The year was 1981 and Raiders of the Lost Ark was Karen
Allen’s second big break after she appeared in National Lampoons Animal Park in
1978, a performance which had attracted the attention of Hollywood produces.
She was on the radar and brought with her a strong on screen presence which was
very much the flavour of the moment with the likes of Margot Kidder in Super Man
and Kathleen Turner (whom Allen featured in a band with) in Body Heat portraying
a tailored feminine aggression.
Karen Allen became Marion Ravenwood in Raiders and fully
embodied an action packed female lead in what was obviously a Steven Spielberg
classic in the making. Spielberg’s demands upon actors featuring in his iconic
family films required a diverse range of emotions. Allen is not allowed to pull
any punches as she switches from hard, drinking bar owner to submissive hostage
in a night dress. The drama she exudes
is the direct result of her classical training and theatre experience. She expertly
shows the full range of emotions, as if projecting to a crowd and handles this
without hamming up the role. Her meaning is in her wide eyes and her charm in
the broad smile she wealds like a rapier. These two physical assets have additional potency
for Allen as she was temporarily blinded by Kerato Conjunctivitis in 1978 and
is an accomplished singer.
Raiders of the Lost Ark shot Allen for the second time into the
realms of stardom. In many ways her
lovable rogue character stole the film and although Harrison Ford was his usual
charismatic self he features largely as an action figure rather than an emotion
barometer and we are drawn into Marion Ravenwood’s roller-coaster world, Allen’s
on screen persona completely captivating.
Allen is the only female presence in the film. Raiders deals
with a number of stereotypical, yet enriching and sometimes comical characters;
the academic, the action hero, the Nazi villain, the archaeologist, the trusted
companion, the patron and they are all played by men. It is evident that Allen
was obviously directed, and masterfully cast, to be a strong female but this
is easier said than done when faced with such a masculine cast. She has to be
tom boy and heroin, lover and fighter and understandably receives critical
success for how she manages it with apparent ease.
The late seventies and early eighties were incredibly successful
for Karen Allen. In 1977 she was considered
for the role of Princess Leia in Star wars and could have chosen from a number
of blockbusters following the success of Raiders. But she decided to focus on
Theatre and for two years scooped a number of awards and huge acclaim for her stage
work. If Allen had decided to stay in Cinema there is little doubt that she
would have forged a career of legendary status and she does feature in some successful
films later in her career such as Ghost in the Machine (1993) and The Perfect
Storm (2000) but the momentum was stalled and other personal projects
distracted.
Karen Allen is primarily associated with her iconic role in
Raiders. In hindsight it almost stereotyped her and perhaps this was part of
the reason why she returned to stage. When revisiting Raiders of the Lost Ark
much of it is dated, although it’s still a family classic. The action has
become comic, Harrison Ford is far more recognisable as Harrison Ford rather
than a dashing Indiana, and the format has been worn thin by numerous failed
attempts at replicating. Yet one main aspect stands out as quality: Karen Allen.
