For film enthusiasts, props aren’t mere set dressing—they’re bits of cinema history. They’re what transform the worlds we adore into realistic ones, from a pair of ruby red slippers to a lightsaber or a volleyball with a face painted on it. But occasionally, those treasures don’t have the fairy-tale ending they so rightly deserve. Through the years, numerous iconic props have disappeared, been stolen, or just discarded carelessly. Here are 10 of the most well-known cases—each with a tale nearly as melodramatic as the films they originated from.
10. Iron Man Suit (Iron Man, 2008)
You’d think Tony Stark’s armor would be one of the most heavily guarded props in Hollywood—but in 2018, the original red-and-gold Iron Man suit worn by Robert Downey Jr. vanished from a storage facility in Los Angeles. Valued at $325,000, its disappearance stunned Marvel fans and sparked a police investigation. To this day, it hasn’t been found. Is it locked away in some collector’s basement—or gathering dust somewhere forgotten? No one knows.
9. The Leg Lamp (A Christmas Story, 1983)
The leg lamp is one of the wackiest and most endearing holiday film props of all time. Sadly, none of the originals exist anymore. All of the lamps that were seen in the movie had either been destroyed or thrown out sometime during the ’90s, many years before anyone knew how iconic they’d become. Replicas now abound everywhere, but the genuine originals are lost forever—a bittersweet tragedy for fans of the holiday classic.
8. Wilson the Volleyball (Cast Away, 2000)
Who would have believed a volleyball could shatter our hearts? Wilson, Tom Hanks’ castaway friend, became an overnight pop culture sensation. One of the volleyballs used in filming was sold at auction for charity, but en route between exhibitions, it vanished. Although attempts were made to find it, Wilson remains lost. Appropriately poignant for a character we once bid farewell to out on the ocean.
7. The Heart of the Ocean (Titanic, 1997)
James Cameron’s Titanic provided us with a lot of memorable scenes, but not many props are as immediately recognizable as the glittering Heart of the Ocean necklace. While not actually a diamond, its symbolic value is huge. One of the original necklaces was lost in transit after filming, never to be seen again—just as unattainable as the actual treasure seekers from the movie might have wished.
6. The Golden Gun (The Man with the Golden Gun, 1974)
Few Bond bad guy guns are so cool—or so lethal—as Scaramanga’s golden gun. But in 2008, a prop from the original was pilfered from London’s Elstree Studios. Never recovered, despite probing, the gun remains one of the world’s most famous stolen objects. With how iconic it is, the theft seems like something out of a Bond movie—without resolution.
5. Captain America’s Chopper (Easy Rider, 1969)
Easy Rider’s Captain America motorcycle, complete with its stars-and-stripes gas tank, is the ultimate symbol of counterculture. Four were made for the film—but before the film even opened, three were hijacked at gunpoint from storage. They were probably stripped for parts, not yet realizing their true worth. Only one bike remained, rebuilt after being partially destroyed in the movie. That survivor sold for $1.35 million in 2014, but the others have vanished forever.
4. The Death Star Model (Star Wars: A New Hope, 1977)
The Death Star was destroyed on screen, but the model upon which it was created met a similarly dramatic fate in the real world. Sent to storage after production, it was almost discarded when the studio ceased paying rent. A fast-thinking employee saved it, and it later found its way into a Missouri antique store before being purchased by a short-lived space-themed stage revue. Its history has been unclear ever since. A galaxy far, far away—or possibly just somebody’s attic.
3. Aston Martin DB5 (Goldfinger, 1964)
James Bond’s silver Aston Martin DB5 is the greatest movie car of all, with gadgets aplenty. After its auction in 1986, the vehicle was stored in a Florida hangar until 1997, when robbers staged a dramatic theft and disappeared with it. Detectives subsequently tracked it to a Middle East collection, but its whereabouts remain a mystery. As with any decent Bond scheme, the intrigue is left unsolved.
2. Luke Skywalker’s Lightsaber (Star Wars: A New Hope, 1977)
The very first lightsaber on-screen was assembled from an old camera flash handle—a humble origin for one of the cinema’s most iconic weapons. Unfortunately, the prop disappeared after shooting. George Lucas himself confessed that many of the Star Wars props were lost or thrown away in the early days, when no one foresaw their worth. Collectors have been searching for years, but the original saber remains out there—if it ever existed at all.
1. Ruby Slippers (The Wizard of Oz, 1939)
Dorothy’s ruby slippers may be the most iconic film props ever made, but their actual history is as sensational as anything in Oz. Dozens of pairs were constructed, but one pair was swiped from the Judy Garland Museum in Minnesota in 2005. They were gone for 13 years, until the FBI rediscovered them in 2018. Others were almost discarded after shooting, saved only by collectors. With only a few authentic pairs to be found, the ruby slippers are one of Hollywood’s most valued—and most endangered—treasures.
Of these lost props, which would you most love to see reappear? From ruby slippers to lightsabers, the histories of these lost artifacts remind us how tenuous movie history is—and how wondrous it feels when even a prop can become legend.