Bonhams is set to auction a replica of the Ferrari 250GT Spyder California that was specifically created for Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Reading about this auction we started thinking about the most iconic and memorable movie props. Collecting film memorabilia (whether it be props, posters, toys or autographs) is now a highly lucrative business with sought after items going for thousands of pounds. The Ferrari on auction is expected to fetch £30,000 – 40,000, making it a very expensive prop. Here are Front Rows top 5 most wanted film props.
The Ruby Slippers from The Wizard of Oz
The ruby red slippers that Dorothy wears in this classic 1939 film are one of the most memorable and sought after film props of all time. MGM originally made several pairs of the slippers, and one of the pairs is currently on permanent display at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington. In 2004, a pair was sold at a Christies auction for $666,000 to David Elkouby, a Hollywood memorabilia shop owner. Bonham’s own highest selling film prop was also one from the Wizard of Oz, when the dress worn by Judy Garland in the film sold for £140,000 in 2005.
The Ring from The Lord of the Rings
Nearly 40 rings were made by New Zealand jeweller Jens Hansen for Peter Jackson’s trilogy, and their iconic popularity has led to thousands of official and unofficial replica items being made and sold all over the world. One of the original rings is on permanent display at the Jens Hansen jewellery store in New Zealand and is a major tourist spot, but none of the original rings have yet come up for public auction.
The DeLorean from Back to the Future
The Delorean DMC-12 was not just any old Doleran, but a time travelling car that is one of the most replicated film cars in history. At least 5 cars were used in the film but Universal claim that the original is the one sitting outside their Hollywood studios. Cars are very popular films props to own – the Aston Martin from Goldfinger recently fetched $275,000 and replica car props are very common: the Batmobile and Knight Rider cars are among the most sought after replica movie cars ever made.
Luke Skywalker’s Lightsaber from Star Wars
The Star Wars films have probably made the most money out of memorabilia and spin off items in history, so iconic props from the films sell for outrageous amounts of money. The lightsaber used by Mark Hamill in both the original Star Wars: a New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back was sold in 2008 by Hollywood auction house Profiles for £133,000. It may be the original lightsaber and it may be expensive, but hey, at least our replicas light up!
The Statuette from The Maltese Falcon
Although this is perhaps not one of the most famous and widely sought after film props, the sale of the statuette prop from Bogart’s 1941 film The Maltese Falcon is the highest price a film prop has ever fetched – it went for $389,500 to Ronald Winston of New York jewellers in 1994. The statuette is now on display in their window.
So what have we missed? Which famous prop from cinema history would you most like to own?
