For lovers of movies, film props are not things just placed on the set- they’re pieces of film history. They are the things that make the worlds that we love become believable ones, from a pair of ruby red slippers to a lightsaber or a volleyball with a face painted on it. But sometimes these treasures do not get the proper ending of the fairy tale that they deserve. Over time, many of the most recognizable pieces have gone missing, been stolen, or simply left without a care in the world. Here are 10 of the most well-known cases–each with a narrative almost as over-the-top as the movies they came from.
10. Iron Man Suit (Iron Man, 2008)
I would have guessed that one of the most prop-guarded Hollywood artifacts is the Iron Man suit of Tony Stark; however, in 2018, the first red and gold Iron Man suit from the LOS Angeles storage facility disappeared. Its disappearance, which was estimated at $325,000, left Marvel fans and the police investigating bewildered. It still hasn’t been located today. Or is it a collector’s basement that it is locked away in, or at some forgotten place by now? Not a single person has the slightest idea.
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.