Indiana Jones's Temple of Doom hat sells for $630k

A remarkable piece of movie history has recently been sold at auction: the iconic fedora worn by Harrison Ford in the film Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. This brown felt hat, which played a significant role in one of the film's most thrilling scenes, was sold for an impressive $630,000, which is about £487,000. The auction took place in Los Angeles on a Thursday, and it featured many other exciting items from popular films, including props from Star Wars, Harry Potter, and James Bond. Indiana Jones, the adventurous archaeologist portrayed by Ford, is often seen wearing this distinctive hat, especially in a memorable scene where he and his companions jump from a crashing plane using an inflatable raft. In this action-packed moment, Indiana Jones is joined by nightclub singer Wilhelmina 'Willie' Scott, played by Kate Capshaw, and his young friend Short Round, played by Ke Huy Quan. They are trying to escape from a dangerous Chinese crime gang. After the plane is sabotaged, the trio uses the raft to leap from the aircraft and slide down a mountainside. The auction house revealed that the hat was also used during additional filming at George Lucas's visual effects studio, which adds to its significance. This particular fedora was part of the personal collection of Dean Ferrandini, who served as Harrison Ford's stunt double in the film. Sadly, Ferrandini passed away last year, and the hat was sold along with previously unpublished photographs of him wearing the costume on set. The fedora is an updated version of the one featured in the first Indiana Jones film, Raiders of the Lost Ark, with a more tapered crown. It was crafted by the Herbert Johnson Hat Company in London, and the inside lining features gold monogrammed initials 'IJ', representing Indiana Jones. The auction also included other fascinating items, such as an imperial scout trooper helmet from the 1983 Star Wars film Return of the Jedi, which sold for $315,000, and a light-up wand used by Daniel Radcliffe in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, which fetched $53,550. Additionally, a suit worn by Daniel Craig in the 2012 James Bond film Skyfall was sold for $35,000. Brandon Alinger, the chief operating officer of the auction house, expressed pride in connecting fans with these historic pieces of cinema. The Indiana Jones hat sold for more than double the price of another similar fedora that was auctioned in 2021, which went for $300,000, according to reports from Hollywood.