Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

Synopsis of Movie

“Hey, lady! You call him Dr. Jones!”

This blockbuster sequel to the mega-successful Raiders of the Lost Ark was so gory and surprisingly violent, it led to the creation of the MPAA’s PG-13 rating. And if you don’t think that was enough to send every red-blooded kid in America racing to the theater to buy a ticket, you’ve obviously never been a kid.

Yes, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom was certainly bloodier than the first film, but that seemed to be part of the master plan—bigger, faster, louder…in every way a higher-octane version of the thrill-packed original. Indy even got a pair of new partners, along with a new quest for sacred treasure.

In the elaborately choreographed opening sequence set in a Shanghai nightclub in 1935, a group of dancers stage a production of Cole Porter’s “Anything Goes.” In the audience is Indiana Jones, who’s negotiating with Chinese gangster Lao Che for a priceless diamond. One thing leads to another, and soon Indy is scrambling for a vial of antidote to the poison he’s just drunk, while lead dancer/singer Willie Scott grabs for the diamond in a club-wide riot. Indy grabs Willie and makes his escape to the Shanghai streets, where pint-sized kid sidekick Short Round picks them up. The threesome board the next plane out of Shanghai, which turns out to be owned by Lao Che himself.

The pilots bail from the sabotaged plane, leaving Indy and company with no parachutes. So like any good scientist, he improvises, riding an inflatable raft through air, land and finally water, coming to a rest in a small East Indian village. The locals feed Indy, Short Round and the endlessly complaining Willie, but they humbly ask a favor in return.

The village children have been disappearing, and the villagers think they’re being held in a nearby palace. Indy isn’t really one for pro bono work, but when he learns there’s an archaeological treasure involved—the legendary Sankara stones—he mounts up for another adventure, one that will take him through insect-plagued passageways, into a bizarre cult and through a harrowing mine cart chase before the high-wire finale.

Again packed with wall-to-wall stunts, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom delivered the promised action, and audiences responded by making it the biggest worldwide hit of the year. The film was actually the least successful of the three Indiana Jones films (it’s all relative, of course), but curiously, it was the only one to spawn an arcade adaptation, 1985’s Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. In 1989, the hero returned once more, with Sean Connery as his gruff father, in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

Movie Release History

1981 - Raiders of the Lost Ark
1984 - Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
1989 - Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

Movie Sub Categories

live-action
action/adventure

Movie Studio

Lucasfilm, Paramount

Cast

Indiana Jones  Harrison Ford
Willie Scott  Kate Capshaw
Mola Ram  Amrish Puri
Chattar Lal  Roshan Seth
Captain Blumburtt  Philip Stone
Lao Che  Roy Chiao
Short Round  Ke Huy Quan
Wu Han  David Yip
Kao Kan  Ric Young
Chen   Chua Kah Joo
Maitre d'  Rex Ngui
Chief Henchman  Philip Tan
Weber  Dan Aykroyd
Chinese Pilot  Akio Mitamura
Chinese Co-Pilot  Michael Yama
Shaman of the Village  D.R. Nanayakkara
Chieftain of the Village   Dharmadasa Kuruppu
Sajnu  Stany De Silva
Village Woman  Ruby De Miel
Village Woman  D.M. Denawake
Village Woman  I. Serasinghe
Village Child  Dharshana Panangala
Little Maharaja  Raj Singh
Merchant #1  Frank Olegario
Merchant #2  Ahmed El Shenawi
Eel Eater  Arthur F. Repola
Sacrifice Victim  Nizwar Karanj
Chief Guard  Pat Roach
Guard   Moti Makan
Temple Guard  Mellan Mitchell
Temple Guard  Bhasker Patel)
1st Boy in Cell  Arjun Pandher
2nd Boy in Cell  Zia Gelani
Dancer Debbie Astell
Dancer Maureen Bacchus
Dancer Corinne Barton
Dancer Carol Beddington
Dancer Sharon Boone
Dancer Elizabeth Burville
Dancer Marisa Campbell
Dancer Christine Cartwright
Dancer Andrea Chance
Dancer Jan Colton
Dancer Louise Dalgleish
Dancer Lorraine Doyle
Dancer Vanessa Fieldwright
Dancer Brenda Glassman
Dancer Elaine Gough
Dancer Sue Hadleigh
Dancer Sarah-Jane Hassell
Dancer Samantha Hughes
Dancer Julie Kirk
Dancer Deirdre Laird
Dancer Vicki McDonald
Dancer Nina McMahon
Dancer Julia Marstand
Dancer Gaynor Martine
Dancer Lisa Mulidore
Dancer Dawn Reddall
Dancer Rebekkah Sekyi
Dancer Clare Smalley
Dancer Lee Sprintall
Dancer Jenny Turnock
Dancer Ruth Welby

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