Club Obi Wan

Does anyone recall if Indy ever smokes a cigar? I somehow remember him doing so. I just can't remember where or when! If so does anyone know what brand they might have been.

I have a very cool leather cigar case that I carry in my inside jacket pocket with my 4 leaf clover lighter. I would love to be carrying the correct cigars!

Anyone with some ideas or suggestions let me know.

Thanks!!

I'm not sure... In the novels or in the young Indy series perhaps?

Regards,
Swindiana

Not in the movie's, he didn't. I would have been all over that. being a big cigar smoker myself.

I've actually always thought it odd that Indy dosen't smoke in the movies. Since the vast majority of people in the 20s and 30s did smoke, I always figured that Indy not smoking was a kind of unexplained propaganda message: "The Surgeon General says don't smoke, and so does Indiana Jones."

My two cents,

-Kodiak

kodiak, try not to read to much into things.

I think it makes sence that he doesn't smoke. He's not your run of the mill guy.

Great pic V.P.!! A cigarette but no cigar. Close!!

I would figure he must have smoked a stogie now and then. Any of you cigar afficianodos out there have any suggestions what Indy would have smoked?

It would be hard to say. He is such a world traveler and would sample and smoke all kinds. The same as he would be with food or drink.

No way does Indy smoke!

Do you think a guy who can move as fast as that can smoke?

I smoke cigars Canyon.

I remember specifically in the Young Indy series him refusing some cigarettes at some point with a "No thanks, I don't smoke"... but that's only in his youth.

Kind regards,
Magnoli

Canyon wrote:No way does Indy smoke!

Do you think a guy who can move as fast as that can smoke?

No, but Harrison Ford could.

Regards,
Swindiana

BendingOak wrote:I smoke cigars Canyon.

Cigars are different, since normal people would rarely have more than 2-3 a week, and a lot of people don't inhale anyway because of how strong cigars are. Perhaps he did have one on occasion, that wouldn't be unusual.

Cigarettes are another matter, however. Considering how addictive they are and always have been, I think we would have seen it if Indy smoked Cigarettes. Look at Bogart. He smoked, and you can rarely see him on screen without a cigarette in hand or mouth. I think its fairly clear that if Indy smoked cigarettes we would have seen it AT LEAST once.

Great pic V.P.!! A cigarette but no cigar. Close!!

There's a reason that's called a pre-production drawing. Indy also has an ammo belt in that pic, and it didn't make it to the films. Regardless of whether or not you want Indy to smoke, that pre-production shot is not evidence that he did. All it means is that Indy was originally intended to be more Bogart-like than he ended up being in the final analysis. :junior: -IJ

indianajones, I agree with your thinking about him smoking. I think we would have seen it in one of the movie's.

I take it that Harrison Ford does not smoke. I don't think that I can recall a single time that I have seen him smoke in one of his films. It is unusual for a movie character to smoke if the actor that is playing him doesn't. It can be done, but it is easier for them to film a scene if the actor really does smoke. It would kind of mess up the scene if the actor inhaled and nearly choked himself to death.

I seem to remember a story along these lines, where a big budget movie was made and the character smoked but the actor playing him did not. I think it was Pulp Fiction with John Travolta's character. For him to smoke, they had to have him puff on the cigarette, and then cut away before he exhaled as it was obvious that he didn't inhale the smoke. If anyone is familiar with this, correct me if I am wrong, but I think it was Pulp Fiction. Talk about the magic of movies being all smoke and mirrors.

It wouldn't mater if it was a cigar because you don't inhale a cigar anyways!

Bufflehead Jones wrote: I don't think that I can recall a single time that I have seen him smoke in one of his films. .

HUH?! Buff, I'm shocked and amazed at you, of ALL folks, saying this!

WHY? you ask. As I recall, you and Greg took the "Witness" tour, right? Watch the movie at the very end when Ford is filling his boss in about what had just occurred after the shoot out at the farm. He's giving a cigarette a good workout in that scene, so yes, Ford does indeed smoke cigarettes. I saw this when it was released, and that particular fact jumped out at me at the first viewing, as I had no idea he smoked.

