List of Indiana Jones characters
Cairo Swordsman
### Cairo Swordsman

The **Cairo Swordsman** ([Terry Richards](/wiki/Terry_Richards "Terry Richards")) appears when Marion is being kidnapped by Nazi forces. The entire crowd moves aside when the swordsman appears, swinging his [scimitar](/wiki/Scimitar "Scimitar") and coercing Indiana into a battle. Jones simply pulls out his revolver and shoots him, causing the crowd to burst into cheers. The gag came about because [Harrison Ford](/wiki/Harrison_Ford "Harrison Ford") was suffering from [dysentery](/wiki/Dysentery "Dysentery") and did not want to spend three days filming a "conventional" fight. On the first take, Richards "took a minute\-and\-a\-half to die", so on the next take, Ford shot him so quickly that Richards fell over in surprise. Ford would later say he felt sorry for Richards because "he worked so hard on that swordplay".

Richards felt "it turned out to be the funniest thing in the film", and was surprised he was not cut out of the picture. Many, including Lucas, disliked the brutality of the gag, and Richards concurred the joke was very morbid. Nevertheless, it was placed 38th on *[Empire](/wiki/Empire_%28magazine%29 "Empire (magazine)")*'s Top 50 film gags list, and it is one of Spielberg's favorite scenes in the series. [Kenner](/wiki/Kenner "Kenner") released a  figure of the swordsman in 1982\. [Walt Disney Parks \& Resorts](/wiki/Walt_Disney_Parks_%26_Resorts "Walt Disney Parks & Resorts") released a figurine of the swordsman in a box set in January 2001 (to scale with the [Micro Machines](/wiki/Micro_Machines "Micro Machines") vehicles models), and a  figure in August 2003\. In 2008, [Hasbro](/wiki/Hasbro "Hasbro") released a  action figure, an Adventure Heroes figure, and a  figure.


Why was the Cairo Swordsman gag considered morbid by some?