Ruby slippers

So it's no wonder people don't know what any of these things are.

Look, I've seen people describe the ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz as a prop.

That's not a prop.

Yeah.

The ruby slippers, that's a costume piece.

If they were being handed around, then they would be props maybe.

You know, my experience in a situation like that is the costume designer is not gonna let the prop master decide what the ruby slippers look like, you know? The costume designer is gonna wanna put their stamp on whatever that item is.

They're originally silver in the book is my understanding, the silver slippers.

It's no surprise that some of the most expensive movie props in history are also some of the most well-known recognizable props in history.

So again, as mentioned, lightsabers from Star Wars, Ruby Slippers from The Wizard of Oz, The DeLorean Time Machine and Hoverboard from Back to the Future, The Golden Ticket from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, The Heart of the Ocean from Titanic, Captain America's Shield from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Aztec Gold Coins from Pirates of the Caribbean, Wilson the Volleyball from Cast Away, The One Ring to Rule Them All from The Lord of the Rings, The Sled that Reveals Rosebud at the End of Citizen Kane, The spinning top from Inception.

The lamp in the shape of a leg from A Christmas Story.

I myself have a curio in my living room filled with some of my favorite props, and some of those aren't necessarily things that would be widely recognizable, but beyond the list of most well-known, we all have our favorite little things, like the ooze canister from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

This story is a mystery that involves a heist that happened right here in my home state of Minnesota.

It's the mystery of the stolen ruby slippers.

[dramatic music]

Ooh, a case.

She would go on to star in movie classics like Meet Me in St. Louis, Easter Parade, and A Star is Born.

But she will always be remembered as Dorothy Gale, the girl with bright ruby red slippers.

And it was those ruby slippers that became the center of a scandal the size of the Emerald City itself.

[trumpet music] Oh, no, I'm starting to dip back into my 1940s persona.