Indiana Jones Week: The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Spring Break Adventure

Welcome, welcome, welcome to Day 5 of Indiana Jones Week and yes we still are NOT reviewing Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. YAY!!!!   For reasons following that, how about another Young Indy adventure?  This time around I thought I would bring us stateside with Indy surviving the horrors of High School, being a soda jerk and dating Nancy Stratemeyer (daughter of Edward Stratemeyer, creator of the Bobsy Twins, Tom Swift and Nancy Drew).  Not too interesting, you say?  How about a Spring Break that ends with a Mexican Revolution?   This is The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Spring Break Adventure.

Father drones on after a few sherries. 

Pancho Villa:  I thought I was riding with men, not killers.  Soldiers and heroes not looking for more spoilers to be spilled.




In February 1916 with Spring Break on the rise, Indy (Sean Patrick Flanery of The Storyteller, Into the Fire, Masters of Horror, The Insatiable, Stephen King's Dead Zone and Dexter) is itching to take his gal Nancy (Robin Lively of Wildcats, Teen Witch, The Karate Kid, Part III, A Deadly Obsession and The Wrong Woman) to the prom.  But Mr. Stratemeyer is busy with the latest Tom Swift and hasn't the time to have the car repaired before the dance.  Thomas Edison's assistant Professor Thompson (Mark L. Taylor of Innerspace, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids and Arachnophobia) assures Indy he can fix the generator to the car when thugs steals Edison's new battery design plus the prototype.  With the break-in, the theft of both plans and battery swiped and word of German spies; Nancy and Indy try to unravel the mystery.

Gee whiz, bicycles don't get you girls!

The adventure doesn't end there when Indy travels with his father to visit family in Albuquerque New Mexico where Indy goes "camping" with his cousin Frank (Stephen Graf of No Job for a Lady, Young Indiana Jones and the Curse of the Jackal and 6:41) to Columbus New Mexico for a taste of a good ole brothel.  Unbeknownst to the boys, Pancho Villa (Mike Moroff of La Bamba, Robocop, Cage, Desperado, From Dusk Till Dawn) and his revolutionaries had raided the town for goods and supplies.  Indy chases the bandito Francois (Francesco Quinn of Platoon, Casablanca Express, Murder Blues, Top Dog, Nowhere Land and The Young and the Restless) jumps the guy and the two start grappling.  Indy is taken at gun point thinking this is the end when Villa is less than pleased with this petty behavior, chastises the men and they fall in line.
Stirred by the General's passion and words, Indy joins the revolution and carries on the fight to free Mexico as the US forces seethe their way into Mexico waging war against the revolutionaries at the request of the Mexican government.

A few comments to make about the film now.   During the riding sequence, Flanery got to ride Tornado, the horse Harrison Ford rode in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.  This episode is later referenced in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull as Indy talks with Mutt.

 Mike Moroff's grandfather actually rode alongside the actual Pancho Villa and his aunt received love letters from the revolutionary himself which Moroff inherited.  A true piece of history in Moroff's eyes.

One more Frito Bandito joke and you are off the picture!

Indiana Jones Week: Indiana Jones: Attack of the Hawkmen

Well folks it is Day 4 of Indiana Jones Week and I bet you are all expecting the most talked about, sneered at and ridiculed Indy film: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull... Well... I hate to disappoint you I thought I would tackle a few of my favorite Young Indiana Jones TV films.
Yeah I know it sounds like I am cheating and avoiding reviewing said movie, but what can I say that has not already been covered?   Journey with me during World War I, where Indy takes the false name of Henri Defense and is enlisted in the Belgian Army.   This is Indiana Jones: Attack of the Hawkmen.

Sacre bleu!! Who beefed??!!

Indiana Jones: It's from Richthofen
Hobie: How do you know?
Indiana Jones: I had spoils with him.




After his unit almost completely died from Malaria in Uganda Africa, Indy and his men had the Gods smile upon them saved by Dr. Albert Schweitzer.  Giving Indy a completely different perspective of the war, Jones (Sean Patrick Flannery of Kingdom Come, Raging Angels, Powder, Suicide Kings, The Boondock Saints and The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Travels with Father) and his buddy Remy (Ronny Coutteure of Hiver 60, Bachou, Carnaval, Blueberry Hill and Arlette) are whisked to Belgian Intelligence work... for the next few months it is immensely boring.

Take that, Snoopy!

Indy gets the brilliant idea to fake papers to get them into the thick of the war with French Intelligence.  As luck would have it, both men are accepted.  Remy is owner of a cafe allowing for contact information to gather to and fro while Indy joins reconnaissance photography, a position with a fairly high death toll.   While taking pictures he and his pilot are shot down by German flying ace Baron Von Richthofen (Marc Warren of Agatha Christie's Marple, Green Street Hooligans, Land of the Blind, Doctor Who, Hogfather and Dracula) The Red Baron! Get Snoopy!  Has Indy's luck ran completely out and will he be tortured by the Kaiser??   Will he be forced to eat Blood sausage and everything will be boiled??!!!

I had just a few comments to make on this film at this time.   As with many of the Lucas and Speilberg projects the famous Foley sound effect the Wilhelm Scream (originated stock sound from Sheb Wooley for Distant Drums)  at least 3 different variants of it was used in this picture.  This was Jon Pertwee's last picture done before his untimely demise in 1996 as a German general for the unveiling of the Zeppelin.   Sean Patrick Flannery is found for saying his time as Indy was unusual.  He auditioned, got called back for another read and then proceeded to not go home for 6 years.

Ve have vays of making you reverse ze polarity of ze neutron flow!