10 Iconic Movie Props That Were Lost or Stolen
Movie history is full of famous objects that were misplaced, stolen, argued over, or quietly disappeared while their value climbed into the millions. Some eventually resurfaced in storage rooms or during sting operations, while others remain at large. Here are 10 iconic movie props that wandered off and took their mystique with them.
Dorothy’s Gingham Dress
Credit: IMDb
Long after filming wrapped on The Wizard of Oz, the blue-and-white dress worn by Judy Garland vanished from a university archive in Washington, DC. The costume had been donated in 1973, then disappeared for decades. In 2021, it was discovered sitting in a garment bag above faculty mailboxes during a renovation. The dress was later sold at auction for $480,000.
Captain America Chopper
Credit: IMDb
The red, white, and blue motorcycle from Easy Rider comes with confusion baked in. Multiple bikes were built, several were destroyed, and at least two surviving motorcycles have been claimed as the real one. Actor Peter Fonda publicly questioned both claims when rival bikes were sold at auction. One example sold for $1.35 million in 2014, while another, despite doubts over authenticity, later sold for $255,000.
Ruby Slippers
Credit: Wikimedia Commons
A pair of ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz disappeared from the Judy Garland Museum in Minnesota in 2005. The shoes were insured for millions and vanished without a trace for 13 years. The thief, Terry Jon Martin, pleaded guilty in October 2023, and the slippers were returned in 2024. Experts have valued similar pairs at up to $5 million due to rarity and cultural impact.
Bullitt Mustang
Credit: Reddit
The Ford Mustang that tore through the streets of San Francisco in Bullitt became a holy grail for car enthusiasts after it fell out of public view. One of the two cars used during filming was scrapped, while the hero car lived with private owners for decades. It reappeared in 2018 to promote a special-edition Mustang and was sold in 2020 for $3.4 million.
Aston Martin DB5
Credit: Wikipedia
The gadget-loaded Aston Martin from Goldfinger was purchased for $250,000 in 1986 and stored at a Florida airport. It vanished in 1997 without signs of forced entry, which raised suspicions of an inside job. Investigators later suggested the car may be in the Middle East, though its exact location remains unclear. Today, the car’s value is estimated to exceed $20 million.
The Maltese Falcon Statuette
Credit: IMDb
Several falcon statues were created for the 1941 film starring Humphrey Bogart. Casino owner Steve Wynn paid $4.1 million for one example that Warner Bros. believed to be authentic. A 2016 investigation concluded that certainty may be impossible due to the absence of production records.
Chevy Chevelle Malibu
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The black 1964 Chevelle driven by John Travolta in Pulp Fiction was stolen from outside Quentin Tarantino’s home in 1994. At the time, the film had not yet become a cultural phenomenon. Police recovered the car 19 years later during an unrelated investigation and returned it to Tarantino after confirming its identity.
Golden Gun
Credit: IMDb
In 2008, the sleek assassin weapon used by Christopher Lee in The Man With the Golden Gun disappeared from Elstree Studios. The prop had been displayed publicly and was valued at around $162,000. Despite searches and publicity, the gun has never been recovered.
Spider-Man Suits
Credit: IMDb
During the production of Spider-Man, four suits worn by Tobey Maguire vanished from a movie set in 2001. Each suit was valued at $50,000 due to custom materials and hand-applied details. Two years later, a former security guard and an accomplice were arrested, and authorities recovered at least three suits.
Iron Man Suit
Credit: IMDb
Robert Downey Jr.’s gold-and-red suit in Iron Man went missing from a Los Angeles warehouse in 2018. The disappearance was discovered months after the suit was last inventoried. Valued at over $300,000, the suit remains unrecovered, with no arrests announced yet.