Oscar Trophy for 'Gentleman's Agreement' Sells Twice More Than Expected at Rare Auction

Movie

Another Oscar trophy which is being sold at the Los Angeles auction is the best picture statuette for 1935's 'Mutiny on the Bounty'.

December 17, 2018

AceShowbiz - An Oscar statuette has been sold for a value twice more than it was originally expected. At a rare auction event in Los Angeles that started on Tuesday, December 11 and concluded on Friday, December 14, one of two Academy Awards trophies being offered for bidding brought in nearly $500,000.

Sold by auction house Profiles in History, the Best Picture prize that was given to the Gregory Peck-starring anti-Semitism film, "Gentleman's Agreement", in 1948 was initially predicted to obtain around $150,000 to $200,000. By the end of the auction, however, it drew forth $492,000. It is still unclear who the previous and current owners were.

"Gentleman's Agreement" trophy wasn't the only golden man being auctioned though. A Best Picture statue for 1935's "Mutiny on the Bounty" was also sold at the bidding. Unlike "Agreement", it collected $240,000, which was close to the auction house's prediction of between $200,000 to $300,000.

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Although"Gentleman's Agreement" Oscar got sold twice its original prediction, it didn't come close to the selling price of David O. Selznick's "Gone with the Wind" trophy. Back in 1999, late Michael Jackson paid $1.5 million to obtain the prestigious statuette.

It was highly unlikely to find Oscar statuettes to be put on auctions. Winners from 1951 onwards have agreed to offer their statuettes back to The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for a dollar before they or their heirs sell it anywhere else. The Academy itself believes that the prominent trophy must be obtained only through winning.

The-four day auction has collected a total of more than $8 million. Aside from the two Oscars, an archive of papers on the origin and development of "The Wizard of Oz" was also sold for high price. It raked in $1.2 million. Meanwhile, a TIE fighter helmet from the original "Star Wars" was sold for $240,000; a Phaser pistol from the original "Star Trek" TV series brought in $192,000; a hover board from "Back to the Future II" yielded $102,000; and a golden ticket from "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory" went for $48,000.