The iconic fedora donned by Harrison Ford in 1984’s Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom sold at auction for $375,000. Though Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom was the second film in the series, it’s actually a prequel to the first film, Raiders of the Lost Ark, which came out in 1981. It was directed by Steven Spielberg from a story by George Lucas, and it stars Harrison Ford and Kate Capshaw. The story takes place in 1935 as Jones finds himself stranded in India, where he is tasked with finding a mystical stone that was stolen by a cult that performs dark rituals and human sacrifices. Temple of Doom became notorious for its graphic content while still being rated PG, and it helped to create the PG-13 rating that now exists.
Indiana Jones, as a character, has become synonymous with having specific elements as part of the outfit, most notably his whip and, of course, his fedora. The character loves the fedora to the point of risking life and limb just to save it. In Temple of Doom, Jones can be seen reaching under a rapidly closing stone wall where his arm was almost crushed just so that he could get his beloved hat. In the fourth installment, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, the fedora was even utilized near the end of the film as Shia LaBeouf’s Mutt picks the hat up and almost puts it on before Indy takes it and wears it himself. While the scene was meant to hint at the possible passing of the baton to a new adventurer in the future, it goes to show just how important the fedora is in the world of Indiana Jones.
The Prop Store, a company that sells famous props and costumes from movies, tweeted a photo congratulating the lucky bidder. The photo features the fedora from Temple of Doom as well as one of the mystical stones and a clapperboard (or slate) from the film. The clapperboard also features details from filming, such as the date and producer Frank Marshall’s name. Check out the photo below:
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Fans collecting movie memorabilia is nothing new, as a business like the Prop Store thrives on it. The statuette of the Maltese Falcon sold for $4 million, and the lightsaber used by Luke Skywalker in Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back sold for $450,000. With money like that exchanging hands, items from classic films can be extremely valuable to the right collector. When the Prop Store’s auction was first announced, the Temple of Doom fedora was expected to sell for around $250,000, but with rabid collectors exchanging bids, that figure went up to the final sale price of $375,000.
Indiana Jones 5 is currently filming with Ford once again donning the iconic hat for the role. This is likely to be Ford’s last outing as the character being that he is 78 years old, which again asks the question as to whether the fedora will be passed down to the next great explorer to step in for Jones. Details about the fifth film are still being tightly guarded, but it’s bound to generate profitable movie memorabilia of its own. Audiences will get to see Ford in the stylish fedora one last time when Indiana Jones 5 is released next year.
Key Release Dates
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
Release Date:2023-06-30
