Shortly before she was melted by water, the Wicked Witch of the West threatens a captured Dorothy with this carved wood and papier mache hourglass in the 1939 epic film, The Wizard of Oz. The iconic prop, which appeared in other productions and museum exhibitions, earned top lot honors when it sold for $495,000.
Review by Madelia Hickman Ring, Photos Courtesy Heritage Auctions
DALLAS – Iconic costumes and props from some of history’s most famous films were just some of the noteworthy highlights in Heritage Auctions’ Hollywood & Entertainment Signature Auction on December 17, which earned a blockbuster-worthy $7,924,188 with more than 350 lots crossing the block successfully. Brian Chanes, senior director of Hollywood & Entertainment at Heritage confirmed there had been a lot of international competition, estimating that overseas bidders accounted for about 40 percent of the action.
“We’re super thrilled with it, frankly,” said Chanes. “It’s a great way to cap off the year. The thing is…what we sell brings smiles. It’s all nostalgia, reminds people of a time in their life and it’s a blast to handle things from those formative moments.”
Four lots in the sale were featured in one of the most popular films of all time, MGM’s 1939 classic, The Wizard of Oz. Clocking in at the auction’s top price of $495,000 was the 20-inch-tall carved wood and papier mache hourglass the Wicked Witch of the West – brilliantly portrayed by Margaret Hamilton – holds aloft before telling the captured Dorothy how much longer she will be alive. The scene is a pivotal plot twist in the film that culminates in her rescue by the Tin Man, Scarecrow and Cowardly Lion.
Multiple versions of the hourglass were made, including a resin and wood example as well as this lighter version, which was used for the epic sequence when the witch holds the hourglass aloft during the quartet’s dramatic escape from the castle. Rendered in a Gothic style, the hourglass was used by MGM in other productions, including Babes on Broadway (1941), Diane (1956) and 7 Faces of Dr. Lao (1964). It was also featured in three museum exhibitions: Los Angeles Public Library’s Getty Gallery (2000); Farnsworth Art Museum, Rockland, Maine (2014), and Figge Art Museum, Davenport, Iowa (2016).
One of the most memorable scenes in John Hughes’ 1986 cult classic, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off featured a Ferrari 250 GT California car to shoot backward through the wall of a garage and crash to the ground below. Rather than destroy a real car, replica models were made, including this one, that was used solely for the scene before being rebuilt. It raced to $337,500.
Chanes confirmed that the buyer of the hourglass was a private collector and existing client of Heritage.
A prototype “Dorothy Gale” blue and white checked gingham pinafore dress with fitted bodice and shoulder straps, nearly four inches longer than the one that would be worn by Judy Garland throughout the film was another piece from the movie in the auction. It had been designed by MGM’s lead designer, Adrian, whose creations were largely more glamorous, but the simple costume perfectly captured the down-home, earthy innocence of Dorothy’s farm girl and has become one of the most iconic costumes in the history of American film. It brought $125,000. Earning $37,500 was a jacket worn by an Emerald City townsman, while a one-of-a-kind life-size display latex and foam model of a Flying Monkey rose to $6,875.
Another iconic movie – Paramount’s 1956 award-winning The Ten Commandments – was represented in the sale by just two lots, but one of them, the vintage calf-length woven goat hair robe worn by Charlton Heston, earned a second place finish at $447,000. The red, white and black color palette of the robe were the exact colors of the tribe of Levi, the actual tribe of Moses, a detail coincidental to the initial design. The other Ten Commandments lot in the sale, a vintage iron branding iron prop with wooden dowel handle, made its mark at $1,250.
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (Paramount, 1986) was another movie with just two lots in the sale, but both appeared in the roster of top prices. Driving to $337,500 was a prop replica Ferrari “250 GT California” used in crash scene towards the end of the film. The production used three “kit car” replicas of the Ferrari 250 GT California; the one sold by Heritage was built and used solely for the memorable sequence as it hurled backwards through the glass of the garage before crashing to the ground below. Following production, the car was rebuilt as a display piece. Lacking an engine and drivetrain, the replica consists of a fiberglass body bolted to a rolling chassis with cosmetically finished interior and tires mounted on chrome wire wheels. It was noted in the auction catalog that the original car used in the film sold for $396,000 when it was sold by another auction house in Scottsdale in 2020.
MGM’s lead designer, Adrian, made several versions of Dorothy’s plain blue and white gingham pinafore dress before the final one that was worn on screen in The Wizard of Oz. An original prototype dress, which is distinguishable from the final version by the length of the hem, finished at $125,000.
The knit wool sweater vest worn memorably by Matthew Broderick’s “Ferris Bueller” throughout the film was the second of the two lots on offer and found a new home for $143,750.
Other vehicles – replicated props, modified originals or scale models – were among more of the sale’s top highlights. Topping the rest of the category at $212,500 was a modified 1961 Volkswagen Beetle from the 1980 Disney movie, Herbie Goes Bananas. Modifications included a second linked gearshift lever mounted in the padded rear section of the car where the back seat was removed, allowing the car’s operator to shift gears from the back position to make it appear as though the car was driving itself. The car has a four-cylinder air-cooled engine with manual transmission and some dings and dents accumulated during production.
The same price of $212,500 was achieved by the 1991 Harley-Davidson FLSTF Fat Boy motorcycle that was ridden by Arnold Schwarzenegger’s “Terminator” character in Terminator 2: Judgment Day (Carolco, 1991). Used in promotional material for the film as well as on-screen, it is arguably one of the most famous motorcycles in movie history. The wear that came with age and use included oxidation to the paint, pitting to chrome brightwork, surface scratches and minor dings and dents to the front and rear fenders from production, with a missing left side mirror; none of these appeared to negatively impact its value, and in fact likely contributed to it more.
