Professor Henry Walton Jones Sr. is a
fictional character
In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, Play (theatre), play, Radio series, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or b ...
in the
''Indiana Jones'' franchise. He is the Scottish father of
Indiana Jones
''Indiana Jones'' is an American media franchise based on the adventures of Dr. Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones, Jr., a fictional professor of archaeology, that began in 1981 with the film ''Raiders of the Lost Ark''. In 1984, a prequel, '' The ...
and is a professor of medieval studies at Princeton University. Alongside his academic teachings, Jones Sr. is an author of many books and a professional speaker of his historical subject at many conferences throughout the world. His relationship to his son in the franchise is noted as indifferent due to conflicts on their approaches to their situations, despite the fondness they share for history and archaeology. Throughout much of his life, he dedicated his research into the fabled
Holy Grail
The Holy Grail (french: Saint Graal, br, Graal Santel, cy, Greal Sanctaidd, kw, Gral) is a treasure that serves as an important motif in Arthurian literature. Various traditions describe the Holy Grail as a cup, dish, or stone with miracu ...
of Christian legends.
Sean Connery
Sir Sean Connery (born Thomas Connery; 25 August 1930 – 31 October 2020) was a Scottish actor. He was the first actor to portray fictional British secret agent James Bond on film, starring in seven Bond films between 1962 and 1983. Origina ...
portrays Dr. Jones in his debut in the 1989 film ''
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
''Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade'' is a 1989 American action film, action-adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg, from a story co-written by executive producer George Lucas. It is the third installment in the Indiana Jones, ''Indiana ...
'', while
Lloyd Owen portrays him in ''
The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles''. Alongside appearances in live-action media, the character has featured in ''Indiana Jones'' novels and comic books.
Characterization
The father of renowned
archaeologist Indiana Jones
''Indiana Jones'' is an American media franchise based on the adventures of Dr. Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones, Jr., a fictional professor of archaeology, that began in 1981 with the film ''Raiders of the Lost Ark''. In 1984, a prequel, '' The ...
, Henry was born in
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...
on December 12, 1872. He is a professor of
medieval literature
Medieval literature is a broad subject, encompassing essentially all written works available in Europe and beyond during the Middle Ages (that is, the one thousand years from the fall of the Western Roman Empire ca. AD 500 to the beginning of t ...
, having received his degree from the
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the world's second-oldest university in contin ...
on June 5, 1899 and is, according to his son, "the (professor) the students hope they don't get".
[''Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade'' (1989)]
A driven man, Henry is fascinated by the search for the
Holy Grail
The Holy Grail (french: Saint Graal, br, Graal Santel, cy, Greal Sanctaidd, kw, Gral) is a treasure that serves as an important motif in Arthurian literature. Various traditions describe the Holy Grail as a cup, dish, or stone with miracu ...
, keeping all the clues he found regarding its whereabouts in his Grail diary. He is presumably a
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words '' Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ ...
(although his denomination is unclear), made evident by his intolerance of his son using
Jesus'
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
name in vain, slapping the younger Henry across the face when he does so and telling him, "That's for blasphemy!"
Seemingly finding parenting difficult, Henry Sr. mostly bonded with his son through their mutual fascination with history. After the death of his wife Anna from
influenza
Influenza, commonly known as "the flu", is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These symptom ...
in 1912, the gulf between father and son grew to the point where they rarely spoke. Henry claims this was a way of teaching his son "self reliance", while Indiana felt that his father simply cared more about his intellectual pursuits than about his own son, saying: "What you taught me, was that I was less important to you than some people who'd been dead for 500 years in another country." When Henry explains that the search for the Grail is "a race against evil", Indy lashes out at him: "This is an ''obsession'', Dad! I ''never'' understood it! Never!" To Indiana's constant exasperation, Henry refers to his son only as "Junior" until the end of ''The Last Crusade,'' when he finally relents and calls him "Indiana" when he convinces him to let the Grail go. (Indiana later calls
his own son "Junior".)
