Arnold Toht
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Indiana Jones character | |
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| Arnold Toht | |
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| Date of birth | Unknown |
| Place of birth | Germany (presumed) |
| Gender | Male |
| Occupation | Nazi |
| Family | Unknown |
| Portrayed by | Ronald Lacey |
| First appearance | Raiders of the Lost Ark |
Arnold Toht is a fictional character from the 1981 Indiana Jones film Raiders of the Lost Ark. Toht is a sadistic and noisome Nazi agent, connected to the Gestapo. He is played by Ronald Lacey.
Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.
In the film, Toht is tasked with acquiring the headpiece of the Staff of Ra from Marion Ravenwood in Nepal for Colonel Dietrich, but he fails. However, he does supply Dietrich with half of the medallion's inscriptions when they become burned into his hand as a result of Toht trying, unsuccessfully, to pull the headpiece from the fire in Marion's Nepalese tavern The Raven. Toht is eventually killed when Rene Belloq opens the Ark of the Covenant, and the Gestapo agent's face is melted by the wrath of God.
Spoilers end here.
[edit] Trivia
- Cast apparently because he reminded Steven Spielberg of Peter Lorre, Lacey's chilling, low-key performance was widely acclaimed.
- In the original script for Raiders of the Lost Ark, Toht is named "Belzig" and dies instead when Indiana Jones forces his car off the road and over a cliff during the truck chase. In the finished film, Toht is riding with Belloq and Dietrich and thus survives to be killed when the Ark is opened at the end.
- Apart from being listed in the closing credits, Toht is never identified by name in Raiders of the Lost Ark.
- The name "Toht" may be a play on the German word "tot" meaning "dead," or an echo of the name of the Nazi Todt Organization. It may also evoke WW II German General Hermann Hoth, or the Egyptian god Thoth.
- Toht has four henchmen in Marion's tavern, credited as Second Nazi, Giant Sherpha, Mean Mongolian, and Ratty Nepalese.[citation needed]
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| Films | Raiders of the Lost Ark • The Temple of Doom • The Last Crusade • Indiana Jones 4 |
| Television | The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles |
| Characters | Indiana Jones • Willie Scott • Marion Ravenwood • Elsa Schneider Marcus Brody • Sallah • Short Round • Henry Jones, Sr. • Walter Donovan • Rene Belloq • Colonel Dietrich • Arnold Toht • Colonel Vogel • Mola Ram • Club Obi-Wan Triad |
| Cast | Harrison Ford • Sean Connery • Corey Carrier • Sean Patrick Flanery George Hall • River Phoenix • John Rhys-Davies • Denholm Elliott • Julian Glover • Wolf Kahler • Ronald Lacey • Paul Freeman • Amrish Puri • Michael Byrne |
| Crew | George Lucas • Steven Spielberg • Frank Marshall • John Williams |
