Throughout the years, a number of famous film memorabilia have been preserved for selected movie buffs and sold at auction for eye-watering amounts.
Many of these iconic film props include the original Darth Vader mask, Buddy the Elf’s costume and even the lightsabre from Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. One fan even got the chance to take home Marilyn Monroe’s unforgettable white dress for a staggering £2.8million.
Even though the once-white dress has become tarnished with time, and is now discoloured due to age, that didn’t stop it from selling at auction in 2011.
Although it was regarded as one of the most expensive movie costumes ever worn, it missed out on the top spot and is only third on the famous list. In second place is Robby the Robot from the 1956 blockbuster Forbidden Planet.
One of the notable characters from the pioneering sci-fi movie was the seven-foot-tall Robby, who was portrayed as the kind and humorous assistant to Dr. Morbius (played by Walter Pidgeon).
The robot, known for its unique design, went on to rake up more than 20 film and TV credits after Forbidden Planet, including The Twilight Zone and Lost in Space.
After becoming a recognized and beloved character in pop culture, Robby went to auction in New York in 2017 and sold for £4million.
The ruby red slippers from The Wizard of Oz snatched the top spot as the most expensive film prop to ever be sold – fetching an eye-watering £22million.
Only four pairs of the glittering heels used in the 1939 movie are known to have survived, and a pair sold at auction in 2012 for £1.2m.
They were purchased by Leonardo DiCaprio, Steven Spielberg, and a number of other ‘angel donors’, according to a press release at the time, with the generous group opting to donate them to the museum of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures.
But in December 2024, another pair went to auction with staggering results. This pair had been stolen during a 2005 break-in at the Judy Garland Museum and recovered by the FBI in September 2018.
It is understood they had been expected to staggering a whopping £2.4m. Known as the “Holy Grail of Hollywood memorabilia”, the sparkling slippers eventually sold for a staggering £22million, making them the most valuable piece of screen memorabilia ever to sell at auction.
