When filming scenes in movies – the actual circumstances surrounding the actors eg. the weather – can often be very different to those depicted onscreen. This can lead to actors having to smile with chattering teeth while wearing shorts and T-shirts, or trying not go bright red and sweat too much in overcoats and layers. This was a problem faced by Harrison Ford and Sean Connery on the set of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
The filming of the Indiana Jones movies was never plain-sailing for Harrison Ford. The most famous example being that the iconic scene where he brings a gun to a whip fight was caused by Ford experiencing stomach problems. In the Last Crusade, Ford and Connery found themselves in a scene set on a zeppelin where the passengers were decked out in fur coats, due to it being the winter. The problem was that the studio was extremely hot.
So, Ford and Connery decided to film the scene, which is set in a crowded bar/restaurant – with no trousers on. In a making-of documentary, Sean Connery said; “We played one of the scenes in the zeppelin, all the passengers were wearing fur coats and hats and it’s supposed to be in the wintertime.”
Connery continues; “And I played it without my trousers. And Harrison says, ‘You’re not gonna play the scene without your trousers.’ I said, ‘Well, if I don’t I’ll be stopping all the time, because I sweat enormously, I sweat very easily.’ Well, he did the same.” You can see how it would be particularly tricky for Connery – who wears a tweed three-piece suit for most of the movie. Indy’s famous leather jacket looks somewhat cooler – in more ways than one.
The funny thing is that the most famous scene in the movie is probably the one where Ford and Connery are tied back-to-back in the middle of a fire. If any scene was going to cause them to overheat – you’d think it would have been this one. Connery was only 59 years old when he made the Last Crusade, and was only 12 years older than Ford. Check out our guide to the best adventure movies.