Original artwork, not a still
It belongs in a museum!
— Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade · 1989
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
Indy's creed in one sentence: he is not a looter, he wants the thing preserved and shown to the public, whatever the damage to his own neck. The joke is that he behaves like a treasure hunter while calling himself a teacher. The line has outlived the film as a standing argument about museums and repatriation, and it is quoted by archaeologists, critics and anyone sending a relic to a display case.
Context reviewed
In context
Spoilers for Indiana Jones and the Last CrusadeShow the scene
In Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (Steven Spielberg, 1989), the film opens in 1912 with a teenage Indy snatching the Cross of Coronado from graverobbers, only to lose it to their employer, the man in the Panama hat. In 1938, off the Portuguese coast, the grown Indy finally catches up with that man aboard a ship and takes the cross back. When the Panama Hat man points out it is his property for the second time, Indy answers with the line. The man shoots back that so does Indy, and orders him thrown overboard. Indy survives and brings the cross to his college museum.
Sources (3)
- Wikiquote: Indiana Jones and the Last CrusadeDialogue section, Panama Hat and Indy exchange; train exchange with Young IndyReference checked
- Wikipedia: Indiana Jones and the Last CrusadePlot sectionReference checked
- Indiana Jones Wiki: Cross of CoronadoInitial recovery and later historyReference checked
Context reviewed
