# Top 5 Movie Props **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 3, 2005, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-5-movie-props/292805 "2005-03-03T21:38:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2005, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-5-movie-props/292805/1 "2005-03-03T21:38:55Z")
I can’t remember what got me to thinking about this the other day, but I did. And it somewhat amused me for a good hour until I realized I know absolutely nothing about movies. But I was trying to think of the Top Ten movie props of all time, but I ran out of ideas - so what follows is Munch’s Very Abbreviated Top Ten List of Movie Props: 1. Darth Vader’s helmet 2. 007’s PPK 9mm 3. the Maltese Falcon 4. Dorothy’s ruby slippers 5. Rosebud the sled I have a feeling there are many more movie items out there that would be more impressive than those 5 that I’m completely blanking on, and would love to see what others think. My criteria is a little muddled - deal with it. I didn’t care about how many versions of the prop are in existence or were used in the filming of the movie(s) (I believe there were several Maltese Falcons made, and I’m sure there have been multiple 9mm’s used in the Bond films). It’s entirely subjective and vague. If you have any suggestions on how to better nail down the definition, those are welcome as well. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2005, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-5-movie-props/292805/2 "2005-03-03T21:44:58Z")
I’d include Bond’s Astin Martin, The Delorian (Back to the Future), The one ring, But Vader’s Helmet was the very first thing that came to mind on reading the title. ---
**Author:** ![fusoya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecccb3/32.png) [@fusoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fusoya)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2005, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-5-movie-props/292805/3 "2005-03-03T21:51:16Z")
Indy’s hat & whip is the first thing that comes to mind for me ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2005, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-5-movie-props/292805/4 "2005-03-03T21:53:52Z")
Lightsabers spring to mind. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2005, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-5-movie-props/292805/5 "2005-03-03T22:00:37Z")
> [@fusoya](#): > > Indy’s hat & whip is the first thing that comes to mind for me That’s what I thought of first, too. Most of what are widely considered “great” movies that I can think of don’t really have big, flashy, famous props. For instance, Rosebud is only seen for a brief second in _Citizen Kane_. The big ones are gonna be the big summer smash-hit type movies IMO, as opposed to artsy (“great”, imo) movies like _Kane_. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2005, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-5-movie-props/292805/6 "2005-03-03T22:02:45Z")
I’d also include the minis from The Italian Job. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2005, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-5-movie-props/292805/7 "2005-03-03T22:16:33Z")
_Casablanca’s_ Letters of Transit _Godfather’s_ Horse’s Head ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2005, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-5-movie-props/292805/8 "2005-03-03T22:33:46Z")
> [@Gangster Octopus](#): > > _Godfather’s_ Horse’s Head Unfortunately it was real, so it probably rotted long before GF2. \*The dollhouse clock from _Addams Family_ (the one in which a mini-Gomez kisses Morticia’s cleavage once for each hour) \*The title prop from _The Ten Commandments_ (Heston version) \*The Ark of the Covenant from _Raiders of the Lost Ark_ (as a container for the above) \*The glowing contents briefcase from _Pulp Fiction_ \*Scarlett’s “saw it in the window” gown from _Gone With the Wind_ ---
**Author:** ![Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2005, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-5-movie-props/292805/9 "2005-03-03T22:35:04Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > Munch’s Very Abbreviated Top Ten List of Movie Props: > > 1. Darth Vader’s helmet > 2. Dorothy’s ruby slippers Do items of clothing actually count as props? The oscillation overthruster from The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension probably should have some sort of mention in a thread about top movie props. ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2005, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-5-movie-props/292805/10 "2005-03-03T22:37:24Z")
What about Queeg’s balls? (ball bearings, that is. You dirty-minded people.) ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2005, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-5-movie-props/292805/11 "2005-03-03T22:42:17Z")
> [@Bippy the Beardless](#): > > Do items of clothing actually count as props? It depends, according to my acting professor. If they are used in a scene, or part of the story, yes. So by these rules - Dorothy’s slippers, yes. Vader’s helm, no. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2005, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-5-movie-props/292805/12 "2005-03-03T22:43:29Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > my acting professor. Old\* acting professor. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2005, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-5-movie-props/292805/13 "2005-03-03T22:45:23Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > It depends, according to my acting professor. If they are used in a scene, or part of the story, yes. So by these rules - Dorothy’s slippers, yes. Vader’s helm, no. Vader’s Helmet not part of the story??? :eek: (actually I can accept that, in a way. But something tells me it is part of the story after Revenge of the Sith comes out) Could an item made famous in one movie, and then redefined as a prop in a different movie count as a prop for this list? ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2005, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-5-movie-props/292805/14 "2005-03-03T22:45:30Z")
The painting of the lady by the ocean in **Barton Fink** ’s hotel room. Not to mention the package that John Goodman’s character entrusts to Fink (John Turturro) that may or may not contain a woman’s head. The bliss-enducing “orb” from **Sleeper**. Harry Potter’s wands (Haven’t seen any of the movies, but every trailer contains at least one action pose of Harry brandishing a wand.) The “gallopIng horse-sound providing” coconuts from **Monty Python’s Holy Grail** ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2005, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-5-movie-props/292805/15 "2005-03-03T22:47:03Z")
Honestly, I think I agree with your top 2. I don’t think the Bond guns are distinctive enough and there have been many over the years. Ditto the car, while taken as a collective they are cool, but I can’t say there’s one distinctive version that resonates with everyone. The Vader costume is key. I’d put Dirty Harry’s .45 Magnum up there instead of Bond’s. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2005, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-5-movie-props/292805/16 "2005-03-03T22:54:16Z")
If not the Astin Martin, then that white submarine car thing. Surely that’s a thing that resonates with any Bond fan? Ditto on Dirty Harry’s gun. And, if they can be called props: what about Charlie Chaplin’s hat and cane? And (and and and) The X-wings and Tie Fighters? ---
**Author:** ![betenoir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@betenoir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betenoir)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2005, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-5-movie-props/292805/17 "2005-03-03T22:58:43Z")
How 'bout the briefcase in Pulp Fiction? ---
**Author:** ![bclouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@bclouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bclouse)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2005, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-5-movie-props/292805/18 "2005-03-03T23:27:39Z")
Wire coat hanger from **Mommy Dearest** Face hugger from **Alien** The spinner from **Blade Runner** (probably doesn’t count, but I think it’s cool) or Sean Young for that matter. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2005, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-5-movie-props/292805/19 "2005-03-03T23:35:25Z")
> [@Omniscient](#): > > I’d put Dirty Harry’s .45 Magnum up there instead of Bond’s. Not so omniscient after all. Dirty Harry carried a .44 Magnum. 😃 Is Bruce the Shark a prop or a character? (Jaws) The True Cross (Passion of the Christ) The shades (Men In Black) Wilson (Cast Away) ---
**Author:** ![Rufus\_Xavier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eada6e/32.png) [@Rufus\_Xavier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rufus_Xavier)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2005, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-5-movie-props/292805/20 "2005-03-03T23:35:29Z")
My top 5 horror movie props: 1. Freddie’s gloves 2. The Phantasm orb 3. The Hellraiser cube 4. The Chucky doll 5. The Alien face-hugger [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-5-movie-props/292805.md?page=2)