I was watching Bogie and Lauren Bacall in the movie “Key Largo” on cable a few months ago and lo and behold, what did I see on a table: One of those old heavy metal typewriters I’d come across at auction.
As I recall, it was an Underwood typewriter, a monstrous beauty in black. I’d stumbled onto several of them at various auction houses over the years. The movie was made in 1948, and the typewriter had been around since the early 1900s.
The typewriter was a movie prop, but it was being used in real time in the movie. I love old classical movies, and I watch them a lot on TCM. That movie got me to wondering about what props I could spot in other old movies (and some new period movies). My interest went from the plot and characters to what’s in a room or on a table or hanging on a wall, even what someone was wearing.
That was an adventure in itself, and the movies took on new meaning. Why were particular items used and what were they supposed to signify? What “feel” did the director want me the moviegoer to experience based on the props? Where did they come from?
Since I live so far away from Hollywood, I’d likely never find any actual (and highly collectible) props used in a movie like “Key Largo.” The site about.com offered some tips on collecting props, movie posters, autographs, celebrity memorabilia and more. The items can run from a few dollars to very expensive, and would-be collectors were warned to be aware of fakes.
One of the most expensive movie props was one of several maltese falcons (not the original) used in the 1941 movie “The Maltese Falcon,” with Humphrey Bogart. It was auctioned off in 1994 and purchased by Harry Winston jewelers in New York for $398,500.
I also found an interview on the site Collectors Weekly about a company in Hollywood called History for Hire that rents props to movies directors. The company provides old props for new movies – some of which it buys on Ebay or at antique and other shops – and makes props for period movies. Here’s an interesting interview with a horror movie prop collector.
Here are some movies I watched and my “auction finds” in them:
Key Largo (1948)
A man visits an old friend and the friend’s daughter at their hotel, and discovers a fugitive gangster holding them hostage. Stars Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Edward G. Robinson, Lionel Barrymore.
Auction find: Typewriter on a table in the hotel.
Crime of Passion (1957)
An ambitious newspaper reporter marries an unambitious police detective and schemes to get him promoted, even to the point of murder. Stars Barbara Stanwyck, Sterling Hayden, Raymond Burr, Fay Wray.
Auction find: A rotary phone rings, Stanwyck answers it.
The Phantom Tollbooth (1970)
An animated movie about Milo, a bored little boy who discovers a toll booth in his bedroom and drives through it to a world of adventure. Stars Butch Patrick.
Auction find: Milo passes a metronome on his trip to the castle in the sky.
Fanny (1961)
A young pregnant French woman marries an older man after the child’s father sails off to sea. Trouble erupts when he returns home. Stars Leslie Caron, Maurice Chevalier, Horst Buchholz, Charles Boyer.
Auction find: Blue seltzer bottle on the counter inside a small bar in Marseilles.
The Doctor and the Girl (1950)
A New York doctor, indifferent to his patients, changes after marrying one of them. Stars Glenn Ford, Janet Leigh, Charles Coburn, Gloria DeHaven.
Auction find: A poor immigrant woman gives the doctor a Mason jar of canned food – with fabric covering the top – as payment.
Caught Plastered (1931)
Two vaudevillians take over a failing drugstore in a small town. Stars Bert Wheeler, Robert Woolsey.
Auction find: A female customer wears a mink collar around her neck.
Night Must Fall (1937)
A psychological drama about an abusive woman, a man who manipulates her and the niece who sees through him. Stars Robert Montgomery, Rosalind Russell, Dame May Whitty.
Auction find: A needlepoint sampler is on a stand near the fireplace.
Honeydripper (2007)
A small-town night club owner tries to save his place by bringing in a big-name blues singer. Stars Danny Glover, Charles S. Dutton, Lisa Gay Hamilton.
Auction find: Inside a seamstress’ sewing room are her sewing machine (probably a Singer) and Dutton sweet-talking her into making an outfit for the blues singer.
The Miracle Worker (1962)
A woman tries to teach and train the deaf and blind Helen Keller. Stars Anne Bancroft, Patty Duke.
Auction find: Bancroft uses an eye cup to rinse her eyes with medicine.
George Washington Slept Here (1942)
A New York couple move to a farmhouse where George Washington may have slept. The house itself is a dilapidated mess. Stars Jack Benny, Ann Sheridan, Charles Coburn, Hattie McDaniel.
Auction find: Four of the characters, obviously drunk, sit at a table singing as they pass around a whiskey jug.
