Movie props redux ... Thanks to Whitney Matheson

USA Today entertainment blogger, Whitney Matheson, whose Pop Candy is sweet enough for a cavity, named 10 great movie props in her posting Aug. 27, which can be viewed here. The list — which included Indiana Jones’ tan fedora, the rug that “really tied the room together” in The Big Lebowski and Darth Vader’s lightsaber — included all the heavyweights, as well as some lightweights, like Steve Martin’s paddle-ball game from The Jerk.

At the end she challenged readers to make their own list. Here you go, Whitney. As for my own readers, the few of you out there, I challenge you to produce your own list for me, or on Whitney’s page.

Here is my list:

10. Raiders’ idol — Whitney was right when picking an Indiana Jones prop, but I would have picked the whip before the hat, and the gold idol from Raiders of the Lost Ark before the whip. The idol is the better choice because it was in such a defining and iconic moment within the franchise. But really the entire franchise has great props: Coronado's cross, the older Dr. Jones' grail diary, the Holy Grail, the whip, the hat, the messenger bag, the empty holster, those diamond-filled stones, that poison antidote, the pendant worn by Marion Ravenwood ... you could just go on and on with the props.

9. Blondie’s poncho — Clint Eastwood’s Mexican poncho that appeared in the so-called “Man With No Name” Spaghetti Western movies is one of the great movie costumes. Darth Vader’s ensemble was cool, but it’s overall size would make displaying it difficult. Bogart’s overcoats were nice, but too typical for this list. I do like the white suit worn by Don Fanuchi in The Godfather Part II, but again it’s too big. Blondie’s poncho is perfect.

8. Two guns — One is Little Ralphie’s Official Red Ryder Carbine-Action Two-Hundred-Shot Range Model Air Rifle from A Christmas Story. ‘Nuff said. The second is Dirty Harry’s .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world. Really ‘nuff said. If you owned both pieces you could stage mock fights in your backyard, where you could quote "you'll shoot your eye out" and "make my day" until your trigger fingers got cramps. (I should also mention some other guns that would fit in quite well in this entry: the machine gun in The Wild Bunch, the Joker's super-long handgun in Batman, the leg-gun from Planet Terror in Grindhouse, or that flame thrower from that Ripley uses to slow roast bug scum in Aliens.)

7. Groundhog’s alarm clock — I realized after I had already titled my No. 7 entry that the No. 7 entry no longer exists because in Groundhog Day it was smashed, thrown, beaten and generally abused each morning as Bill Murray awoke to the same exact day. But who cares? It’s a great piece of movie memorabilia and there’s got to be an original one.

6. Pulp Fiction’s case — Much debate has gone on about the contents of Marcellus Wallace’s briefcase, from which a gold shower of lights spills from when opened. Is it Marcellus’ soul, Elvis suit, gold coins … what we’ll never know. And Jules and Vincent won’t tell either. I’d love to actually own the prop but have it welded shut just so I can have people look at it and watch as they vainly attempt to open it to discover Pulp Fiction’s secret.

5. Letters of transit — They’re rarely seen on screen in Casablanca but those damned letters of transit crush Rick’s world when they show up and then again when they leave on a plane in Ilsa’s hands. I think something like that would look sweet framed above your TV. What's strange is how they become MacGuffins, the term associated with Hitchcock movies, in which there is an object that everyone wants but serves no purpose to the plot. I honestly couldn't tell you what those letters look like, but because they create such chaos in Rick's life they will always be remembered. What would be sad is if the papers turned up and all they had on them was Bogey's Chinese take-out order. That reminds me of another good prop: that diaper worn by baby Superman, the same diaper that Marlon Brando supposedly wrote his lines on so he wouldn't forget. It would make a great prop, unless of course that baby deposited anything inside it, which is more than likely the case.

4. Cool Hand Luke’s sunglasses — Paul Newman spent many a day outside in Cool Hand Luke, but he never wore sunglasses. Instead they were worn by the non-speaking guard who terrorizes Luke with his presence. I’d love to go back and count the seconds that those glasses are on the screen. But if I owned them I wouldn’t wear them. That “world shaker” Luke wouldn’t have worn them. After all, they were worn by a man Luke spit in the face of with each escape attempt. Notice the end of the film, in the darkness and he still wears those damn sunglasses. Even as Luke is shot in a total "failure to communicate" those shades blacken out the eyes of the devil himself.

3. Two swords — Which two swords? Either Toshirô Mifune’s extra-long samurai sword in Seven Samurai or a Hattori Hanzo sword from Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill. Either would be a sweet piece of movie memorabilia. With Mifune’s sword, you get about five feet of cold hard steel — you can dice vegetables with it, go spear fishing, compete professionally at pole vaulting or disembowel your foes from across zip codes. Also, middle-age men can use the phallic shape to emphasize their dwindling manhood. As for the Hanzo sword, it will just look pimp on your wall.

2. The Maltese Falcon — Bogart has two items on this list and this gem-crusted little bird gets a higher (actually lower) placing only because the entire damn movie is spent attaining it. And even when private-eye Sam Spade does get the mythical relic in his cool paws he’s still far from having it — after all, it’s a fake. A few years ago one of the prop birds used for Falcon’s publicity photos with Bogey was stolen from a San Franciscan restaurant and presumably never recovered. If the thief has ever seen the movie, then he (or she) should know that it is cursed. Duh!

1. Rosebud — Steven Spielberg supposedly owns the original, which proves his coolness right there (who needs Jaws when you have freakin’ Rosebud?!?!). Rosebud, of course, is the wooden sled Charles Foster Kane calls out in his last breath at the beginning and end of Citizen Kane, Orson Welles’ masterpiece. The sled, based on one interpretation, is the innocence Kane lost when his mother gave up her parental rights and signed little Charlie over to the bank, thus replacing the need for warmth and compassion with greed and alienation. Who knew sledding was so damaging?