Blue Coyote wrote:heres an interesting note and possible unknown fact bout Lash Larue.
he pretty much lied to get that character part. the director wanted a guy who could use a whip, so he said he could. then he went out and bought two whips, i think an 8 and 10 foot. then he taught himself, and has the scars to prove it. later when he was talking to the director about it, he confessed but also added that he was acting. acting like a guy who knew how to use a whip.
That's a true story about Lash Larue, "The King Of Bullwhips". But he actually rented a couple of whips; one 15 footer and the other was an 18 footer!!! He beat himself nearly to death over the weekend to try to learn cracking the whip. It was a requirement for the part he was trying out for. He beat himself so bad, that he actually stopped practicing. He showed up to the set, Monday and they filmed a few scenes (no whip). The director liked what he saw, and hired him for the part, which was 3 times more than his salary. "Al" Larue (he wasn't Lash yet), then feeling real guilty mentioned, that he could act but he couldn't really crack a whip. He then took off his shirt and showed the director, his badly bruised and cut up back from the whip. The director laughed and said he wanted him anyway and the studio then hired, Snowy Baker, to be his whip coach.
It's one of the most fascinating stories that ever came out of Hollywood. Next to of course, Steven Spielberg, who basically took over an empty office at Universal Studios when he was just out of high school.
Back to topic. I would agree that the Zorro serial movies and Lash LaRue movies during the time of George Lucas's childhood, was a major influence to that particular prop comprising the persona of Indiana Jones.
-Sergei