# Greatest Movie Props? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 6, 2009, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-movie-props/509042 "2009-09-06T06:21:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2009, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-movie-props/509042/1 "2009-09-06T06:21:14Z")
What are your picks? Let’s say it has to have some real-world non-effects component, so a lightsaber is fine, but a purely CGI “prop” is out – someone was going to say lightsaber anyhow, and I’d like to hear your argument for it anyway. I keep thinking of _Back to the Future_’s DeLorean time machine and the _Ghostbuster_’s proton packs. Both seem to stem from the eighties tech look of vaguely ominous wires, tubes, and molded shapes that must house something. They looked clunky, yet cutting end back then. I suppose that perfectly reflects the two mad scientist who designed them in story. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2009, 9:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-movie-props/509042/2 "2009-09-06T09:18:16Z")
Not sure what you mean by “real-world non-effects component” but my vote would be the Wizard of Oz tornado. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2009, 9:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-movie-props/509042/3 "2009-09-06T09:29:36Z")
Alec Baldwin’s brass balls from _Glengarry Glen Ross._ I chuckle at the thought that someone actually had to create that prop for the film. ---
**Author:** ![Ale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Ale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ale)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2009, 9:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-movie-props/509042/4 "2009-09-06T09:51:17Z")
**Aliens** was… er, _is_ the prop nirvana in my opinion. Everything from the scenery, ships, guns, combat gear, etc, etc… is a top notch production design stuff. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2009, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-movie-props/509042/5 "2009-09-06T10:09:15Z")
Most of my friends are complete geeks for this stuff, and have a healthy collection of props and costumes from various genre movies. In fact a couple of them are sculptors and make their own stuff where they can, such as Aughra from The Dark Crystal, or a working R2-D2, or a complete Darth Vader suit. Personally, if I could get a unique(ish) prop of my own, I’d like a Neverending Story book, or a Glaive from _Krull_. ---
**Author:** ![cactus\_waltz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@cactus\_waltz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cactus_waltz)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2009, 10:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-movie-props/509042/6 "2009-09-06T10:21:33Z")
I believe the most expensive movie prop sold on auction have been the ruby shoes from Wizard of Oz. ---
**Author:** ![Chez\_Guevara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/aeb1de/32.png) [@Chez\_Guevara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chez_Guevara)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2009, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-movie-props/509042/7 "2009-09-06T12:17:09Z")
> [@cactus\_waltz](#): > > I believe the most expensive movie prop sold on auction have been the ruby shoes from Wizard of Oz. Not sure about that. The Maltese Falcon was sold at auction in 1994, fetching a sum just shy of $400,000. I don’t think that’s been beaten. On the other hand, I could swear I read recently that a pair of Oz slippers (four were used in the film) went up for auction very recently. I could be imagining this. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2009, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-movie-props/509042/8 "2009-09-06T12:44:30Z")
Indy’s Ark of the Covenant. Bonus, if it comes with the crate. ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2009, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-movie-props/509042/9 "2009-09-06T12:51:04Z")
I want to know what happened to Buck Russell’s bowling ball. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2009, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-movie-props/509042/10 "2009-09-06T13:37:24Z")
There is an unbelievable short story by Bentley Little called “The Idol” which answers the question of what happened to the lug-wrench that James Dean throws off the cliff in _Rebel Without A Cause._ Two teenage boys get it into their heads that the wrench must still be down there somewhere in the woods, that the prop department would just have had multiple wrenches for the different takes and that they never would have bothered going back down and getting it. They figure that they could sell the wrench as a collectible on eBay and make a lot of money. So they track down the location where the scene was filmed, and begin searching in the woods… and they come upon a shed. Inside the shed, the lug-wrench is embedded in a concrete floor and sticking up vertically. The walls of the shed are completely covered with Polaroid pictures of women _fucking_ the lug-wrench. (A little detail that I love - there are so many photos that when you peel back one photo from the wall, there are other layers underneath it, and the kids can see different hairstyles from different generations and it’s obvious that this practice has been going on for a long time.) It turns out there’s some bizarre cult of women who ritualistically fuck themselves with the lug-wrench as a form of James Dean-worship…and then the narrator later discovers that his own girlfriend is part of it, along with all of the women in his hometown. ---
