Forget ‘Dial of Destiny’ — the hottest Indiana Jones film is Barbra Streisand whipping Harrison Ford

A rare outtake from ‘Temple of Doom’ raises some interesting questions

A Bonham’s employee holds the bullwhip used by Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones. Photo by ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP via Getty Images

By PJ Grisar May 19, 2023

Indiana Jones has been a very bad boy.

On Thursday, the latest and, purportedly final installment of the archaeologist action hero’s saga, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny debuted at Cannes to a tepid standing ovation and not-so-hot advance reviews. On the same day, a Twitter user uploaded some steamy footage from the set of an earlier film in the franchise, in which Barbra Streisand, dressed like a dominatrix, puts Indy on the other side of the whip.

The clip, which surfaces every so often, shows Harrison Ford tied up in a dim location (the picture quality is quite bad) as Streisand strikes him as punishment for films like Force 10 from Navarone (Babs butchers the title at first) and Hanover Street.

Insanely rare footage from INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM: Barbra Streisand is dressed up as a dominatrix to whip Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher enters as a Guard to save him, and EMPIRE STRIKES BACK director Irvin Kershner calls cut to give them all notes. This is insane? pic.twitter.com/ZKtouS0s9c
— SPENCE, TODD (@Todd_Spence) May 19, 2023

Apparently this was an elaborate prank by Steven Spielberg, who, having birthed the PG-13 rating with Temple of Doom, may have gotten a bit carried away. The clip starts weird and only gets weirder. After Streisand says “This is for all of the money you’re gonna make on Return of the Jedi,” a figure leaps in between Ford and the whip.

“Who’s that?” Ford asks. “Someone who loves you,” comes the response from Carrie Fisher, before she pulls him into a kiss. (A less PG answer to the Fisher and George Lucas smooch in Hook.)

Then, Empire Strikes Back director Irvin Kershner walks into frame and lectures Spielberg and the actors for not reacting believably.

The bizarre outtake makes one wonder what these Jews’ purim spiels would be like — and also, what may lie in Spielberg’s home movie collection, which, one imagines, is as fathomless as the Raiders archive of antiquities.

Details on this incident are scanty, but maybe we can learn more when Streisand’s memoir drops later in the year. At over 1,000 pages, you’d expect that the time Steven Spielberg directed her to whip Harrison Ford would warrant a mention.

PJ Grisar is a Forward culture reporter. He can be reached at [email protected] and @pjgrisar on Twitter.

A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO