Elsa Schneider

Evil-doer
Full Name	Elsa Schneider
Alias	None
Origin	Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Occupation	Archaeologist Nazi spy
Powers / Skills	Archaeological knowledge Feminine charm
Hobby	Sleeping with people.
Goals	Get the Holy Grail by any means necessary.
Crimes	No information
Type of Villain	Femme Fatale

“	We have no time to lose. Indiana Jones and his father have escaped.	„
	~ Elsa Schneider informing the Nazis about Dr. Indiana Jones' disappearance.

Dr. Elsa Schneider is the secondary antagonist of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

Elsa is Austrian art professor who desires the Grail, and like Walter Donovan, she keeps her involvement with the Nazis a secret. Unlike Jones' other two love interests in his previous adventures, Marion Ravenwood and Willie Scott, Elsa is an evil and conflicted woman. She is revealed to have seduced both Joneses throughout the film, Henry first and then Indiana.

She was portrayed by Irish actress Alison Doody, who also portrayed Jenny Flex.

Biography

Elsa first meets Indiana in Venice, Italy. She guides him to the library in search of the hidden tomb. Indiana discovers the secret entry to the tomb and with Elsa, discover the other half of King Richard's inscription. The Brotherhood of the Cruciform Sword follows them and sets the tomb's petroleum on fire. Elsa escapes with Indiana and two flee from the Brotherhood in a speedboat. Ultimately, Indiana and Elsa clear up the major misunderstanding with Kazim, the Brotherhood's leader, who informs them that Indiana's father is held up at Brunwald Castle in Austria. Indiana checks on Elsa in her hotel room and finds everything trashed. The two then argue over the grail diary and end up having passionate sex as a result.

At Brunwald, Elsa helps Indiana infiltrate a Nazi-controlled castle, but the two are separated when Indiana swings between buildings to reach his father. Once he rescues his father, he finds Elsa held up at gunpoint by Colonel Vogel, who threatens to kill her if Indiana doesn't surrender. Henry Sr. tells Indiana that Elsa is a Nazi, but Indiana gives up his gun anyways. Elsa runs up to Indiana and takes the grail diary. She finally reveals her true allegiance. Elsa is told she must return to Berlin for a Nazi rally and she departs, but not before giving Indiana an "Austrian style" kiss. However, the two Joneses managed to escape from Vogel's clutches. At the book burning rally, Elsa is seen crying and Indiana finds Elsa walking aimlessly. He grabs her and demands she give up the grail diary. After a heated argument, Indiana takes the diary and basically tells Elsa off. (See quotes for the argument dialogue).

During the battle in Hatay, Elsa informed Donovan that Indy had escaped from their clutches. However, during Indiana's fight against Vogel, whihc resulted in the death of the latter, both Elsa and Donovan, along the Nazis, managed to find and get in the Temple of the Grail before the Joneses and their allies arrived. Indiana and company arrive, which allows Donovan to "persuade" Indiana to find it for them by shooting Henry Sr. Elsa is upset by Donovan's actions, but hangs back to follow Indiana through the three trials. Once inside the chamber, Elsa tells Donovan to let her choose the true grail from the various fakes. She picks a fancy cup, betting that it is a fake. Donovan drinks from it and ages to death instantly. Elsa then watches Indiana choose the true grail. After Indiana heals his dad, Elsa tries to take the grail from the temple. Indiana warns her not to, but she crosses the magical seal anyways. The temple falls apart and Elsa drops the grail. She chases after it, but trips and knocks it into a crack in the ground. She nearly falls in too, but Indiana grabs her. Knowing the grail survived the fall, she tries to reach for it rather than giving Indiana both her hands. While she comes up just short of getting it, her other hand starts slipping from Indiana's hold because she's wearing leather gloves. Elsa keeps trying, despite Indiana's urgent warnings, when the glove on her hand comes off and she falls to her death, paying for her actions.

Gallery

Elsa hands Indiana a clue about his father.

Elsa reveals she works for the Nazis.

Elsa grabs the grail to steal it from the temple.

Elsa falls on the seal.

Elsa tries to reach the grail.

Elsa falls to her death.

Recognition

IGN placed Elsa 33rd on their list of the best bad girls in film in 2008, while Empire noted Doody "achieved the unlikely feat of making a Nazi sympathiser sympathetic".

Trivia

• Alison Doody, before playing Elsa, portrayed Jenny Flex in the James Bond film series. Also, Sean Connery (Henry Walton Jones, Sr.), John Rhys Davies (Sallah Mohammed Faisel el-Kahir), Julian Glover (Walter Donovan) and Michael Byrne also appeared in different Bond films. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade director Steven Spielberg once said that he would have liked to direct a James Bond film, but he was restricted from obtaining the rights, for which he created Indiana Jones film series.
• Actress Amanda Redman was originally asked to play the role of Elsa, but she declined the offer due her real-life fear of rats, so Doody was cast instead.
• She is arguably an anti-hero type of character in the film's ending.
• Despite that Elsa is the secondary antagonist of the film, she isn't as evil as Ernst Vogel.
• In Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures, Elsa's death is very fast. She barely grabs the Holy Grail, but before she can run, the floor opens and she and the grail fall into the void.
  • However, in Lego Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continous, Elsa's death didn't occur because Elsa ever enters into the Temple of the Holy Grail. After being snubbed by Donovan, Henry Jones, Sr. begins to fight against her, while Indy and Sallah enter the temple to face Donovan. After the defeat of Donovan, Indy and Sallah escape of the destruction of the temple and find that Henry and Elsa have been friendly and they are playing cricket. After that, a reformed Elsa along with Indy, Henry and Sallah drives off in Donovan's car.