Musicman - I had that exact cut in mind, also.

I agree with you, jones1899, that there is far too much exposition, and feel that we don't need the 'what if's, or the musings about Oxley at this point; transitioning from 'what is this thing?' to Indy and Mutt going up the steps would be seamless.

Remember, with the whole 'return' business, in regards to the word 'return' being written all over Ox's cell and the realisation that Oxley left clues in the note to find the skull, I think it's safe to assume that the audience would be able to grasp that Oxley was the one who both found and then later returned the skull (we are even reminded of this in the following scene with Indy and Spalko in the tent; 'now I know why Oxley put the skull back - he knew you were looking for it').

It's good to hear that you're tackling this head on, jones1899 - on the topic of needless-exposition, what are your thoughts on other areas of the movie which you think ought to be trimmed down, dialogue wise? I think this removing-of-pointless-explanations is possibly the best way to tighten up the film, and give it some velocity in terms of pacing.