| “ | I suddenly remembered my Charlamagne: Let my armies be the rocks and the trees and the birds in the sky. | „ |
| ~ Professor Henry Jones Sr. |
Professor Henry Jones Sr. is a professor of archaeology, medieval religion and Grail folklore. He is an aficionado on the Holy Grail and the father of Henry 'Indiana' Jones Jr. He is the deuteragonist in the third film of the Indiana Jones franchise: Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. The film debuted in 1989 and the character was portrayed by Sir Sean Connery, who also portrayed James Bond from Dr. No to Diamonds Are Forever.
Jones was born in 1882. He had married and had a son whom he and his wife named Henry, Jr.
Jones joined his son on an adventure to discover the Holy Grail while racing with the Nazi's to search for its location. The Jones' duo are accompanied by Sallah and Marcus Brody and their guide is Jones' diary containing scriptures and images relating to the Grail. As senior, he calls his son junior which annoys him very much. To avoid being known as junior, he switches to Indiana which we learn that he got from his dog.
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Henry was never close to his son as he spent his whole life trying to learn the secrets of the Grail and perhaps, find it one day. In 1938, he is hired by Walter Donovan as the project leader of the excavation of the Grail quest. Little did he know that Donovan was working for the Nazis and Hitler seeks the immortality the Grail could offer. Donovan sent Henry to Venice, Italy to search for the tomb of one of the three brothers of the First Crusade. Legend said that three brothers found the Grail during the Crusades. One stayed to guard the Grail for eternity while the remaining two traveled back to France but only one made it and was buried in Venice, beneath a church in the catacombs. Henry was assisted by Dr. Elsa Schneider who seduced him for the Grail Diary. Henry didn't trust Schneider nor Donovan and shipped his diary back to the States to his son. Afterwards, when he was close to finding the tomb, he is kidnapped and imprisoned in a castle owned by the Nazis in Salzburg, Austria.
Before Indy received the diary, he is hired by Donovan to pick up where his father left off. Jones refused but when he learned about his father's disappearance, he went to his house to find him. The house was ransacked as Donovan's men desperately searched for the diary. Indiana agreed to partake in finding the Grail as well as find his father. He and Marcus Brody travel to Venice to meet Dr. Schneider and locate the tomb. When they do, they are attacked by members of a secret society devoted to protecting the Grail. The leader of the society, Kazim, learns of Indy's purpose and spares him and tells him his father is in Austria. Indy learns of the Grail location and sends Marcus Brody to meet Sallah near the site while he and Schneider went after Henry. Indy broke into Henry's room and is knocked on the head by Henry, thinking of him as an intruder. Henry was glad to see him and overwhelmed when Indy found the tomb as well as the location of the Grail. That happiness only lasted two minutes when three Nazis come to the room and Henry learns that Indy brought the diary all the way back to him. After being criticized and called Junior for the umpteenth time, an enraged Indy mows down all three soldiers with a machine gun, much to Henry's horror, and then goes to find Schneider. She is held at gunpoint; Henry knew she was a Nazi but Indy would not believe it and found out the hard way. They are captured and Indy learns that she seduced both of them and Donovan was working for the Nazis.
They are tied to a chair and Henry tries to burn the rope with Indy's lighter but drops it and accidently sets the room on fire. They escape and end up in a motorcycle chase in the countryside. When they escape the Nazis, Indy wants to meet up with Marcus (unaware that he was captured already) while Henry wants to go to Berlin and get the diary back. As a true devotee to the Grail, Henry explains that if the Nazis succeed, then Hitler's reign will go on forever and spread evil throughout the world. The two go to Berlin and get the diary back but it ends up getting it autographed by Hitler himself. They board a zeppelin out of Germany but their presence is exposed and the zeppelin turns around. They board a biplane and are pursued by two Nazi fighter planes in the air. After a brief dogfight, Henry accidentally shoots their plane's tail to pieces, prompting Indy to make an emergency landing. They steal a car as the Nazis continue chasing them. One stupidly crashes into a tunnel, while the other stops them by bombing the road. To stop the second plane, Henry sees a flock of seagulls and uses his umbrella to scare them and they fly into the plane, making it crash.
In Iskenderun, Sallah picks them up and they find the Nazis close to the Grail site. They have Brody in a tank and the trio try to rescue them. Kazim arrives with a small army and they distract the Nazis while Indy sneaks in to retrieve transportation. Henry sneaks into the tank to get Brody but is captured. Throughout the whole battle, Henry blew up a truck full of soldiers with the tank's machine gun as well as unintentionally killing several in the tank. When he gets out of the tank, the Nazi colonel tries to throw him off but Indy catches him with his whip and holds on for dear life. Sallah arrives and helps Henry while Indy finishes off with the colonel. The tank falls off a cliff and Henry, Sallah and Brody believe that Indy was dead. Henry regretted him not being close to his son and becomes distraught. Indy survived barely and is embraced painfully by his joyous father.
With the grail site close, the four find the mausoleum inside a canyon and find the nazis trying to get pass the booby traps. They end up captured and held at gunpoint. Donovan threatens Indy to retrieve the grail for him but refuses, so to get him to cooperate, he shoots Henry. Henry holds on barely and somehow, spiritually guides Indy through the traps. Donovan drinks from a false Grail and dies but Indy finds the true Grail and gets Henry to drink from its healing power. Henry first drinks the water and Indy pours the rest of the water on the bullet wound, permanently healing it. Elsa Schneider takes the Grail and tries to flee with it but taking it would cause the mausoleum to collapse, and it does. The floor cracks open and Elsa falls through. Indy tries to hold her but she lets go and falls to her death. Indy then falls but is grabbed by Henry. Indy sees the Grail and tries to retrieve it but Henry calls him "Indiana" which gets him to listen and leave it. Before they left, Henry sees the Grail Knight as he waves goodbye to them. They leave and watch the place crumble. Indy asks Henry what he found and he says illumination and when Henry asks 'Junior', Sallah interrupts and asks why Henry calls him that. Henry tells him that that is his name, and tells him that they named the dog Indiana. Sallah thinks Indy was named after the dog and starts laughing. The four men then ride off into the sunset.
Indiana Jones and The Crystal Skull
In the fourth film, set 19 years after the events of the Last Crusade, the audience learns that Henry, along with Marcus passed away a few years ago and a picture of each of them are on Indy's desk. At the end of the film, Indiana calls his own son junior and tells him that his Grandpa is probably up in Heaven laughing.
Quotes
| “ | It tells me that goose stepping morons like yourself should try reading books instead of BURNING THEM! | „ |
| ~ Jones to Col. Vogel |