The most expensive movie memorabilia after Wizard of Oz’s ruby slippers

There’s no place like a prestige auction house. Dorothy’s ruby slippers from the Wizard of Oz sold for a staggering $US28 million over the weekend.

It was an eye-popping amount for money not just because it is one of four pairs still known to exist, which makes it the opposite of unique, but because it went for so, so much more than any other piece of movie memorabilia. It wasn’t even close.

The auction house didn’t disclose the identity of the cashed-up buyer, who ended up paying well above the $US10m it was expecting to pull.

There are many pieces of Hollywood history scattered across museums (the National Museum of American History in Washington D.C. has another pair of the ruby slippers on display) and private collections, and some of them have fetched what was top dollar.

JAMES BOND’S ASTON MARTIN

An anonymous buyer paid $US6.3m for a 1965 Aston Martin DB5 that was used by Eon Productions in its promotional photos for the fourth film, Thunderball. It hadn’t even appeared in a film but it was one of four made for the early Bond movies. Only three are still around.

ROBBY THE ROBOT

With its glass dome head and bubbled appendages, Robby was a scene-stealer in sci-fi classic, Forbidden Planet, one of the most influential movies of the genre. Robby cost about $US100,000 to build in 1956 but it was sold in 2017 for $US5.3m, setting a then-record.

MY FAIR LADY DRESS

Audrey Hepburn’s ascot dress would be iconic on its own but its value over time likely increased because it was in the collection of Debbie Reynolds, who was an avid collector. Reynolds bought the dress for $US100,000 in the late 90s, and then sold it in 2011 for $US4.4 million.

THE SEVEN YEAR ITCH DRESS

Even if you’ve never seen or heard of The Seven Year Itch, you know the image of Marilyn Monroe’s white halter dress lifted up by the wind from the subway grate beneath her. It is one of the most indelible pictures in movie history. That dress was also in Debbie Reynolds’ collection and was sold in 2011 for $US4.6m.

THE MALTESE FALCON

In the movie, people would kill for the Maltese falcon statuette that Humphrey Bogart’s Sam Spade was hired to find. In real life, there was no such threat but there was plenty of money being thrown around. It sold in 2013 for $US4.08m plus a buyer’s premium of $US585,000. Two statues were made for the movie but a small dent marked this one as the one that actually appeared on film.

CASABLANCA PIANO

There are so many memorable moments and lines from Casablanca but a highlight has to be Sam, sitting at the piano and playing “As Time Goes By”. For their $US3.4m, the buyer got not only a piece of movie history but a wad of chewing hum still stuck to the underside, it even has a mysterious someone’s fingerprint impressed in it.

X-WING MODEL

The most expensive piece of Star Wars memorabilia ever sold, this X-Wing model was long thought to be lost until it was discovered among the collection of Oscar-nominated model maker Greg Jein, who had in 2022. Used in the final act battle scene in A New Hope, it was found in a cardboard box in Jein’s garage.

COWARDLY LION COSTUME

Dorothy’s ruby slippers aren’t the only desirable props from Wizard of Oz. The Cowardly Lion costume worn by actor Bert Lahr was made from real lion skin and fur and had, at one point, being abandoned in a old MGM Studios building.

R2-D2 DROID

A 110cm tall R2-D2 that was used across several Star Wars movies was sold in 2017 for $US2.7m. It was the most expensive item in a Star Wars props auction that also included Luke Skywalker’s lightsabre from A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back and Darth Vader’s helmet.