See Harrison Ford Whipped By Barbra Streisand And Saved By Carrie Fisher In Ultra Rare Indiana Jones Footage
In old footage from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Steven Spielberg pranks Harrison Ford with surprise appearances from Barbara Streisand, Carrie Fisher, and Irvin Kershner.
Harrison Ford is really having a moment lately: at the Cannes premiere of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, the actor was awarded an honorary Palme d’Or and could then barely hold back tears as he received a five-minute standing ovation after the credits. It’s difficult not to contrast Ford’s apparent love of Indiana Jones as a character with how much he has seemingly been over Star Wars for decades. But whether you’re a bigger fan of Indiana Jones or Han Solo, we can guarantee you aren’t ready for this rare Temple of Doom-era footage in which Ford is whipped by dominatrix Barbra Streisand and then rescued by Carrie Fisher.
We know what you’re thinking: since when the hell were Barbra Streisand or Carrie Fisher starring in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom alongside Harrison Ford? The short answer is that they weren’t and this scene is effectively a blooper. But what makes this “blooper” so funny is that it’s actually all a practical joke that director Steven Spielberg is pulling on his main star.
If you go back and watch the video, you’ll notice that it begins with Harrison Ford having his back to his tormentor. Getting whipped by a scenery-chewing villain isn’t outside of the norm for his Indiana Jones character, so Ford didn’t initially react to the whipping, and he had no way of knowing it was Barbra Streisand in an elaborate dominatrix outfit doing the whipping. But she gives the gag away a bit when she playfully tells her fellow actor that he is being punished for his previous bad films as well as for how much money he is going to make for starring in Return of the Jedi.
At the exact time Harrison Ford figures out that he is getting punked, Steven Spielberg’s prank gets even stranger. Right after Streisand mentions the latest Star Wars film, Carrie Fisher comes in and brushes up against Ford’s back. When he understandably asks “Who’s that?” Fisher reveals herself and echoes her line from Return of the Jedi: “someone who loves you.”
If that was the end of the practical joke on Harrison Ford, it would already be hilarious. But to cap everything off in the most surreal way, Spielberg arranged for Empire Strikes Back director Irvin Kershner to come in and start offering his notes on the scene, including criticizing Ford’s screams of pain and Streisand’s handling of the whip.
While the surviving video footage is of very poor quality, we loved seeing the historically-grumpy Ford going along with the joke once it’s revealed, including asking Streisand to “really hit me” and then letting out a seemingly real yelp of pain.
No matter how you slice it (or should that be whip it?), this is a heartwarming scene that reminds us of just how funny and charming Harrison Ford can be, even when he’s caught in an elaborate practical joke at his expense. While Dial of Destiny is controversially using CGI to make Harrison Ford look younger for the prologue, we prefer this glimpse of the actual Ford in his prime and having fun with his friends back. To make sure as many people see this clip as possible, there is clearly only one solution: it belongs in a museum.
