rocks surround valley where Indy threatens to blow up the Ark
TOD: Rocks around village
TLC: Rocks seen in Utah, Rocks at Republic of Hatay

104) Characters wear eye goggles while driving vehicles

ROTLA: Nazi wear eye goggle in truck chase
TOD: Pilots, who abandon the fuel less air craft, wear eye goggles
TLC: Eye goggles worn by tank driver

105) Extremely old character

ROTLA: Expert who tells Indy what the headpiece of the Staff of Ra says
TOD: Village elder
TLC: Knight guarding the Holy Grail in cave

106) Each movie features a high speed, vehicle (motorcycles, cars and boats, etc.) chase sequence

107) Rides a plane with and meets stunningly beautiful woman

ROTLA: Marion in Nepal
TOD: Willie in Shanghai
TLC: Elsa in Venice

108) After/during plane trip, Indiana Jones and the beautiful woman are sabotaged/attacked, receive info on mission/clue, sidetracked to new destination with large, old building(s)

ROTLA: In Nepal, the heroes are attacked by Nazi soldiers, get headpiece of Ra, then go to Cairo, Egypt to scope out buried city Tanis for the Ark
TOD: Pilots leave the heroes with a plane without fuel in the mountains, land in village get info about stolen children and Shankara stones, go to Pankot Palace to check out story
TLC: Heroes are attacked by members of the Cruciform Sword, get info about the Holy Grail on shield and info about Henry Jones, Sr.'s whereabouts, go to Castle Brunwald in Austria

109) Indiana Jones has a "romantic moment" with each beautiful woman

110) Scenes that provide comic relief with absurdity

ROTLA: Marion drinks a large man under the table, Indiana Jones uses gun to kill swordsman, Indiana Jones tells Sallah he's making up his plan as he goes along, little monkey gives the Nazi salute
TOD: Funny poker game between Indiana Jones and Short Round, Indiana Jones reaches for his gun to shoot some one and the gun is missing
TLC: The car Indiana Jones and his father are riding in falls in a hole made by a bomb dropped by a plane that is chasing them, Adolf Hitler autographs the Holy Grail diary, Dr. Marcus Brody gets lost and captured

111) Beautiful woman is captured by the bad guys at some point

ROTLA: Marion captured in Cairo market square
TOD: Willie caught while watching Indy scope out the Stones
TLC: In Castle Brunwald, Elsa taken hostage by Nazi troops

112) Features a scene involving phobia-inducing animal/creature

ROTLA: Large spiders at beginning of film, snakes in the Well of the Souls
TOD: Various insects in palace cave tunnel
TLC: Rats in knight's tomb

113) Massive and expensive action sequence with special vehicle with Indiana Jones with jacket and hat

ROTLA: Truck chase scene with the Ark where Indiana Jones goes under the truck
TOD: Minecar tunnel scene where the heroes escape Thuggees and water
TLC: Tank scene where they fall over the cliff

114) Movie must have a sequence involving a cave area

ROTLA: The island cave where the Nazi submarine docks
TOD: Thuggee temple under the palace
TLC: The Holy Grail cave

115) Various animals have a role in each film

ROTLA: Marion's little monkey, snakes, Indiana Jones rides horse, birds, mules, camels, rats on ship
TOD: Heroes ride elephants, animals served as food at feast, vampire bats fly around palace, lizard, owl, crocodiles, snake
TLC: Heroes ride off into the sunset on horses, rats, circus animals, chickens, Indy's dog

116) Indiana Jones is physically roughed up, hurt and injured in each film

117) Film scenes showcase fire and flames

ROTLA: Marion's saloon accidentally catches on fire
TOD: The sacrifice victims are consumed by the fire and flames of the pit
TLC: Indiana Jones and his father have to escape from a room that is set on fire

118) Places and locations with dangerous traps of different designs

ROTLA: The opening action sequence has several hidden traps which Indy Jones barely avoids
TOD: The heroes activate a perilous trap in a room that causes spikes from the ceiling to threaten Indy Jones and Short Round
TLC: In the Grail cave, the path to the Holy Grail features several traps

119) Indiana Jones carries and utilizes his legendary bull whip in each film of the series

120) Indiana Jones has at least one side-kick character that acts as comic relief

ROTLA: Sallah
TOD: Short Round
TLC: Dr. Marcus Brody and Sallah

121) The main villains/bad guys explain their motivations to Indiana Jones as to why the search for the historical and religious object is important

122) Water craft

ROTLA: Boat which can take off on water at beginning of film, ship at sea carrying the Ark
TOD: Water life raft utilized by heroes to parachute from air craft
TLC: Various boats seen during water chase sequence in Venice

123) Beautiful woman punches or slaps Indy on his face

124) Appearance of University campus

ROTLA: Indy Jones seen teaching his students at the University
TOD: ?
TLC: Indy teaches class, Indy swarmed by his students outside of Indy's office at University

125) Large groups of evil minions attack Indy

ROTLA: Attacked by large group of bad guys in Cairo market place
TOD: Attacked by a large group of Thuggee in mine
TLC: Attacked by the entire group of archaeologists in Utah, attacked on ship retrieving the Cross of Coronado, attacked by lots of Nazi during tank battle

126) The primary villain is extremely arrogant and has a massively huge ego, which ultimately leads to self destruction

ROTLA: Belloq
TOD: Mola Ram
TLC): Donovan

127) In each movie, all of Indiana Jones' strategic and tactical decisions are made up on the run with little or no advanced planning

128) After the historically and religiously valuable object/artifact is found, it destroys the villain(s)

ROTLA: Nazis and Belloq die after opening the Ark
TOD: On the rope bridge hanging over the cliff, Indiana Jones recites some magical words and Mola Ram falls to his death trying to catch one of the flaming Shankara stones
TLC: Donovan dies after drinking from the wrong grail

129) Indy Jones receives third party money and help to fund his various adventures

ROTLA: Outside money given to Indy to search for the Ark of the Covenant
TOD: Indy given air craft to escape Shanghai, villagers provide elephants and supplies to reach palace
TLC: Private money supplied for search for Holy Grail and Indy's father

130) Film ends with main Indiana Jones musical theme played while end credits role

Additional story elements to be added as time progresses in the future