The Big Picture
Harrison Ford embodies the perfect hero with a heart of gold, exuding charisma even in moments of vulnerability.
The chemistry between Indiana Jones and Marion Ravenwood is electric, creating one of the sexiest scenes in cinema history.
The mirror-boat scene showcases Ford’s ability to balance toughness and vulnerability, elevating the character to iconic status.
Harrison Ford is one of the sexiest men in human history, and that statement is not up for debate. His smoldering smile, his penchant for open-button shirts, his ability to exude a begrudging charm sneaking out beneath his gruff and irritable demeanor. He’s the idealized archetype of the tempestuous prick with a heart of gold, and even his performances as gentler souls are imbued with an air of brittle temperament. It’s this emotional dynamism paired with his classic matinée idol looks that make him so irresistible to anyone with eyes. Keeping his iconic Indiana Jones role in mind, it’s worth taking a look back on how much of a sex symbol Harrison Ford was as the adventurous archeologist, and the moment that is the most knuckle-bitingly hot in the series’ existence.
Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
In 1936, archaeologist and adventurer Indiana Jones is hired by the U.S. government to find the Ark of the Covenant before the Nazis can obtain its awesome powers.
Release Date June 12, 1981
Runtime 115 minutes
Production Company LucasFilm
Why Is Indiana Jones So Hot?
First and foremost, Indiana is an exceptionally well-built person, because Harrison Ford is well-built, if that wasn’t already obvious. He’s tall, he’s got the greatest chin and jawline combo of all time, and he’s the only person who could look that cool wearing a fedora. That scar on his chin adds to his mystique and gives off the vibe that he can stand up for himself in a fight before ever seeing him in a fight (the fact that the scar is a real one Ford has had for years just adds to the authenticity). Ford also has the natural-born gift of looking even more attractive the messier he looks. How else can he still exude so much charisma when he has a terrible five o’clock shadow, looks like he hasn’t showered in eight days, and spends half of his films bruised and battered because he gets his ass handed to him by bad guys constantly.
That battered and bruised nature is an extension of why Indiana is such a tractor beam of charisma: he always gets back up after getting beat down, and he’s all about letting his actions speak for himself. He’s a man who only speaks when he has to give exposition, who would rather speak only when he needs to, and is most concerned with getting the job done. This shows how Indiana carries himself in the bigger action scenes – barely holding on for dear life or immediately shooting somebody when he could have gotten into a fistfight with them. It is also a perfect reflection of Harrison Ford’s entire acting philosophy of less is more and being as direct and unvarnished as possible. In the vein of the great Spencer Tracy, he makes sure that the audience doesn’t catch him acting, and it makes every gear that Indiana Jones has feel that much more honest.
Indiana and Marion Ravenwood Are a Perfect Match
This honesty feeds into what makes the relationship dynamic and sexual tension between Indiana Jones and Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen) so potent when it really fires up. We are never given much information or context into their prior relationship other than that she’s the daughter of Indiana’s old professor mentor, that they last saw each other a decade ago, and that he seemingly walked out on her in a disrespectful manner, hence why when they first meet up again, she gives him one of the greatest sucker punches in film history. It’s because of how vague this backstory is that the dynamic working successfully relies on the chemistry between Harrison Ford and Karen Allen and the brilliant dialogue courtesy of Lawrence Kasdan. Even when they first meet, and she punches Indy, it doesn’t take long for her to have a smile on her face that says “I can’t believe I’m letting myself get pulled back in by him, but I’m not going to roll over that easily.” This steadily builds throughout their interactions, across multiple close calls, rescues, and even a near-death experience that drives Indy into a minor depression, which magnifies how happy they are to see each other alive again. This all leads to what’s possibly the sexiest scene in not just this film, but the entire series: Indiana and Marion in their bedroom on a tramp steamer.
The Mirror-Boat Scene in ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’ Is Still Iconic Today
Image via Paramount Pictures
The scene comes at a point in the plot where Indiana and Marion are sailing to London with the Ark of the Covenant, so they can leave it in a museum. Indiana is just waking up with his shirt half open and still recovering from his prior wounds, and Marion comes in wearing a nightgown, which already sets the table for some unspoken sexual tension. Indiana makes an offhanded comment about how lovely she looks, and Marion brightens up and checks herself out in a full-body mirror in a manner that is honestly so adorable. Granted, she immediately kills the mood by spinning the mirror around and banging Indiana right on his already damaged chin, but that leads smoothly into a chance for her to swoop in and comfort him.
Indiana proceeds to groan about his injuries, and Marion comments that he’s not the man she used to know, which is a perfect layup for the best line in the whole film (improvised by Harrison Ford, by all accounts), “It’s not the years, honey, it’s the mileage.” She feels compelled to care for his wounds, and gets him to take his jacket and shirt off for her to do so. He continuously insists that he’ll be fine and doesn’t need any help, but she calls him a baby and pushes forward with tending to him. Marion starts to ask him where on his body it hurts and his demeanor swiftly changes, and he gestures at places on his body where he “aches,” starting with his elbow, slowly moving towards his face, and finally, his lips.
When Flaws and Chemistry Collide, We Get a Memorable Scene
What’s great about this sequence is that it’s an encapsulation of everything that’s so powerful about the fantasy of Indiana Jones. He’s an extremely capable, debonair, dashing superhero without the superpowers. But he’s also a playful, moody, and arrogant man who isn’t afraid to put his life on the line for the sake of dusty old artifacts because he’s just that passionate about his profession. That combination makes him feel far more tangible compared to other “heroic” characters that Harrison Ford has embodied, if for no other reason than Ford is willing to run the risk of showing his hero in a less than flattering light in order to show the full spectrum of his masculinity. He’s willing to show Indiana as whiny and battered and stubborn because he knows his charisma and emotional attunement will shine through. It gives him the ability to be more grounded in absurd circumstances, making the impossible seem plausible.
Related ‘Kingdom of the Crystal Skull’ Is Bad, but This Moment Makes It Worthwhile You wanna be a good archeologist, you gotta get out of the library!
So when you have an absurd scene where two characters with a barely sketched out backstory, who have not had that much time on-screen getting to truly know each other again – and one of these characters is a seemingly average college professor who moonlights as a badass hero punching Nazis, and still they produce the heat and playfulness of Beatrice and Benedick – it’s a testament to the chemistry that Ford and Allen could produce. Steven Spielberg has said that his intention with the Indiana Jones franchise was to resurrect the serials of the 1930s, not to reinvent them but to elevate them with modern filmmaking, and the bedroom scene is a perfect example of his approach in action. He took the pulpy, silly, stilted exchanges that passed for romance 50 years prior, and turned it into somethingsexy, and he couldn’t have done that without the once-in-a-lifetime sex appeal of Harrison Ford.
Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark is currently streaming on Paramount+ in the U.S.
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