Say what you will about Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, but one thing is clear: there’s just no out-swashbuckling Harrison Ford. Still, although Ford might be the best, he certainly wasn’t the first, as the Brattle Theatre (40 Brattle Street, Cambridge, 617.876.6838) proves with its series “Roots of the Whip: Indiana Jones and His Influences.” Bookended by all four Indiana Jones films, this showcase includes 1937’s Zorro Rides Again and 1954’s Secret of the Incas. As a bonus, the Brattle is also showing Hellboy and Serenity, films whose devil-may-care heroes seem cribbed straight from the Dr. Jones playbook. The series runs December 10 through 14; more information is available at 617.876.6837 or www.brattlefilm.org.
