While vacationing in Hawaii to get away from the hype of Star Wars, filmmakers George Lucas and Steven Spielberg spoke about creating a character that hearkened back to the serial adventures they enjoyed in their youths. On a Hawaiian beach in 1977 archaeologist Indiana Jones was created; Tom Selleck was cast, but couldn’t film the role because of his commitment to the television series Magnum, P.I. Spielberg went back to his original choice, Harrison Ford, who Lucas didn’t want to cast because he didn’t want Ford to be associated with all his movies. Spielberg won out and Ford got the role, donning the fedora, jacket, and bullwhip that would make Indy an iconic character.

Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark follows the adventures of Indiana Jones, an archaeologist who teaches university in his day job. It's his other job — looking for artifacts and treasure while stopping plunderers from stealing these treasures that should be on display in a museum instead of going into someone’s private collection — that’s far more interesting. This is the first film in the Indiana Jones franchise; it pits Jones against the Nazis. Both are searching for the Ark of the Covenant; the Nazis want it to make their army invincible, while Indy wants it to be put on display for all to see.

Both parties are looking for a medallion which will pinpoint the Well of Souls in Egypt, the Ark's final resting place. The medallion is owned by Indy's former flame Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen), which makes you think that Indy has the advantage. However when he gets to Nepal she greets him with a jaw-cracking punch to the mouth. Indy’s relationships don’t always end well and Marion was one of those casualties. After agreeing on a price for the medallion, Marion makes herself Indy’s partner and off they go from Nepal to Cairo. After some great action like in the serials that this movie pays homage to, they do find the ark, but many will pay a great price for what’s inside. Raiders of The Lost Ark is just the beginning of the Indy adventures — there were two more movies filmed in the '80s, a TV series featuring young Indiana Jones, and this summer we get the next installment of the Indiana Jones franchise: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.