1.
Larry Talbot's Cane from The Wolf Man. My interest in this prop isn't because I'm a huge fan of the movie. Don't get me wrong...I like
The Wolf Man, but it wouldn't rank among my top 5 Universal horror classics. However, Larry's wolf-head silver cane--which ultimately becomes the weapon used to kill him--is just so
cool. The actual prop was made of cast rubber and painted silver. Bob Burns, who has amassed a treasure trove of movie props, owns the original. Universal make-up artist and prop master Ellis Berman gave him the cane in 1948 when Bob was 13. You can buy replicas of it now.
2.
Charles Foster Kane's Snow Globe from Citizen Kane. Yes, the Rosebud sled is the most famous prop from the movie, but let's be honest, I don't know where I'd store a sled. The globe, with its little snow-covered house, figures into one of the film's most iconic scenes as it falls from Kane's hand to the floor and smashes. You can buy a replica of it, too, for under $40.
3.
The Portrait from Laura. Who wouldn't want the famous painting of Gene Tierney hanging over their fireplace? Actually, it's not technically a painting. Director Otto Preminger didn't think portraits photographed well, so he had a photo of Gene Tierney "smeared with oil paint to soften the outlines." The "portrait" was used in two other films as well:
On the Riviera (1951) (in which you can see it in color) and
Woman's World (1954)--which doesn't even star Gene Tierney.
4.
The Maltese Falcon sculpture. It may be the second most famous prop in movie history (topped only by the ruby slippers). A Las Vegas hotel magnate bought the original Falcon at auction in 2013 for $4.1 million. That put it way out of my price range! However,
Vanity Fair later published an interesting
article about other supposedly real Falcons used in the movie, too. It's all very mysterious. I'd like one, but, heck, even a solid resin knockoff on Amazon runs around $119. That's not what my dreams are made of.
5.
The Hourglass from The Wizard of Oz. Naturally, I thought about the ruby slippers and I even considered the big crystal globe in which the Witch spies on Dorothy. In the end, though, I opted for the hourglass because it scared the crap out of me as a kid when the Witch turned it over and told Dorothy: "Do you see that? That's how much longer you've got to be alive. And it isn't long, my pretty. It isn't long."
1. Atticus Finch's Pocket Watch. I pondered opting for the whole box of treasures shown in the opening credits of To Kill a Mockingbird--but that seemed greedy. Plus, I love the scene where Atticus tucks Scount in her bed and she asks to play with his pocket watch. He explains that he will leave the watch to Jem, as it's a father-son tradition, and she will receive her mother's pearls. And if Atticus's watch isn't available, I'll settle for the one that the kids find in the knot hole in the tree (shown on right).
2. James Bond's Walther PPK Pistol. Agent 007 first brandishes his trademark firearm in Dr. No, but it appears in many subsequent films. Some firearms experts claim the gun used in Dr. No is the PP model and not the PPK as identified in the film. I don't know about that. By the way, one of my friends has a space suit that was used in Moonraker. It's not overly impressive up close, proving once again that cinema is all about creating illusions on the silver screen.
3. James Stewart's Camera from Rear Window. My movie prop collection would have to include something from one of my favorite Hitchcock movies. So, why not the camera--and telephoto lens--used by James Stewart's character in Rear Window? The Exakta Varex VX with a Kilfitt Fern-Kilar f/5.6 400mm lens plays an integral part to the plot. Not only does Stewart employ it to spy on his neighbors, but he uses the flash to temporarily blind Raymond Burr during the climax.
4. The Box containing the "Great Whatzit" from Kiss, Me Deadly. Sure, it's just a leather-wrapped box...but it's also one of cinema's most famous movie "MacGuffins." Incidentally, I am not interested in the contents of the box, which apparently consisted of radioactive materials that led to the (literally) explosive ending.
5. A Model of the Submarine Seaview from Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea. I suspect many of you would opt for the Nautilus from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea if interested in a submarine model. However, as a kid, I loved Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, both the 1961 film and subsequent TV series. There were actually several different-sized models built of the Seaview. I'd go for one of the smaller ones due to storage space. I have a photo of one of them, courtesy of a fan letter I wrote to 20th Century Fox when I was 8 years old.
