Directed by Carl Schulz; Written by Jonathan Hales; Starring Sean Patrick Flanery, Lloyd Owen, Ronny Coutteure; Mike Moroff
Indy and his father arrive in Albuquerque and are greeted by Indy’s aunt Grace and his cousin Frank. Frank tells Indy about a bordello across the border, and they ask permission to go on a “camping trip.” They hitchhike and walk towards the border, and Indy tells his cousin that his father only speaks to him in Latin since his mother passed away three years earlier due to influenza.
The terrain reminds Indy of Egypt, and he shows Frank his diary and tells him about Ned Lawrence, Demetrios who killed a man and stole the jackal artifact, and says someday he’ll be an archeologist. Frank isn’t impressed; he thinks archeology sounds boring.
As they continue hitchhiking, they sit in the back of a truck and flip through a magazine and see a photo of the infamous dancer Mata Hari. (Remember her name. She shows up in the Paris episode).
When they arrive in Columbus, near the border, they ask the sentry where they can get something to eat and what they should see once they cross. But as they talk, a bullet lands in his chest, and Indy and Frank run out of the street towards cover.
A band of riders on horseback cause chaos as they torment the town, stealing dresses and shooting their guns. Indy races after the man who stole the dresses, right across the Mexican border. But his horse rears, and he’s thrown off, and the riders tie him up and bring him before a firing squad.
Before the men can fire their guns, a man named Pancho Villa rides up and spares the prisoners. No longer facing certain death, Indy becomes acquainted with Belgian Remy Baudouin and José González. When Remy asks about the war in Europe, Indy tells him that Germany still holds Belgium.
Then, a woman rides up and says that General John J. Pershing is coming after them after their attack on Columbus. Pershing is going to teach Villa what it means to invade the United States.
The men gather their things and ride off, and Indy is put into the back of a wagon. An airplane overhead throws bombs into the line of horses, and they begin to disperse as Indy tries to avoid being shot or blown up. He realizes he may miss getting back in time to attend his high school classes.
When they arrive at their next stop, Pancho Villa purchases weapons from an arms dealer with a clawed metal hand and a long scar down his face. Indy hears the man speaking in Arabic, and Indy asks him if he’s been to Egypt. The man doesn’t respond, but they learn Villa’s plan is to attack Ciudad Guerrero by filling a train car full of explosives, switching the track, and launching it into the wall of the city.
Later that night, Indy asks Remy how he came to be part of Villa’s group. Remy explains he was a sailor who hated the sea, so he jumped ship and met a woman named Lupe. Together, they had a cantina, but the Federales came and killed Lupe and destroyed the cantina. So, he joined the revolution.
Villa tells Indy he’s free, but Indy decides to join the revolution after Villa says they are fighting for the right to own a piece of the land, to raise crops and feed their children. While Indy helps them pack up before they head out, he sees an old photo of Demetrios, the man who killed Rasheed and stole the jackal in Egypt when Indy was a boy. He realizes the man with the clawed hand is Demetrios. Before they drive away, he yells, “Hey Demetrios!” and the man looks up, confirming his identity to Indy.
Later, in a cantina, Remy and Jose give Indy feedback on a letter he’s writing to his father, explaining how he was waylaid in Mexico and won’t make it back to high school before classes resume. In the process, we learn (happily!) the dog Indiana is still part of the family, as Indy asks his father to take care of the dog for him. But then American Lieutenant George Patton walks in and speaks disparagingly of Pancho Villa, prompting Villa’s man Julio Cárdenas to pull his weapons, but Patton shoots him dead, and a gunfight ensues. Indy and his companions flee. Patton takes the bodies of Cárdenas and the others to Pershing’s headquarters as trophies.
González was chosen to switch the train tracks in order to cause the explosion at the walls of Ciudad Guerrero, but he’s shot before he can complete the mission. Indy speeds ahead on his horse to pull the switch and take the injured González to safety.
During the fighting the follows, Indy and another man find themselves in a standoff, and out of instinct, Indy fires, knocking the man backwards to the ground. He rushes over and apologizes, but the man gets up and soon has Indy on the ground, facing the barrel of a gun. Remy arrives and shoots the man, saving Indy.
Later, while in hiding, Villa launches his next plan: attack the hacienda of newspaper mogul William Randolph Hearst. He says that President Woodrow Wilson is as bad as President Carranza, and he wants to send a message.
Hearst isn’t in residence, but the revolutionaries discover a cinema and, at gunpoint, force one of Hearst’s employees to play a film. Indy translates the English cards of the silent film into Spanish, but he takes liberties with the translation when the post-film newsreel mentions Pancho Villa. Then, while images of war-torn Europe play across the screen, Indy and Remy realize that they need to be there, not in Mexico.
After they leave Hearst’s hacienda, Indy runs across a man whose chickens have been stolen from him. He says in a revolution, it’s the people who suffer, regardless of who is in charge. No matter what, his chickens are taken: “All over the world, revolutions come and go. Presidents rise and fall. They all steal your chickens.”
Remy tells Indy that he’s leaving the next day at dawn to return home, to Belgium and to fight. Indy decides to join him, but there’s one thing he must do first—search for the jackal. In Demetrios’ hideout, he finds a locked cabinet full of ancient artifacts, including the jackal. But Demetrios arrives and attacks Indy. In the ensuing melee, they set the place on fire, and a desperate Indy grabs a nearby whip to defend himself. This time, he doesn’t strike his chin with the whip, so his skills have improved!
He tells Demetrios the jackal belongs in a museum (where have I heard that before …) and manages to grab it before the building explodes. Demetrios’ claw, minus Demetrios and still on fire, lands on the ground next to him.
As dawn approaches, Indy reaches Remy before he leaves, and the two set off into the sunrise to seek out their next adventure.
Thoughts
Originally, this was the second half of the pilot episode of Young Indiana Jones, so the story of the jackal was contained in one two-hour television movie. But what an introduction to a teenaged Indy! We have revolution, explosions, his use of a whip. Much more like the films than the adventures of Indy as a little boy.
And the story introduces Remy, who will be an important character from now until the end of the series.
Related DVD Documentaries
- Wanted: Dead or Alive – Pancho Villa and the American Invasion of Mexico
- General John J. Pershing and His American Army
- George S. Patton – American Achilles
History
John J. Pershing (1860–1948) sent by President Woodrow Wilson, along with 5,000 troops, to capture Pancho Villa in Mexico, but the mission was unsuccessful. Most famous for serving as commander of American Expeditionary Forces at the Western Front in WWI.
Pancho Villa (1878–1923) key figure in the Mexican Revolution that helped bring Francisco I to power and ousted President Porfirio Díaz.
George Patton (1885–1945) Served in both World Wars, earning rank of general. Though a successful military commander, his controversial actions caused problems during his career. George C. Scott portrayed him in the award-winning film Patton.
Fun Facts
This episode became part of the film canon when, in the fourth Indiana Jones film, Indy mentions riding with Pancho Villa.
Mike Moroff (Pancho Villa) appeared in Robocop, From Dusk Till Dawn, Desperado, among many other films and television series.
Stuart Milligan (George Patton) most recently appeared in Jack Ryan, and he portrayed POTUS in Wonder Woman 1
