The Forgotten Action Movie Hero Who Inspired Indiana Jones’ Iconic Look

While Indiana Jones might be one of the most famous adventure movie heroes of all time, the character who inspired his appearance is largely forgotten. According to franchise co-creators George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, Indiana Jones was influenced by the adventure serials and pulp magazines of the ’40s and ‘50s. However, the character’s inspirations extend beyond those famous sources, with movies like King Solomon’s Mine and the adventure story adaptation 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea also playing a role in the character’s development.

However, one thing that all of the Indiana Jones movies owe to a single source is the character’s distinctive look. From his screen debut in 1981’s Raiders of the Lost Ark to his most recent outing, 2023’s long-delayed The Dial of Destiny, the appearance of Indiana Jones has always remained remarkably consistent. Jones wears a fedora hat and a brown leather aviator jacket over a lighter shirt, with this costume being fairly consistent across his movies. When Indiana is occasionally seen in other outfits, he is usually either in disguise or working as a tenured university professor.

Indiana Jones’ Costume Was Based On A 1950s Charlton Heston Character

Although the character’s personality was drawn from an array of sources, Charlton Heston’s Harry Steele in Secret of the Incas provided Indiana Jones’s outfit inspiration. Surprisingly, 1954’s Secret of the Incas is not a particularly famous film, and the adventure movie is not as well-known as Charlton Heston’s more enduringly popular projects like Ben-Hur and Planet of the Apes. Despite this, there are clear parallels between the characters and the movies. The costume connection was confirmed by the Raiders of the Lost Ark costume designer Deborah Nadoolman Landis, who also noted that the movies also share other similarities.

Although there are many movies like the Indiana Jones series, Landis is correct to note that this Heston vehicle was clearly a major inspiration for Harrison Ford’s titular character. Secret of the Incas’ hero has a light beard just like Indiana Jones, and Harry Steele’s brown jacket/tan pants/shoulder bag/fedora ensemble is almost identical to Indiana’s trademark look. Not only that, but Secret of the Incas also provided the franchise with some memorable moments seen in both Raiders of the Lost Ark and its first sequel, The Temple of Doom, as noted by the Indiana Jones fansite TheRaider.

Secret Of The Incas Had Multiple Influences On Raiders Of The Lost Ark

One scene in Secret of the Incas sees Steele use a mirror’s reflection to light up a pivotal clue, much like Indy does in the first movie’s Map Room sequence. Another scene sees him share a river raft and a jungle campfire with his love interest, not unlike what happens with Indiana and Willie in The Temple of Doom. One of the harsh realities of rewatching The Temple of Doom is that the sequel features some shocking stereotypes and a lot of these can be found in the way Secret of the Incas portrays Peruvian natives, reaffirming the movie’s influence on the Indiana Jones franchise.