The big question & faded glory...

[Texan Scott]

If four jackets were made for Raiders, and some time passes, and you were asked to make a reasonable likeness of the screen used jacket as it appeared in film, how is it that the closest likeness that was produced was something like a bellhop jacket? The pattern was a one-of-a-kind, never seen before jacket.

To approach it from a different angle, if you produced jackets for a movie and it faded into cinematic obscurity, then that is one thing, but Raiders was not exactly small potatos...? Thoughts, comments?

[crismans]

If four jackets were made for Raiders, and some time passes, and you were asked to make a reasonable likeness of the screen used jacket as it appeared in film, how is it that the closest likeness that was produced was something like a bellhop jacket? The pattern was a one-of-a-kind, never seen before jacket.

To approach it from a different angle, if you produced jackets for a movie and it faded into cinematic obscurity, then that is one thing, but Raiders was not exactly small potatos...? Thoughts, comments?

This is a question that has been asked several times in the past (directly to the source in one instance) and has never been fully answered (at least that I am aware of). I think this is also a big reason why some question Peter's involvement in the jacket (not saying you're doing that, but others have).

Several have theorized that it was just the passage of years that led to the forgetting of details. I could certainly see that when it came to exact pocket sizing, exactly how far the straps were placed from the bottom of the jacket, etc. But read the description of the "bellhop jacket". There were some major differences in it. And, if memory serves, Lee contacted Peter just four or five years after the movie came out. A large portion of time had not passed. I think that if this question could be answered, it would go a long way to removing the lingering doubts that float around this topic.

Although, I'll do one possibly better. No one knew that Raiders was going to be a hit. However, by Last Crusade, the popularity of the series (and the jackets) was well known. Why is it hard to get a close SA LC without a lot of specs? The mistake of not keeping patterns such as the Raiders jacket surely wasn't repeated this time.

[Texan Scott]

Raiders was an instant success and the highest grossing film of 1981. Almost twice the money maker of 2nd place, OGP. I mean, it was the talk of the summer of '81.

[crismans]

Raiders was an instant success and the highest grossing film of 1981. Almost twice the money maker of 2nd place, OGP. I mean, it was the talk of the summer of '81.

You're quite right. I meant that during its creation, it wasn't a sure thing (although I think the principals have stated they thought it would do well. I'm mainly allowing that the persons involved might not have realized that there would be such a demand for the jacket and kept a detailed record (or pattern ). The demand was certainly known by the time LC came around.

[Michaelson]

Also, keep in mind these items were made BEFORE the first film started shooting the first can of film. After they were delivered, the vendor(s) moved on to other projects....so this was just one of several films and TV shows that were being worked on during the time period.

Not making excuses for anyone, but this is simply a business for any vendor involved with the film business. They crank out the product, then move on to the next. It wasn't until later they found out folks wanted replica's of these things due to the popularity of a particular film. The internet wasn't around at the time, if you'll recall. We still depended on the telephone and snail mail to talk to each other.

Regards! Michaelson