An even ten lots that spanned the Star Wars movie franchise came across the block, led at $175,000 by a scale model and the first 3-D Y-wing ever built, the pattern created by Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) and used for the original Star Wars: A New Hope and Return of the Jedi films. The only Master pattern/Hero Buck model made, it was designed beginning in 1976 by a team, but was damaged around 1982, during the production of Return of the Jedi and subsequently discarded. The model’s seller, who worked alongside chief mold-maker Wesley Seeds during a more than 20-year career at ILM, recognized its importance and rescued it from the trash.
This prop velociraptor claw was one of two lots from Jurassic Park (Universal, 1993). Measuring 5 inches long and made of black-painted cast resin, it clawed out a strong $75,000.
Other Star Wars-related lots included an original studio-sanctioned Darth Vader promotional costume that was made by N.J. Farmer Associates in England and used in media tours for the Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi (1980 and 1983); it made an even $50,000, the same price realized by a Jakku quarterstaff used by Daisy Ridley’s character, “Rey,” in the 2015 movie, Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens.
Another franchise that saw memorabilia on offer was that of James Bond, the British secret agent created in 1953 by British novelist, Ian Fleming. To date, 25 James Bond films have been made, with the title character played memorably by no fewer than six actors. Four lots were in the sale, including a Thai release poster for Dr. No ($4,250) and a 13-piece group of original artwork ($1,250), but what really got bidders’ hearts racing was what Heritage dubbed, “The Most Famous Bikini in the World,” the ivory cotton two-piece swimsuit worn by Ursula Andress, who played “Honey Ryder” in the franchise’s first film, Dr. No. Three bidders chased the iconic swimsuit – which is accompanied by a replica white British Army web belt with brass buckles and fitting hardware and a replica US military diving knife and scabbard on the left side – to what may be a world record for a bathing suit: $300,000 and the fourth highest result of the event.
Hacking its way to a fifth place finish at $275,000 was an original Claymore-style sword crafted by armorer Simon Atherton for Mel Gibson to carry in the 1995 Paramount historical drama, Braveheart. The lot was constructed of a metal blade, hand guard and pommel with leather accent above the handguard and a leather-wrapped handle and was accompanied by a leather sheath on a sling for Gibson to wear on its back.
Academy awards, known most familiarly as “Oscars,” rarely come to market so the presence of two in the sale warrants mention. Earning $162,500 was the Best Supporting Actor award earned by Edmund Gwenn for his performance as “Kris Kringle” in the 1947 holiday classic, Miracle on 34th Street. It was the role the British actor, who starred in nearly 100 films, was best remembered for and which co-star Maureen O’Hara commented “…by the time we were halfway through the shoot, we all believed Edmund really was Santa Claus. I’ve never seen an actor more naturally suited for a role.”
Modern movie memorabilia lots would be remiss without mention of the blockbusting Marvel Studios franchises. This “Captain America” screen-used Vibranium shield, used by Chris Evans in Avengers: Endgame, attracted competition from 11 bidders and came to rest at $162,500.
The iconic statuette was originally sculpted by George Stanley from Cedric Gibbons’ original clay design and cast in Britannia metal by Sachin Smith, which was then plated in copper, nickel silver and, finally, 24K gold. Originally cast in 1928 at the C.W. Shumway & Sons Foundry in Batavia, Ill., since 1983, Oscars have been made annually by R.S. Owens & Co in Chicago. However, when metals were in short supply during World War II, the figures were cast in plaster and finished with bronze-metal flaked lacquer and ebony paint. Recipients were expected to turn their statuettes in after the war once materials were more plentiful, and the first war-time example Heritage had ever offered brought $25,000.
The only piece from Disney’s 1964 children’s classic, Mary Poppins, was a candy-colored striped jacket worn by Dick Van Dyke as “Bert” in the “Jolly Holiday” sequence; it had been auctioned in 1993 by Butterfield & Butterfield but rose to $200,000 when Heritage offered it. Van Dyke’s co-star, Julie Andrews, followed her role as “Mary Poppins” with that of “Maria” in The Sound of Music (Twentieth Century Fox, 1965). Four lots from that movie were in the auction, most notably a vintage dirndl dress worn in the sequence when the Von Trapp children sing “So Long, Farewell,” which said “goodbye” at $100,000. It was followed at $93,750 by vintage Goya model F-19 six-string acoustic guitar, which featured prominently in the “Do-Re-Mi” sequence.
More than two dozen lots were connected in one way or another to screen icon, Marilyn Monroe, who is a perennial favorite among collectors. Four costumes she’d worn in four separate movies were presented and all found new homes. For $100,000 was her pearl-encrusted mermaid gown from The Prince and the Showgirl (Warner Bros, 1957); a two-piece beige crepe jumper she wore as “Angela Phinlay” in The Asphalt Jungle (MGM, 1950) crept to $75,000; her “Lorelei Lee” showgirl leotard worn for the promotion of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (MGM, 1953) danced to $50,000; and, from Don’t Bother to Knock, a belted shirt dress from her role as “Nell Forbes” that achieved $25,000.
Heritage Auctions’ next Hollywood & Entertainment auction will take place in summer 2023, dates TBA.
Prices quoted include the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. For information, 214-528-3500 or www.ha.com.
