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Items on ‘The Crown’ -

The Netflix series 'The Crown' is a relatively recent phenomenon, but the costumes and props immediately gained iconic status. Items like the replica of the crown worn by Queen Elizabeth II at her coronation and Princess Diana's wedding dress should be protected like national treasures! Unfortunately, a number of items were stolen from three vans parked near the filming location of season 5.

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Items on ‘The Crown’ - The props taken include a replica of the 1897 Imperial Coronation coach egg by Fabergé, 12 sets of silver candelabra and seven gold candelabra, a clock face of a William IV grandfather clock, and St Louis gilt crystal glassware and decanters. It's estimated that the value of the stolen props is somewhere between US$150,000 and US$200,000. Police say the case has gone cold and there are no further leads as to the location of the missing items. 

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Hermione’s quill and parchment -

In ‘Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone’ (2001), Hermione is often seen scribbling away furiously in class. It turns out that 10-year-old Emma Watson was actually writing in the scenes, and her parchment was saved. A photo of it went viral in 2019 because what she wrote was unbearably cute.

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Hermione’s quill and parchment -

The parchment she wrote during Professor McGonagall's transfiguration class reads: “My name is Emma Charlotte Watson. I am ten years old and playing the part of Hermione Granger. I love this pen (quill). Proffser McGonigal the cat is beautiful. She is black and white. I wish I had a cat as a teacher.”

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The ruby red slippers -

Dorothy's ruby red slippers from the 1939 classic 'The Wizard of Oz' are one of the most iconic items from any movie, ever! Six or seven pairs were made for the production, and four remained in circulation after the movie came out. One pair is unaccounted for, and another pair was stolen from the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Minnesota.

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The ruby red slippers -

The slippers were stolen from the museum in 2005 and the police didn't come up with any successful leads. There were rumors that the thief had thrown them into a river, while others said that they had been sold on the black market. In 2015, an anonymous donor put up a finder's fee of US$1 million for the return of the slippers. They were finally found in 2018 after a police officer received a tip, but they never revealed where the shoes had been.

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Wolverine's claws -

When Hugh Jackman took on the role of Wolverine for the 'X-Men' franchise, he had to use real metal claws for certain scenes. The long, sharp appendages reportedly caused injuries to himself and his fellow cast members! Jackman still has scars on his thighs from where he accidentally cut himself.

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The shark -

A young Steven Spielberg hit the big time with his 1974 movie 'Jaws.' The producers wanted him to use a real shark, but Spielberg decided he wanted to use a mechanical shark to give the movie more possibilities. Unfortunately, this nearly sank the whole project!

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The shark -

Three mechanical sharks were made for filming and they all famously suffered disastrous malfunctions. One even sank to the bottom of the ocean! Spielberg was forced to figure out how to tell the story with minimal shots of the shark, and in the end he managed to create even greater suspense.

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The white dress -

The image of Marilyn Monroe standing over a grate and holding down the skirt of her white dress is familiar to everyone. It came from the 1955 comedy 'The Seven Year Itch.' In 2011, it was sold on eBay for US$4.6 million, making it the most expensive movie prop ever sold on the platform.

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Michael Myers's mask -

The creepy mask worn by fictional serial killer Michael Myers in 'Halloween' (1978) has surprisingly banal origins. The designers simply got a store-bought mask that was a mold of 'Star Trek' actor William Shatner's face.

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Wilson -

The Wilson brand volleyball that became Tom Hanks' only companion in the movie 'Cast Away' (2000) was a huge commercial hit. Wilson created a line of volleyballs that had the bloody handprint from the movie, and one of the volleyballs used for filming was sold for US$18,400.

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The Spider-Man suit -

For the first Spider-Man movie in 2002, the costume team produced four handmade suits for Toby Maguire. They were worth around US$50,000 each. But apparently the security at the Sony Pictures lot wasn't great, because all four suits disappeared!

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The Spider-Man suit -

Investigators honed in on an former Sony security guard after his ex-wife tipped off the police. They raided his house and found records that showed he had sold the suits to various collectors, and one was at a friend's house. They also found a Batman costume he had stolen from the Warner Bros. lot when he worked there as a security guard in the 1990s!

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The DeLorean -

The time-traveling DeLorean in the classic sci-fi movie series 'Back to the Future' is one of the most famous cars of all time. The idea came to life when the creators were trying to figure out how they'd transport the 'time chamber' to the different filming locations. Director Robert Zemeckis suggested they put it in a car so the transport would take care of itself!

