When Joe Maddalena was a kid, he was obsessed with the movies. And when he learned that many of the classic films from Hollywood’s golden age, like The Maltese Falcon and The Big Sleep, were originally novels written by the likes of Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler, his fascination with those films and how they were conceptualized grew stronger. "I was trying to understand how the novel got translated to a film," says the 50-year-old collector, "and you need a script, the costume sketches, and the photographs to understand how the process was made."
So Maddalena did the only thing that he could think of: he started acquiring those items.
What began as a focus on scripts, photos, and costume sketches evolved into an emphasis on the actual costumes themselves. Today, a multitude of collectors share that enthusiasm, but years ago, when Maddalena began his movie costume collection, he was ahead of the curve and misunderstood. "I would always say that they were culturally important," Maddalena says of Hollywood costumes, "and people would laugh at me. These movies, for better or worse, affect who we aspire to be and what we want to look like. People are now realizing that good and great movies are important works of art, and finally, this field is becoming recognized as a serious hobby."
When it comes to collecting movie memorabilia—the costumes and props used to create a film—many enthusiasts will focus on specific movies. And the movies that collectors seek out are the ones that resonate with them in some way, perhaps in ways that are impossible for the collector to explain. But Maddalena believes such a sentimental connection is at the core of collecting in general. "There’s no difference between the guy who buys a van Gogh and one who collects baseball cards," he says. "You saw van Gogh’s Starry Night and it influenced you; it resonated inside of you. It captured a part of you and it stays with you. The emotional response, even if it’s subliminal, it stays with you your whole life, and some people act on that. That’s the essence of collecting."
A LEADING ROLE
When it comes to collecting movie memorabilia and, in particular, the memorabilia associated with a specific actor, Maddalena explains that not all films are created equal. Take Marlon Brando’s filmography, for example. The Academy Award–winning actor appeared in 39 features, including A Streetcar Named Desire, Julius Caesar, Mutiny on the Bounty, and On the Waterfront—a film for which he earned one of two Academy Awards. Yet, it is the film for which Brando earned his second Oscar—The Godfather—that Maddalena says is the most sought-after among collectors. "Talent doesn’t mean the actor will be collected across the board of his or her work," he says. "An actor has a defining role in their career. They have that moment and that’s what’s the most valuable [film] and it’s based upon that role. You can distill it to that simplicity; [collecting movie memorabilia] reminds you of that great character."
While that may be true for most actors, some experts, like Margaret Barrett, the director of music and entertainment at Heritage Auctions (www.ha.com), suggests that for a select few of Hollywood’s most iconic, memorable, and tragic personalities, those rules do not apply. Marilyn Monroe sits atop that very short list of on-screen talents, and according to Barrett, she’s been the most sought-after Hollywood celebrity for decades. "Marilyn Monroe is consistently collected and she’s getting hotter and hotter the longer that she’s been gone," she says. "In terms of what they’re looking for, collectors continue to look toward Marilyn."
As proof, at a recent Profiles in History (www.profilesinhistory.com) sale, in which actress Debbie Reynolds sold much of her collection of Hollywood memorabilia—a collection that started in 1970 at an MGM Studios–hosted auction (the first memorabilia sale of its kind)—Monroe’s red-sequined showgirl gown from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes fetched $1.47 million, though it was estimated to sell for only $200,000 to $300,000. But topping that was the ivory, pleated "subway" dress that Monroe wore during The Seven Year Itch, which sold for $5.5 million, more than $3 million above its high estimate.
"She was so beautiful and so tragic and I think we like those two things combined," Barrett says of Monroe and the obsession that continues to swirl around her. "When those are coupled, we just get hooked. If they’re not as tragic and not as beautiful, they’re not as interesting."
Elvis Presley, according to Barrett, is also included on that list of the revered and tragic. Jerry Osborne, a Presley collector from Port Townsend, Wash., was 12 years old when Presley burst onto the scene in 1956—a year that saw the singer, songwriter, and actor release his debut album and star in Love Me Tender, the first of Presley’s 31 feature films. Osborne says that for enthusiasts like himself, who were alive to remember the Elvis Presley craze firsthand, such an obsession with the star is to be expected. But he also says that Presley, like Monroe, created a legacy that attracts thousands of collectors across numerous generations. "Elvis was something special, there’s no denying it," he says. "When he hit the scene, he was unlike anyone who came before him. If you were there, if you lived through it, it was easy to get swept up in it and swept away with it. Collecting was just the next step."
