The Missing Movie Prop

Iron Man Suit Stolen Last Week

Movie props go missing all the time. Some are valueless while others can fetch lots of cash. For example, last week the Los Angeles Police Department launched an investigation into the disappearance of the $325,000 suit from the 2008 Iron Man movie.

Over the years, thousands of props have gone AWOL, a few of the more interesting ones, include:

- Wizard of Oz - Ruby Slippers. A number of pairs of the famous sparkle red shoes were made for the 1939 classic. One pair was stolen in 2005 from the Judy Garland exhibit that was touring in Minnesota. Currently a $1 million reward is offered for information regarding the whereabouts of the shoes.

- World War Z - Cows.  Yes, believe it or not during the 2013 shooting of the film a pair of fiberglass cows, used in several scenes, were stolen from the set - go figure?

- Goldfinger - Aston Martin DB5. There were four Astons used during the filming of 'Goldfinger' in 1964. One of the original cars was actually a DB4 and was stolen in 1997 from the residence in Florida - it had been insured for $4.5 million and has never been recovered.

Lee as Scaramanga with Golden Gun

- The Goonies - Treasure Map. When filming ended, Sean Astin, who starred in the movie, asked, and was allowed, to take and keep 'One-Eyed Willies' treasure map.  Some years later, Astin related that his mother, the actor Patty Duke, threw the map in the trash, thinking it was just a piece of scrap paper.

- Easy Rider - Choppers. Four motorcycles were used in the filming of the '69 classic starring Fonda, Nicholson, and Hopper. Three of the bikes were stolen before the movie was released! The remaining bike sold at auction for $1.62 million in 2014.

- Man With The Golden Gun - Golden Gun. From the 1975 Bond film, one of the four guns, valued at $136,000, which were used by the film's villain, Scaramanga (portrayed by Christopher Lee) was stolen and has never been recovered.

And so it goes. Many, many props disappear from movie sets and prop rooms. In some cases, the value of the prop can be in the millions depending upon the film, how it was used, and by which person in the movie. From clothes, to guns, to cars, to superhero suits anything is up-for-'grabs'.

Just saying,
Jim Lavorato