Marion Ravenwood
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Indiana Jones character | |
 |
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| Marion Ravenwood | |
|---|---|
| Occupation | Bar owner |
| Family | Professor Abner Ravenwood (father;deceased) Colin Williams (husband; deceased) Dr. Henry "Indiana" Jones Jr. (husband) Henry "Mutt" Jones III (son; via Indiana) |
| First appearance | Raiders of the Lost Ark |
| Portrayed by | Karen Allen |
Marion Ravenwood, also known as Marion Williams, is a fictional character that first appeared in the 1981 film Raiders of the Lost Ark. Played by Karen Allen, she enters the story when Indiana Jones visits her in Nepal, needing her help — specifically, he needs an artifact in her possession, originally obtained by her father, archaeologist Professor Abner Ravenwood (Indy's mentor), in order to locate the Ark of the Covenant. After 27 years of absence (21 years in the films' internal chronology), the character returns in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and is once again played by Allen.
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[edit] Appearances
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This article or section describes a work or element of fiction in a primarily in-universe style. Please rewrite this article or section to explain the fiction more clearly and provide non-fictional perspective. |
Marion's father, Dr. Abner Ravenwood, was a professor of archeology and mentor to the young Indiana Jones, who accompanied them on several digs. Jones and Marion entered into a relationship during this time (when is never established). Jones abruptly left the Ravenwoods in 1926. The recent Indiana Jones guide book establishes Marion's birthdate as March 23, 1909, making her about 16/17 years old when the relationship finished, at a time when Jones would have been about 27, ten years her senior. During Raiders of the Lost Ark Marion chastises Jones, stating, "I was a child! I was in love! It was wrong and you knew it!" After Jones broke off contact with them both, he returned to the United States to focus on his career as an archeology professor, and Marion and her father settled in Nepal and started running a local tavern.
In Raiders of the Lost Ark, set in the year 1936, Marion finds herself back in contact with Jones, when he asked her for the artifact originally located by her father. Reluctant at first, she was forced to cooperate when the Nazi Toht arrived to demand the piece himself. During the subsequent fight, Jones and Toht and his henchmen set the tavern on fire. Marion cooperates and helps Jones recover the Ark of the Covenant from the Nazis; in the process, the couple rekindle their relationship.
Jones continued to pursue archaeological artifacts, while Marion tried her hand at journalism before opening a bar in New York City named The Raven's Nest. At some point during the next two years, they even planned to marry, and Indiana unknowingly fathered a son. Jones broke off the relationship a week before the wedding, believing that it would never work out due to him going away so much, and Marion later married an RAF airman named Colin Williams, whom Indiana himself had introduced to her.
In the film Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008), set in 1957, Russians capture archeologist Harold Oxley- an old friend of Indiana's who had helped her get back onto her feet after Jones left her- and Marion in an attempt to find the mythical crystal skulls. Marion sends her son, Mutt, to find Jones. During the film, Marion reveals that Mutt is actually Jones' son. The three of them eventually find the skulls, and Marion and Jones wed after the conflict is over. [1]
[edit] Concept and creation
Screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan named the character after his wife's grandmother, and took the character's surname from Ravenwood Lane in California.[2] Spielberg originally intended the role for his girlfriend Amy Irving.[3] Sean Young auditioned for the role,[2] Barbara Hershey was considered,[4] while Debra Winger turned it down.[5] Steven Spielberg cast Karen Allen, on the strength of her performance in National Lampoon's Animal House. Allen screen tested opposite Tim Matheson and John Shea, before Harrison Ford was cast as Indiana.[2]
Kasdan's depiction of Marion was more complex, and she was genuinely interested in Belloq in earlier script drafts.[4] She and Paul Freeman added more comedy in the tent seduction scene.[2] Allen came up with her own backstory for the character, such as what happened to her mother, her romance with Indiana at age 15 or 16, and her time in Nepal; Spielberg described it as "an entirely different movie".[4]
After Raiders of the Lost Ark was released, Spielberg wanted Allen to return for Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, but George Lucas decided that Indy would have a different love interest in each film.[2] During the 1990s, Lucas forbade author Rob MacGregor from including her in his novels for Bantam Books' Indiana Jones series. "How did Indy meet Marion? What happened in their earlier encounters? George apparently wanted to keep that for the future. Maybe we’ll find out in Indy 4," MacGregor speculated.[6] Frank Darabont claimed it was his idea to bring back Marion for Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, during his tenure as writer from 2002 to 2004.[7]
[edit] References
- ^ Indiana Jones: Marshall College: Ravenwood, Marion. IndianaJones.com.
- ^ a b c d e (2003). Indiana Jones: Making the Trilogy (DVD). Paramount Pictures.
- ^ George Perry (1998). Steven Spielberg: The Making of his Movies. Orion, 44-45. ISBN 0-75281-848-1.
- ^ a b c "25 Years of Indy!", Empire, October 2006, pp. 73, 78.
- ^ Gregory Kirschling, Jeff Labrecque. "Indiana Jones: 15 Fun Facts", 2008-03-12. Retrieved on 2008-03-15.
- ^ Aaron Gantt. Interview with Rob MacGregor. The Indy Experience. Retrieved on 2008-02-18.
- ^ "Comic-Con: Frank Darabont Talks ‘Indy’ Similarities", MTV, 2007-07-28. Retrieved on 2008-02-18.