**Author:** ![Claire\_Beauchamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ec9cab/32.png) [@Claire\_Beauchamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claire_Beauchamp)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2009, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-movie-props/509042/11 "2009-09-06T15:40:07Z")
“Rosebud …” ---
**Author:** ![in\_hiding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c5a1d2/32.png) [@in\_hiding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/in_hiding)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2009, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-movie-props/509042/12 "2009-09-06T16:03:10Z")
Deckard’s Gun from Blade Runner. Still the coolest gun I’ve ever seen in a movie. ---
**Author:** ![randwill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@randwill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/randwill)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2009, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-movie-props/509042/13 "2009-09-06T16:10:44Z")
The Time Machine from the original 1960 George Pal film is my favorite movie prop of all time. The machine from the 2002 version is impressive, but I prefer the original. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2009, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-movie-props/509042/14 "2009-09-06T16:17:47Z")
I think that Bentley Little wins the thread. [hijack] For Halloween the year Ghostbusters came out, my son went as a ghostbuster. Wife made him a jump suit and I had to make the proton pack. 1 shoe box, 2 2-liter soda bottles, some rubber hose and a toy gun all sprayed silver made it look very realistic.[/hijack] ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2009, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-movie-props/509042/15 "2009-09-06T16:24:48Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > Not sure what you mean by “real-world non-effects component” but my vote would be the Wizard of Oz tornado. I thought that was pretty clear. You have to be able to actually hold or touch at least part of it. So no cartoons, Jurassic Park dinos, etc. The lightsaber has a real handle, so it’s good. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2009, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-movie-props/509042/16 "2009-09-06T17:38:42Z")
The wizards’ staves in _Lord of the Rings_. Notice that Saruman’s staff mirrors the architecture of Orthanc. The sandman Weapons in _Logan’s Run_. The pistol contained a carbide lamp mechanism that shot real flames from the muzzle. The Maltese Falcon. Sure, it didn’t quite match the descriptions, but it still looked cool. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2009, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-movie-props/509042/17 "2009-09-06T18:37:56Z")
Hitchcock used a lot of them: The “A to G” lighter in **Strangers on a Train** , the cellar key in **Notorious** , mom’s wig and dress and knife in **Psycho** , the bomb in **Sabotage** , the chest in **Rope** , the ring in **Shadow of a Doubt** , the handcuffs in **The 39 Steps** , etc. There’s also the Henry Moore sculpture in **The Object of Beauty** ---
**Author:** ![FordTaurusSHO94](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f07891/32.png) [@FordTaurusSHO94](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FordTaurusSHO94)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2009, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-movie-props/509042/18 "2009-09-06T18:52:41Z")
The ships from the various Star Trek movies and shows are large and have nice detail. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2009, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-movie-props/509042/19 "2009-09-06T19:01:32Z")
Well, you could touch the tornado… it was a nylon stocking, as I recall. Hm. Judge Dredd’s gun was pretty awesome, but Aliens beats it. Best Prop. Well, K’s Car never existed in full mode, sadly, I don’t _think_. But the Wraith did and it looked nice… still… Batmobile. 1966. ---
**Author:** ![Mrs.Cake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2acd7d/32.png) [@Mrs.Cake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mrs.Cake)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2009, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-movie-props/509042/20 "2009-09-06T19:03:24Z")
Changing the OP’s question slightly from “greatest prop”, which would require lists in a whole lot of different categories, to “prop I would most like to own”, I’d say one of the scal models of the _Nautilus_ from Disney’s _Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea_. Some suggested categories for cool props: Edged Weapons Projectile Weapons Energy Weapons Scale Models (ships, buildings, creatures, etc) Furniture Costume Accessories [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-movie-props/509042.md?page=2)