20 Things You Didn't Know About Raiders Of The Lost Ark

If you are shooting a scene with a submarine, what is the most important prop to bring on set? That's right. The submarine. Spielberg was so busy setting up the interior of the vessel, he forgot to hire an actual sub for the external shots! Now, if he forgot a small prop like a gun or medallion or something, it would be understandable. But I can't comprehend how Spielberg didn't notice a 300ft-long sub was absent from the set.

By a complete coincidence, a film crew was shooting Das Boot, which takes place on a submarine. By a stroke of luck, it was being filmed not too far from the set of Raiders. Spielberg politely asked if he could borrow their sub and they were nice enough to oblige.

So, Spielberg got the shots he needed and everything worked out, right? Well, things worked out for Raiders. After he shot the scenes, the sub broke in half and sank into the sea. The Das Boot crew somehow salvaged enough parts of the vessel to complete the last few shots for their film. The moral of the story is simple; never let Spielberg borrow anything.