Cairo Swordsman: Harrison Ford's Brief Encounter with Terry Richards
The Cairo Swordsman confronts Indiana Jones, ready for a display of skill with a blade. Jones shoots him instead. In Raiders of the Lost Ark, the encounter turns a threatening opponent into a sudden, fatal interruption of the adventure. Behind that abrupt ending stood Harrison Ford's explanation that he was feeling unwell on the day of filming. Ford said he improvised the moment because of his illness, as reported by TIME. The performer facing him was Terry Richards, a British stuntman whose career extended far beyond the few moments he spent challenging Indiana Jones.
Richards had the sword skills that the shortened encounter left unused. Born David Terence Richards, he became particularly well known for playing the Cairo Swordsman in the first Indiana Jones movie. His work stretched across five decades and more than 100 television and film productions. He appeared in Star Wars and nine James Bond movies as well as Raiders, working across television and cinema during a long professional life.
Raiders arrived in 1981 through the collaboration of George Lucas and Steven Spielberg. Spielberg directed, while Lawrence Kasdan wrote the screenplay from a story by Lucas and Philip Kaufman. By then Spielberg had already made Jaws and Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and Lucas had created Star Wars. Their adventure introduced Ford as an archaeologist whose search took him into danger across the globe. The Cairo Swordsman became one encounter along that journey, within a film built around a pursuit much larger than any individual fight. The central prize was the Ark of the Covenant, also sought by Nazi forces.
The story takes place in 1936, when Indiana Jones races a bitter rival and his Nazi companions to the Ark. Explosions, spiders, snakes, traps, and hostile opponents stand in his way. The adventure repeatedly tests the archaeologist's ability to survive and keep moving toward the relic. Its hero is both hardy and quick-witted, qualities suited to a pursuit filled with physical obstacles. The Ark is a Biblical artifact of extraordinary power, giving the rival expeditions a prize whose importance reaches beyond the hazards of finding it. Hitler's armies seek that same object as Jones travels in pursuit of it.
Jones does not make the journey alone. Marion Ravenwood, played by Karen Allen, is a former romantic partner whose return brings renewed passion to the pursuit. Marcus Brody, played by Denholm Elliott, and Sallah, played by John Rhys-Davies, serve as allies. Paul Freeman appears among the supporting performers, alongside Ronald Lacey, Alfred Molina, and Wolf Kahler. Around the central hunt, companions and adversaries give the adventure its human relationships. Danger arrives through double-crosses as well as physical obstacles, while Marion's connection with Jones brings their earlier relationship into an expedition already threatened by enemies seeking the same powerful object.
The production drew on several kinds of craft to build that world. Douglas Slocombe handled cinematography, Norman Reynolds production design, and Deborah Nadoolman costume design. Michael Kahn edited the film, and John Williams composed its music. Richard Edlund supervised visual effects, with Industrial Light & Magic contributing techniques to the adventure. Producers included Frank Marshall, Robert Watts, Howard G. Kazanjian, and George Lucas. Richards's stunt performance belonged within that much broader collaboration. The finished Cairo Swordsman scene may be brief, but the film surrounding it joined acting, physical performance, sets, costumes, photography, editing, music, and effects in bringing Jones's expedition to the screen.
Academy recognition followed for art direction and set decoration, sound, film editing, visual effects, and sound effects editing. Those honors covered the construction and presentation of the adventure as well as what could be heard during it. The success also carried Indiana Jones into further films. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull continued his screen adventures. The archaeologist's first encounter with Richards remained part of the original film, while the character returned to new dangers in those later installments.
Richards died on June 14, 2014, at 81. News of his death brought his family into the public remembrance of the performer behind the blade. His son, Terry Richards Junior, spoke to the BBC about the opponents his father had faced on screen: Indiana Jones, James Bond, Luke Skywalker, and Rambo. His son emphasized how unusual it was to have fought all four of those characters. In a tribute from his own family, the stuntman's working relationships became a succession of famous confrontations. On June 26, TIME carried news of his death, with Aleksandra Gjorgievska writing about the British performer under a headline featuring the Indiana Jones swordfight.
- Terry Richards and the Raiders swordsman scene: TIME — time.com
- Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark: Lucasfilm — www.lucasfilm.com
- Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981): Amblin film archive — amblin.com