They are sketched out, improvised, or placed in scenes by the fate of logic, existing to serve the performances or action around them. But while iconic movie props make us laugh, gasp, scream, and/or sit in absolute silence, they rarely start iconic; as a property master will tell you, the best on-screen objects go unnoticed, silently winning you over with truth.
Well, call us obsessives, but we couldn’t help but notice. At a time in history when details go painfully overlooked, we slid movie history under a microscope to honor the simple joy of a perfect prop. And knowing every design choice big or small has an origin story, a past that ensured the movie around it would stick around for the future, we tracked down the stories of how they were made, from the people who made them.
We defined “prop” like they do on the set of a major motion picture: any object that a character interacts with during the action of a scene. We tried to be strict about it; on this list you won’t find Jason’s mask (costume), the time-traveling DeLorean (vehicle), Genie’s lamp (animated “prop”), or Kermit the Frog (technically puppet, but not, in context) on this list. You will find props that teeter on the edge of rule-breaking and the inevitable exclusion of your personal favorite in-bounds pick (the red violin from The Red Violin was this close). Our investigation saw us come up short on our favorite filmmakers, finding regions with disproportionate amounts of great props — the US loves its stuff — and defining what “iconic” truly means (our verdict: a combination of purpose, ingenuity, and legacy)…
Take the tour (and argue with the rankings, as surely you will) at: “The 100 greatest props in movie history, and the stories behind them.”