Regards! Michaelson

Harrison Ford smokes. Still does, I believe.

I remember the great behind the scenes footage of him in the Millenium Falcon smoking away in his Han Solo garb. Most recently he smoked in that Russian Sub movie "K-something or another."

As for Indy, he would have smoked a pipe.

considering how well he runs in 100 degree weather, I find that amazing and a little unbelievable, although it would explain the fact that he could be in all those smoke-filled bars without coughing at all. :junior: -IJ

Yes, I went on the "Witness" tour, but Harrison Ford wasn't there smoking or not-smoking during the tour. I have that on dvd, and that is good enough reason to watch it again. I really didn't remember him smoking in that one. Of course, I have said it a bunch of times, and it is the truth, my memory ain't what it used to be.

I believe the sub movie was K-19 Widowmaker. I never saw that one. I should check it our sometime, though.

Does anyone know if I remembered the thing about Pulp Fiction correctly? Has anyone else read anything like that? I can't imagine where I came up with it. I guess I can check for things about Pulp Fiction and see if I find it again.

I have never heard that, but I can tell you that there are very long takes in Pulp Fiction. That film is famous for them. Also, John Travolta is a big time smoker. Most actors who fake it, smoke cloves like the "Cigarette Smoking Man" on the "X-Files" who didn't smoke.[/i]

...Speaking of Harrison Ford smoking.

In Raiders right after the "throw me the idol, I'll throw you the whip" line, when Indy jumps across the pit, he looks right into the camera and grimaces, Harrison Ford's teeth aren't really that bad looking due to smoking are they? Tell me that was some kind of makeup. If not, that would be a good reason for him to stop smoking, if cancer is not a good enough reason.

Also in that scene, when they show Indy from the other side of the pit hanging on, the rocks in the pit wall are moving all around, obviously not solid and just hanging from some kind of support. It looks kind of cheap and cheesy, and is one of my nitpicks about Raiders.

HJ beat me to it. A lot of cigarettes on film and tv aren't tobacco at all, but are 'fake' cigarettes. Kinda like fake beer on Cheers. Geaorge Wendt used to complain about how awful the fake beer tasted, and how he hadda drink it day after day, take after take. Fake smokes are just so non-smoking actors don't have to inhale tobacco poison.

on a side note, I am considering bringing a few cigars down to the FL Summit...perhaps some not available below the 49th...well...between the 49th and the Gulf of Mexico, anyway

Okay, HJ. If it wasn't Pulp Fiction, then I am stumped as to which movie I read that about. Ummmm............ ..........it'll come to me in a minute.......or two........

I smoke.....but that's only when I'm on fire!

I know back in the time period Raiders was set in it was pretty common for everyone to smoke.

I think the reason Indy never was shown smoking was quite obvious....kids! The movie was aimed at the younger crowd as well as the old ones. Showing Indy smoke would have sent the wrong message to people like us who were kids at the time and would most likely emulate anything he did. Heck, were adults now and were still doing it.

Just imagine Indy Gear with a "Smoking Section" Ha!

Marion smoked, but she wasn't the hero. I think the reason they had her smoke went along more with her personality. I think it was supposed to show how tough she was......that along with the drinking.

My honest opinion about why they didn't make Indy smoke is that it was just too remeniscent of Bogart. Indy already had the hat, and the chip on the shoulder type attitude. Adding cigarettes would have just made people think way too much of Casablanca/the maltese falcon. :junior: -IJ

I'm not sure about the "because of the kids" angle. Marion smoked, and Belloq smoked opium. People didn't really view drugs the same way they do now. They didn't even know back then that smoking was bad for you. It was actually promoted as a way to look sophisicated into the 50's.