Another factor which deteriorated Indiana and Henry's relationship was Indiana going off to enlist in the
Belgian Army
The Land Component ( nl, Landcomponent, french: Composante terre) is the land branch of the Belgian Armed Forces. The King of the Belgians is the commander in chief. The current chief of staff of the Land Component is Major-General Pierre Gérard ...
for
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
in 1916 without his father's consent, and the two went three years without seeing each other. Because of his father's aloofness, Indy embraced his father's friend
Marcus Brody
This is a list of characters in the ''Indiana Jones'' series.
Introduced in ''Raiders of the Lost Ark''
Indiana Jones
Dr. Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones, Jr. (Harrison Ford), the titular character of the franchise, is an archaeologist and part- ...
as a father figure and role model. His father's distant nature may have influenced Indiana's own reluctance to settle down and start a family.
For much of Indiana's life, Henry disapproves of his son's frequent resort to violence, considering it unworthy of a scholar. When Indy guns down a pair of Nazis, Henry exclaims "Look what you did! I can't believe what you did!" However, during their motorcycle escape, he is impressed when his son defeats their Nazi pursuers using a flagpole like a jousting lance. Rather than physical confrontation, Henry prefers more elegant expedients, such as when he flaps his umbrella at a flock of seagulls, sending them into the engines of a pursuing Nazi fighter plane. When Indy punches a Nazi during the final tank battle, Henry shouts, "You call this archaeology?!" But at last, Henry blows up a truck full of Nazis to Brody's horror, explaining "It's war!"
Henry suffers from fear of
rat
Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents. Species of rats are found throughout the order Rodentia, but stereotypical rats are found in the genus ''Rattus''. Other rat genera include ''Neotoma'' ( pack rats), ''Bandicota'' (bandicoot ...
s (
musophobia), similar to his son's
fear of snakes, and apparently also from
acrophobia
Acrophobia is an extreme or irrational fear or phobia of heights, especially when one is not particularly high up. It belongs to a category of specific phobias, called space and motion discomfort, that share both similar causes and options fo ...
. He has a habit of saying "This is intolerable!" in particularly trying circumstances.
As revealed in the ''Indiana Jones Ultimate Guide'', Henry Jones Sr. died in 1951.
Appearances
In ''
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
''Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade'' is a 1989 American action film, action-adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg, from a story co-written by executive producer George Lucas. It is the third installment in the Indiana Jones, ''Indiana ...
'', set in 1938,
Walter Donovan finds a tablet that provides new clues to the Grail's location, he hires Henry to lead an expedition to locate the artifact. While on the expedition, he discovers that his colleague (
Elsa Schneider
This is a list of characters in the Indiana Jones (franchise), ''Indiana Jones'' series.
Introduced in ''Raiders of the Lost Ark''
Indiana Jones
Indiana Jones (character), Dr. Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones, Jr. (Harrison Ford), the titular chara ...
, also Henry's and later
Indy
Indy may refer to:
Computing and technology
*Indy (software), used for Internet access to music
*Internet Direct, or "Indy", a software library
* SGI Indy, a computer workstation
Periodicals
*''The Indy'', shorthand for newspapers that include ...
's paramour) is working for the Nazis. Henry mails his Grail diary, with its many vital clues, to his son for safekeeping — shortly afterwards he (while working in a
Venetian
Venetian often means from or related to:
* Venice, a city in Italy
* Veneto, a region of Italy
* Republic of Venice (697–1797), a historical nation in that area
Venetian and the like may also refer to:
* Venetian language, a Romance language s ...
library) is captured by Nazi officials and interned in Brunwald Castle on the
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
n border.