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The DeLorean -

When choosing the car, they decided to go with a DeLorean, because the brand's owner John DeLorean was on trial for a cocaine scandal and was going out of business. This put the DeLorean at the forefront of the public consciousness, making it a cool reference in the movie!

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The flaming guitar -

One of the most bizarre characters in the 2015 movie 'Mad Max: Fury Road' has to be the blind guitar player attached to the front of a truck on bungee cords. If you look closely, you'll notice that the body of his flame-shooting guitar is made of bed pans! This was a careful choice made by the director, as all of the creations in this dystopian world should be made from salvaged items.

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The newspapers -

Those who paid very close attention to the newspapers in Wes Anderson's 'The Grand Budapest Hotel' (2014) may have noticed that they weren't any old newspapers. The quirky director wrote every page himself, from back to front. If you pause the movie when it shows a newspaper, you'll be able to read every individual story by Anderson.

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The newspapers, again -

'The Grand Budapest Hotel' isn't the only movie that has an interesting backstory to its newspapers. A sharp-eyed fan watching the 2007 movie 'No Country for Old Men' noticed that the newspaper seemed familiar. An identical newspaper popped up in the TV shows 'Modern Family' and 'Married with Children.' It comes from a prop company called Earl Hays Press and costs just US$15!

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The wood chipper -

The wood chipper scene is no doubt the most iconic in the Oscar-winning movie 'Fargo.' It shows a body being disposed of in a wood chipper, and in typical Coen brothers fashion it's both grim and hilarious. The famous wood chipper is still in the town of Fargo and is an official local tourist attraction!

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The Aston Martin -

James Bond is best known for his favorite cocktail and his excellent selection of cars. The Aston Martin DB5 from the movie 'Goldfinger' (1964) is one of the most loved. It's worth an estimated US$4 million, but no one knows where it is because it was stolen from an airport hangar in Florida in 1997.

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The Lotus Esprit -

Another iconic Bond car is the Lotus Esprit from 'The Spy Who Loved Me' (1977). It's used as a submarine car in the movie, and was actually successfully transformed to move underwater! However, it was only ever driven underwater by retired US Navy Seal Don Griffin, not Roger Moore.

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The Lotus Esprit -

When the movie was complete, the car was put in a storage unit with a 10-year lease. After 10 years, no one came to pick it up, so it got auctioned off. The contents of the locker were sold to a man who didn't know what was inside for just US$100. He later sold the car to Elon Musk for $100,000!

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The Maltese Falcon -

The Maltese Falcon is a particularly famous prop, and was even the subject of the movie 'The Maltese Falcon.' The real statuette is as elusive in real life as it was for Humphrey Bogart's P.I. Sam Spade. The movie came out in 1941, and the statuette disappeared for decades after that.

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The Maltese Falcon -

In the 1980s it resurfaced, apparently in the hands of a Beverly Hills oral surgeon. It did a world tour in the 1990s, and was eventually auctioned in 2013. There were rumors it might sell for as much as US$1 million, but in the end two veracious bidders drove the price up to $4.1 million. The winner was Las Vegas casino billionaire Steve Wynn. However, many speculate that this might not even be the real Maltese Falcon.

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Rosebud -

Rosebud in 'Citizen Kane' (1941) was so much more than a sled. It was a metaphor for lost innocence and the heartbreaking focus of the movie's final scene. Several sleds were made for the movie, but one was burned in a fire.

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Rosebud -

Another Rosebud was purchased by Steven Spielberg for US$60,500, and he reportedly keeps it displayed in his office.

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Gwyneth Paltrow's head -

In the 1995 movie 'Seven' starring Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, and Gwyneth Paltrow, we know that Paltrow's character meets a nasty end. In the final scenes, it's suggested that her severed head is inside a box, but we never see it. They did, however, make a model of her head.

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Gwyneth Paltrow's head -

Brad Pitt revealed that he would only sign the contract for his role in 'Seven' on the basis that the head would stay in the box! Although it never appeared in that movie, it was used in Steven Soderbergh's 2011 movie 'Contagion.' Paltrow's character falls victim to a deadly virus and the prop head was used in an autopsy scene.

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The boot -

Charlie Chaplin considered his 1925 comedy 'The Gold Rush' to be his signature movie. He plays a character simply known as 'The Tramp,' who becomes hungry and is desperate enough to eat his own boot.

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The boot -

Chaplin was a notorious perfectionist, and reports say that it took 63 takes over three days until he was satisfied with the boot-eating scene. The 20 prop boots he consumed were made of black liquorice, which apparently caused some unpleasant digestive side effects when consumed in that quantity...

Sources: (Mental Floss) (Cracked) (Ranker)

See also: The craziest souvenirs actors have taken from set

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