20 Things You Didn't Know About Raiders Of The Lost Ark
18. Indy' Hat Was More Important Than You Would Imagine
Not only is Indiana Jones what one of the best movie characters, he also has one of the most famous hats in cinematic history.
But why? It's just a hat, right?
According to Spielberg, Indy's fedora was crucial and was decided on very early on in production. In case you didn't notice, Indy's hat never falls off in Raiders even when he is being hurled between vehicles and tossed around by criminals. Obviously, this is unrealistic but it's very important.
Indiana’s hat was designed so the brim hid the character's eyes so the audience wouldn’t be able to tell when a stunt double was playing the role during the more dangerous scenes. Harrison Ford did perform far more action sequences than the average actor but couldn't risk performing certain scenes including the shot where Indy is being dragged under a jeep. The stuntman, Terry Leonard, was meant to dragged under a vehicle in The Legend of the Lone Ranger (which came out the same year) so he was thrilled that he had another shot at performing this stunt.
The fedora was a simple but fantastic idea as it prevented Ford from getting hurt while performing more dangerous scenes.