He is eventually rescued from the castle by his son, and they learn that Donovan is also working with the Nazis. Henry convinces Indiana that the Grail must not be taken by the Nazis and that they need to go to
Berlin
Berlin is Capital of Germany, the capital and largest city of Germany, both by area and List of cities in Germany by population, by population. Its more than 3.85 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European U ...
to reclaim his Grail diary to complete the quest. During the course of the adventure, Marcus is captured and when Indiana goes to battle the Nazis, Henry tries to rescue Marcus himself. During the course of the battle, Henry blows up a truck full of Nazis, saving Indiana's life. Eventually, working together, Marcus and Henry manage to escape the tank they're trapped in. When Indy nearly falls to his death off a cliff after fighting Nazis on a tank, Henry is horrified when he thinks his son has died, and is greatly relieved when Indy reveals himself to be alive and well. Henry is shot by Donovan in the film's climax, but Indiana finds the Grail in time and uses it to heal his wounds. Henry returns the favor by rescuing Indiana from a rift (created when Elsa crosses a seal with the Grail), imploring his son to let the Grail go, even calling him by his nickname "Indiana" for the first time and implying that he cares more about Indiana than the Grail.
In ''
The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles'', following the publication of a successful book on
chivalry
Chivalry, or the chivalric code, is an informal and varying code of conduct developed in Europe between 1170 and 1220. It was associated with the medieval Christian institution of knighthood; knights' and gentlemen's behaviours were governed b ...
in 1909, Jones is invited to speak at a number of schools and universities around the world. He took his wife and son along with him, hiring his former tutor, Helen Seymour (portrayed by
Margaret Tyzack
Margaret Maud Tyzack (9 September 193125 June 2011) was an English actress. Her television roles included '' The Forsyte Saga'' (1967) and ''I, Claudius'' (1976). She won the 1970 BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress for the BBC serial '' The First ...
) to tutor his son.
In ''
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull'', Henry is hinted to have died prior to the events of the film. A framed photograph of him is seen on Indy's desk at one point in the film. Indy at one point mutters "This is intolerable" while escaping from the Soviets and, near the end of the movie, addresses Mutt as "Junior". In the
James Rollins novelization
A novelization (or novelisation) is a derivative novel that adapts the story of a work created for another medium, such as a film, TV series, stage play, comic book or video game. Film novelizations were particularly popular before the advent of ...
of the movie, it is said that Henry Jones Sr. had died roughly two years before, making his year of death between 1955 and 1956. However, in the
James Luceno
James Luceno (born 1947) is a ''New York Times'' bestselling author, best known for his novels and reference books connected with the ''Star Wars'' franchise and the Star Wars Expanded Universe, and (with Brian Daley under the shared pseudony ...
DK book, ''Indiana Jones the Ultimate Guide'', it lists his death as 1951.
In the video game, ''
Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings'', Henry is a playable character in a storyline specially created for co-op mode, which follows Henry Sr. and Henry Jr. as they travel to South America to prevent priceless artefacts from falling into the hands of the Germans.
Henry Sr. and Henry Jr. make very brief unplayable cameos in the video game ''
Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars''. Their appearance pays tribute to a scene from ''Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade''.
Conception
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Spi ...
chose to introduce Indiana's father in the third film, as he found the
Holy Grail
The Holy Grail (french: Saint Graal, br, Graal Santel, cy, Greal Sanctaidd, kw, Gral) is a treasure that serves as an important motif in Arthurian literature. Various traditions describe the Holy Grail as a cup, dish, or stone with miracu ...
to be an unspectacular plot device. Spielberg felt that
Sean Connery
Sir Sean Connery (born Thomas Connery; 25 August 1930 – 31 October 2020) was a Scottish actor. He was the first actor to portray fictional British secret agent James Bond on film, starring in seven Bond films between 1962 and 1983. Origina ...
was the obvious choice to play the role because
James Bond
The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 19 ...
was an inspiration for Indiana.
