Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) "Club Obi Wan" Dancer Costume

"Yi wang si-i wa ye kan duo
Xin li bian yao la jing bao jin tian zhi
Dao
Anything goes."

―Willie Scott

Designed by Anthony Powell, this costume was worn by Lisa Mulidore as one of  Shangai's "Club Obi Wan" dancers in 1984's "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom". The dancers can be seen in the unforgettable opening scene and then when Indy looks for the antidote.

The opening number was originally from "Radioland Murders" (released 1994) that was being developed by George Lucas, Willard Huyck and Gloria Katz. Spielberg reflected,

"George's idea was to start the movie with a musical number. He wanted to do a Busby Berkeley dance number. At all our story meetings he would say, 'Hey, Steven, you always said you wanted to shoot musicals.' I thought, 'Yeah, that could be fun.'"

The song was written by Cole Porter in 1935.

 

Lisa Mulidore amongst the Club Obi Wan dancers, Spielberg in the centre and Kate Capshaw in the foreground.
[Photo from the book "The Complete Making of Indiana Jones"]

Dancer costume sketch (not in the collection)

Danny Daniels choreographed the opening music number "Anything Goes". Kate Capshaw learned to sing in Mandarin and took tap dance lessons. However, when wearing her dress, which was too tight, Capshaw was not able to tap dance. One of her red dresses was eaten by an elephant during filming; a second was made by costume designer Anthony Powell.

Anthony Powell was nominated for Best Costume at the Saturn Awards (1985). He then notably designed the costumes for "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" (1989), "Hook" (1991), "101 Dalmatians" (1996), "The Avengers" (1998) and "102 Dalmatians" (2001).

Acquired from PropMasters.


Sources: Wikipedia, IMDB, "The Complete Making of Indiana Jones" (Ebury Press, 2008)

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) Spielberg memo on storyboards

A production-used memo from Spielberg to all heads of department on storyboards, dated March 14th, 1983, about "The Further Adventures of Indiana Jones". The title was changed in the following week to "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Death". The memo concludes with

"We will make a great picture, but we should all keep in mind, like 'Raiders of the Lost Ark', it is only a 'B' picture. My 'A' movie was '1941' and we all know what happened there."

This is a rare insight into Spielberg's creative process. Also pictured is a promotional cast list from "Raiders of the Lost Ark", with black and white movie artwork on the front cover. [PSoL]

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) Thuggee whip

A screen-used whip, used by one of the Thuggee guards, in the movie Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. [PSoL]

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)Production-used 'Temple of Death' Script

An original production script for Indy 3, "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Death", revised 3/1/83 but stamped March 22. Script is stamped and numbered on all pages (stamp # blurred in the picture) on yellow pages. This is not the final version, with many differences from the filmed script. Also includes a note on script revisions. [PSoL]

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) Banquet Beetle (opening version)

Used in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, this was my very first original prop, so I think it's fitting that it should be the first one to be added. Back in 1994 I would never have guessed that this would turn into a life-long collecting habit. My thanks to David Oliver at Propmasters for getting me started!