Harrison Ford DOES, in fact, smoke. He always has. As for the idea that a guy who smokes can't run, well that's clearly a comment from the non-smokers. Sure, it can cause health problems. So do drinkiging and fast food. Consumption of any of that stuff does not mean you're automatically a useless heap, fighting to breath. Poor health is usually a combination of factors. I've smoked since high school, and I ran track. I used to work nothing but hard, manual labor jobs in both extreme heat and extreme cold and can't remember ever being out of breath or anything. It wasn't until I started working from home, shining a chair with my butt and doing nothing really physical that I've become out of shape and easily winded. But my diet is garbage, so it's a combination of stuff.

I'm not trying to promote or condone smoking, anything that poses health risks is best avoided. But I just get annoyed at always hearing comments and judgements that just sound like PC rhetoric, people who make it sound like your lungs will explode if you smoke a cigarette and you'll be dead in a week. Drinking is just as dangerous to your health, but you don't really hear about that. Alcohol is nearly a past time, is allowed to sponsor major events (usually sports, ironically). They've used talking frogs and other animal mascots aimed at kids in their ads, what few ads are not using half-naked chicks and sex to sell the product. Most of the ads these days are humorous, and push the idea that you'll look super cool with a beer in your hand. I guess the alcohol indusrty can afford better lobbyists. Us smokers are painted as trolls living at the bottom of an outhouse, eating puppies

Shawnkara wrote:Marion smoked, and Belloq smoked opium.

He did? You mean at the Cairo bar? I've always assumed that was your typical Arabic water pipe (hookah) !

Well, before this become yet ANOTHER 'smoke/don't smoke' debate, let's return to the original question.

What kind of cigar would Indy carry in his cigar case if we assume his character DID smoke on the rare occasion the opportunity to enjoy a fine cigar after dinner came about?

Regards!

Michaelson

It seems to me that a college professor in the first half of the 20th century would more likely smoke a pipe, not cigars. Pipe smoking was much more prevalent back then. A pipe and a pouch of tobacco could easily be thrown into a suitcase or a MKVII bag with out fear of braking, unlike a cigar which could be crushed even if in a leather case.

I can see “our hero” sitting in his college office grading papers, or sitting by the campfire after a tough day in the field, puffing away on his favorite briar.

Just my thoughts.

Regards,

Forrestal

He did? You mean at the Cairo bar? I've always assumed that was your typical Arabic water pipe (hookah)

yeah, it was a hookah. Opium makes you sleepy, so its unlikely that Belloq would have been getting all excited with Indy about the Ark being "a radio for talking to god" if he'd been on Opium. :junior: -IJ

You offer good points, Forrestal, but also remember that Indy was a 'man about town', and the briar just wasn't something one would pull out and light up in a nightclub with an martini in hand. A well made and high end cigar was the ticket, then AND now, and the question was what would one find in a cigar case in Indy's pocket. I was once a pipe man back in college, and the tools one had to carry to keep one going was just more than I cared to pack around in my pockets. A cigar case and matches, though, were a WHOLE lot easier packing when traveling.

I sure wish Sergei would peek in more often. I'm a cigar man myself (well, used to be ), and he'd be the one who could answer this one in a heartbeat.

Regards! Michaelson

I still say that Indy being a world traveler would try a variety of cigars. If I had to pick a couple. Montecristo #2 (cuban) or a Cohiba Silgo V ( Cuban).

In the 1937 “Dick Tracy” serial, which contains many of the stunts that the Indy movies were based on, someone offers Tracy a cigar. He clearly replies in a loud voice, “No thanks, I don’t smoke!” clearly a message to the kids. In fact, in many of the old action serials the main hero never (or rarely) smoked. It just wasn’t heroic to see Captain Marvel or Zorro with a but hanging out the corner of their mouth.

Indy is a serial action hero, not a Film Nor detective.

The closest we get to cigars on screen is the Cigar box that Marion uses to store her money in the Raven. You could theorize that Marion has that box because her dad smoked those cigars and you could further theorize that Indy smokes the same kind as his mentor, thus whatever that brand it is could be what Indy smoked.