KEEPING IT REAL
As with any realm of collecting classic, vintage, or antiquated items, determining the legitimacy and authenticity of a piece of movie memorabilia is of primary concern for collectors. Nevertheless, Barrett says that, at least through her experiences with Heritage Auctions, such a task is easy to do. "With costumes, they should all be labeled to some degree with a production company’s tag," she says.
Working through established auction houses is an easy way for collectors to gain peace of mind, since those houses will do the work to authenticate any item before it is offered for sale. But there’s a secondary market, as well. Collectors can find legitimate pieces of memorabilia through private dealers and other networks, but as Jim Manning, a New York–based movie memorabilia enthusiast, explains, collectors must take it upon themselves to authenticate an item. "The burden of proof is on the person who’s selling it," he says. "Ask a lot of questions. If the person that’s selling doesn’t answer those questions, you have to ask yourself why they’re not answering those questions."
Manning considers himself a movie prop archivist as much as a collector and launched a web site (www.moviepropcollectors.com) to showcase his own collection as well as to educate other collectors when it comes to authenticating such memorabilia. Focused mostly on science fiction and horror films, he’s amassed a collection that exemplifies the technology and items used to create a movie’s special effects. From an electronic dinosaur puppet used in The Lost World and an original Gizmo doll, to props used in low-budget horror films from the 1970s, Manning’s collection is diverse, to say the least. But in most cases, he was able to find those specific items in scenes from their respective movies, which he says can make a big difference. "Seventy percent of my items I’ve been able to screen-match," he says. "It makes it easier for me to authenticate."
As for Maddalena, who founded Profiles in History in 1985 and made memorabilia auctions a permanent part of its business in 1996, being rooted in Hollywood does wonders for his ability to authenticate items that he may sell. "We work with costumers and set designers," he explains. "A lot of the people that have made these things are still alive and they’re all helpful because they’re excited that their art form is being recognized."
A COLLECTOR'S MARKET
Like most collectibles, movie memorabilia will attract those who have an innate enthusiasm for the genre. But for those seeking a hobby laden with investment possibilities, costumes and props offer great potential. For example, more than one pair of ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz are known to exist, and a pair that appeared at auction sold for $165,000 in 1988. At the Debbie Reynolds sale through Profiles in History earlier this year, however, her pair sold for $612,000. "I’d love to get my hands on some of the things that I sold 15 years ago," says Barrett. "They’re worth so much more now."
Condition doesn’t dominate the movie memorabilia market, simply because there’s such a limited supply of items to begin with. And unlike other genres of collecting, where turnover is prevalent and valuable commodities surface from time to time, movie memorabilia doesn’t offer such opportunity. In fact, with an increasing demand and a limited supply of artifacts, many collectors are unable to find the specific items they’re looking for, or in some cases, even a single item related to a specific film. "This type of property goes to the people who are truly passionate collectors, and once they buy this treasure, we never see it again," Barrett says. "Occasionally it gets exhibited in a museum, but once it’s gone, it’s gone."
As for what’s in demand, it’s Hollywood’s golden age. The Jean Harlows and Clark Gables and Katharine Hepburns—those are the actors that classic film collectors are after, and according to Barrett, it’s an era that has not lost its appeal, despite younger generations entering the hobby. "There are always going to be people who study and appreciate the past, and part of our past is old movies," she says. "I’m still surprised and thankful that there’s a new generation of people who appreciate these old costumes and old props from classic films. It’s thrilling to me when a younger person says that they just saw Breakfast at Tiffany’s for the first time."
But according to Maddalena, it’s not a steady interest in classic films or even the increasing value of specific costumes and props from those films that assures the continued popularity of movie memorabilia collecting. Instead, it’s Hollywood’s worldwide appeal. "You can go anywhere in the world and people know who Tom Cruise is," he says. "They might not know Jackie Robinson, but they know Humphrey Bogart and James Dean. It’s international currency because [movies] are understood all over the world."