George Lucas
George Walton Lucas Jr. (born May 14, 1944) is an American filmmaker. Lucas is best known for creating the ''Star Wars'' and '' Indiana Jones'' franchises and founding Lucasfilm, LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic and THX. He served as chai ...
and
Harrison Ford
Harrison Ford (born July 13, 1942) is an American actor. His films have grossed more than $5.4billion in North America and more than $9.3billion worldwide, making him the seventh-highest-grossing actor in North America. He is the recipient o ...
were surprised by this choice because, as Ford explained in an interview, Connery (born in 1930), was only twelve years older than he was. Jones Sr., was first conceived as more bookish, but Connery enhanced the character to be more adventurous. In the scene where father and son were held captive by the Nazis, Indiana wanted to know how Jones Sr., knew Elsa Schneider was a Nazi. Connery "ad libbed" (
ad libitum
In music and other performing arts, the phrase (; from Latin for 'at one's pleasure' or 'as you desire'), often shortened to "ad lib" (as an adjective or adverb) or "ad-lib" (as a verb or noun), refers to various forms of improvisation.
The ...
) the line, "She talks in her sleep," while filming. The first take could not be used because the crew could not contain their laughter or reactions as they found the remark to be extremely funny.
[
To prepare for the role in ''The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles'', Lloyd Owen prepared by watching numerous Connery films and studied his accent. Owen shared the character's love of medieval history, having studied Geoffrey Chaucer's '']The Knight's Tale
"The Knight's Tale" ( enm, The Knightes Tale) is the first tale from Geoffrey Chaucer's '' The Canterbury Tales''.
The Knight is described by Chaucer in the "General Prologue" as the person of highest social standing amongst the pilgrims, t ...
''. Owen considered the character "a good father. I think that's obvious by the way Indy has turned out. He even said in the film that he's not the kind of father that says, 'Eat your food, go to bed, brush your teeth!' He's not that kind of guy at all. He's a very liberal parent for the 1900s."
Connery turned down a cameo appearance
A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly ei ...
in ''Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull'' (2008), as he was enjoying retirement too much. In a statement, he provided one last piece of advice for "Junior" – keep the cliffs low, the monsters CGI and the whip close at hand to fend off the stunt coordinator. George Lucas
George Walton Lucas Jr. (born May 14, 1944) is an American filmmaker. Lucas is best known for creating the ''Star Wars'' and '' Indiana Jones'' franchises and founding Lucasfilm, LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic and THX. He served as chai ...
said in hindsight that it was good Connery did not appear, as it would disappoint the audience when his character did not join the film's adventure. Ford joked, "I'm old enough to play my own father."
Reception
Sean Connery received a Golden Globe
The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...
nomination for his performance.
Horizon released a vinyl
Vinyl may refer to:
Chemistry
* Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer
* Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation
* Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry
* Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from viny ...
model kit of Henry in 1993, which the buyer could assemble. The Japanese company Kotobukiya released a vinyl kit in 2008. That same year, Hasbro
Hasbro, Inc. (; a syllabic abbreviation of its original name, Hassenfeld Brothers) is an American multinational conglomerate holding company incorporated and headquartered in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Hasbro owns the trademarks and products of K ...
released a 3 ¾-inch action figure that comes with his suitcase, umbrella and the Holy Grail
The Holy Grail (french: Saint Graal, br, Graal Santel, cy, Greal Sanctaidd, kw, Gral) is a treasure that serves as an important motif in Arthurian literature. Various traditions describe the Holy Grail as a cup, dish, or stone with miracu ...
; a die-cast model of him and Indiana in the motorcycle; and a Mighty Mugg (caricature) toy. Lego
Lego ( , ; stylized as LEGO) is a line of plastic construction toys that are manufactured by The Lego Group, a privately held company based in Billund, Denmark. The company's flagship product, Lego, consists of variously colored interlockin ...
also made a Henry figure for its playset based on the motorcycle chase and the airplane fight.
Notes
References
External links
Henry Jones Sr.
on IMDb
IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, p ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Henry Sr.
Fictional professors
Fictional immigrants to the United States
Indiana Jones characters
Film characters introduced in 1989
Fictional Scottish people
Fictional British people
Jones, Henry