Character Analysis
On the surface, Walter Donovan seems like kind of a weenie. When you think "villain," for example, we're willing to bet that you don't picture a smug antiquities collector. Take another look at Donovan, though, and you'll find that he's a classic baddie.
Walter Everlasting
Donovan's greedy—and not just for money and power, those lusted-after staples of big screen heavies. Donovan wants immortality. He wants to live forever, and he wants it so badly that he's willing to partner up with the Nazis to get what he wants. That's some next-level greed, if you ask us.
Donovan's careful to point out that he isn't actually a Nazi, of course. He thinks Hitler and his horrible posse are chumps, and he's just using them, their intel, and their resources to get to the Holy Grail. (Does this make it better?) Anyway, when it comes right down to it, Donovan's only looking out for Donovan. Check it out:
DONOVAN: Whattaya say, Jones? Ready to go down in history?
INDIANA: As what? A Nazi stooge like you?
DONOVAN: The Nazis? Is that the limit of your vision? The Nazis want to write themselves into the grail legend, take on the world. Well, they're welcome. But I want the grail itself, the cup that gives everlasting life. Hitler can have the world, but he can't take it with him. I'm going to be drinking my own health when he's gone the way of the dodo.
As the above exchange shows, Donovan's also all sorts of arrogant, which is another hallmark of a classic cinema villain. He thinks he's smarter and more cunning than Hitler. Um, cool?
Dude also thinks everybody's just as self-centered as he is. Take a look at this conversation he and Indiana have when they first meet. Donovan tells Indiana what he's after:
DONOVAN: The Holy Grail, Dr. Jones. The chalice used by Christ during the last supper. The cup that caught his blood at the crucifixion and was entrusted to Joseph of Arimathea.
INDIANA: The Arthur legend. I've heard this bedtime story before.
DONOVAN: Eternal life, Dr. Jones! The gift of youth to whoever drinks from the Grail! Now that's a bedtime story I'd like to wake up to.
INDIANA: An old man's dream.
DONOVAN: Every man's dream, including your father's, I believe.
Indiana dismisses the Holy Grail as "an old man's dream." Donovan, on the other hand, thinks everlasting life is what every man's after. He wrongly assumes that everybody wants to celebrate their 450th birthday with a prune cake or see who wins the 145th cycle of America's Next Top Model. That's why he's in such a rush. He's desperate to find the Holy Grail before anyone else does.
His Preciousss
Ultimately, Donovan's arrogance is his downfall. He's thirsty for the Holy Grail, but he doesn't want to get his hands dirty and work for it. That's why he hooks up with the Nazis and Elsa. That's why he tries again and again to manipulate Indiana and Henry.
That's also why, when everybody arrives at the temple containing the Holy Grail, instead of braving the three challenges that stand before him and the Grail room, Donovan shoots Henry in the stomach, forcing Indiana to get the Holy Grail or watch his dad kick the bucket. Donovan constantly seeks to reap the rewards of other people's hard work.
The most damning evidence of Donovan's arrogance comes when it's time to choose a cup, though. Ever the suave rich guy, Donovan selects the gaudiest grail of the bunch. He picks the chalice that he thinks most befits him. The smartest, wealthiest, most thoroughly fabulous dude in the temple wouldn't drink out of some basic cup. Heck, no: he'd drink out of the most ornate one.
Donovan selects the fanciest cup on the shelf, and his misguided, egotistical choice kills him. Literally. Or, as the droll knight explains, "He chose…poorly."
Why does Donovan make such a boneheaded choice? Part of it's the arrogance we just outlined; the rest of it's ignorance. For him, obtaining the Holy Grail was all about the big, shiny prize at the end. Donovan learns absolutely nothing in his quest for the Grail.
Indiana, on the other hand, correctly deduces that the Holy Grail would be a simple, modest cup, since Jesus was a simple, modest man. Indiana and Henry both understand that the Holy Grail holds vast spiritual and cultural significance, and that it belongs to mankind, to the world. For Donovan, the Holy Grail is something to hoard, a vessel that holds a sip of everlasting life and the chance to be a callous, conceited jerkwad for eternity.
Walter Donovan's Timeline