Arnold Toht first appears in the movie Raiders of the Lost Ark as the sadistic antagonist whose primary mission was to acquire the headpiece to the Staff of Ra from Marion Ravenwood (mother of Mutt Williams) to help the enemies locate the Ark of the Covenant. His meeting with Marion quickly drew sour as she and Indiana Jones fought off Toht's henchmen to avoid the the headpiece from getting in the wrong hands. The fight resulted in Marion's bar getting destroyed by a fire and Toht having the image of the headpiece burnt into the palm of his hand when he attempted to grab it as it lay inside a fire.