Indy Timeline: 1950 and 1920
Mystery of the Blues opens with a great treat for fans of
the franchise. There is a car chase in
the snow in which Indy and his Native American companion must escape some goons
who are in hot pursuit. However, the
twist is that this Indy is not Sean Patrick Flannery nor Corey Carrier- it is
Harrison Ford himself! Filmed in 1992,
roughly the same time that Ford was working on "The Fugitive," he has
a grizzly beard, but is still clearly Indy.
Seeing Ford reprise this role here, just a few years after Last Crusade,
made me wistfully wonder what might have been had they not waited so long to
make Indy 4.
Unfortunately, his role in the episode is little more than a
cameo for the larger story, told in flashback.
The first half of this story puts Indy in Chicago. He is an archeology student, working as a
waiter for a jazz club to pay the bills.
It may be prohibition, but it is clear that the booze is still flowing
in these clubs.
I liked the notion of Indy being a fan of black jazz,
hanging out with the musicians, and even trying to learn to play a bit
himself. Indy in a smoky speakeasy with sexy
music and dynamic people makes a lot of sense.
There are some interesting characters here, especially Jeffrey Wright's
portrayal of Sydney Bechet. (Incidentally,
Wright plays Felix in the new Bond movies, marking yet another crossover
between the Bond and Indy franchises.)
Wright gets to deliver great bits of wisdom connecting his music philosophy
with life, with lines like: "there's a reason, maybe not a rule, but a
reason for everything." He also
introduces Indy to a number of other famous jazz musicians of the era,
including Louis Armstrong.
There are some intense discussions about race relations
along the way. Indy's experiences in the
clubs are contrasted with his white friends on campus, who are decidedly less
interesting in comparison. Indy is
derided for playing "brothel negro music" that is not respectable at
a campus event.
Unfortunately, the second half of the episode focuses more
on these people. Indy's square roommate
in college turns out to be Elliott Ness.
The two of them team up with Ernest Hemingway to solve a murder when the
owner at Indy's restaurant is shot dead in cold blood. A cheesy detective caper follows. While it isn't a bad little adventure, it
didn't grab me as much as I had hoped. The
action is more slapstick and goofy than exhilarating. It is nice to see Hemingway return for
another episode, but he doesn't have the same edge and biting wit I would have expected
and hoped for. Ness is portrayed as a
complete twit. By and large, this part
of the episode is forgettable.
The episode closes by returning to Ford and his Native
American companion for a conclusion that is extremely cheesy and must be seen
to be believed.
In sum, Mystery of the Blues is yet another installment of
the "Young Indy" franchise that is uneven - not "bad," but
not that great either. This episode is
far from the worse that the series has to offer and is bolstered by having Ford
in the beginning and some dynamic characters for the first half story, but
comes up a bit short in delivering a great young Indy story from start to
finish.
Indy Rating: 7.5/10
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