I'm on the side that our hero would not smoke but drink

lightning do you have a better pic than that ( closer).

Buff, Travolta DOESN'T smoke, but he smokes in ALOT of his films.
Saturday Night Fever, Grease, Blowout, Pulp Fiction, Get Shorty, etc.
He even smokes cigars in a few films, Face-Off, and Broken Arrow, I think.
Not sur ehow he does it, but he pulls it off. He's one of the few people who make it look cool.
'Blues

Hemingway Jones wrote:Most actors who fake it, smoke cloves like the "Cigarette Smoking Man" on the "X-Files" who didn't smoke.[/i]

How ironic. He does it so well too.

BendingOak wrote: lightning do you have a better pic than that ( closer).

That's the size of the image from the screen capture, any bigger just gets blurrier. Using the magnifing glass in the DVD software yielded better results than using photoshop to blow it up, but you can't get screen caps of enlargements. Anyway, It looks like the brand name starts with LA but I can't be sure.

IndyDoc wrote:

Hemingway Jones wrote:Most actors who fake it, smoke cloves like the "Cigarette Smoking Man" on the "X-Files" who didn't smoke.[/i]

How ironic. He does it so well too.

It's Acting!

I love that this thread has become so involved and interesting. I'm also shocked that VP hasn't chimed in to inform the original poster that there's a typo in his title (Gigars).

I'm betting on a Cuban cigar for Indy. Here is some history on cigars that includes the 1930's:


http://www.cigaraficionado.com/Cigar/CA ... 36,00.html

VP wrote:

Just an interesting thing about that picture I wanted to point out is the rise of the pants. You get a good visual of high waisted trousers from the crotch to the top belt. I base my gear on that sketch.

Ok, on topic.... I don't think Indy would have actually carried cigars with him. But I don't think he would have turned one down, either. As for heroes often being non-smokers, I don't think it was ever a health thing or statement of that type. I think it was most likely a small point meant to illustrate the basic incorruptability of the character, their lack of vice. A vice, after all, is a psychological/character weakness. But that still never seems to affect drinking, in film OR life It seems drinking isn't even considered a vice

Dr._J wrote:I'm also shocked that VP hasn't chimed in to inform the original poster that there's a typo in his title (Gigars).

Nah, it cracks me up every time I see it. Reminds me of gigs.

Lightning, LA doesn't help much. A lot of cigar brands start with that.

one of the interesting things about cigarettes and alcohol is that they're amazing when it comes to conveying mood on film. When Marion lights up after Indy leaves in the bar scene, she's relaxing after a hard day. When Indy gets (mildly) drunk in the Cairo bar scene, he's depressed. When Belloq smokes his hookah, he's laid back, cool and collected. That's why so many characters smoke/drink on screen, and though I doubt Indy smokes, I have no doubt Spielberg/Lucas had Indy drinking in that scene to convey his depression over Marion's death. :junior: -IJ

BendingOak wrote:I smoke cigars Canyon.

Oak, I'm surprised.

Shawnkara wrote:Harrison Ford DOES, in fact, smoke. He always has. As for the idea that a guy who smokes can't run, well that's clearly a comment from the non-smokers.

Yes, I admit. I am not a smoker, but as a rule, people who smoke do tend to get out of breath quicker than those that dont.

Bufflehead Jones wrote:...Speaking of Harrison Ford smoking.

In Raiders right after the "throw me the idol, I'll throw you the whip" line, when Indy jumps across the pit, he looks right into the camera and grimaces, Harrison Ford's teeth aren't really that bad looking due to smoking are they? Tell me that was some kind of makeup.

Yes, I think it was makeup, they knew there'd be a good closeup of his face so dirtied up his teeth to show he'd been weeks in the jungle without the niceties if stuff like tooth powder and to show that Indy can "rough it". His teeth look much whiter during the rest of the picture.