I’m watching Godzilla vs. Mothra from 1964, and there is an early scene in which an adventurous archeologist tries to steal a golden idol. The tomb where it is hidden collapses around him, and he manages to escape a number of traps. He gets outside, and a man puts a gun to his head.
Watching it, I have to assume Steven Spielberg saw this scene, decided he could do it better, then made Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Update: I’ll take that back. There’s another scene that looks like one from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. The info on the DVR says 1964, but I think this is a remake that stole from Raiders.
Yeah, according to my “The Best of Godzilla” soundtrack albums, “Mothra vs. Godzilla” is from 1964, but “Godzilla vs. Mothra” came out in 1992.
David, Spielberg and George Lucas used their love of old films to make Raiders: the stunts were all bits pulled from various old films, especially westerns and the old serials that used to run in the days before TV, that both filmmakers grew up on.