Alien Movie Memorabilia: Ten Of Our Favorite Items

March 23, 2017

Written by Guest Writer

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Article By: JustCollecting.com 
JustCollecting is a community and rewards club for collectors where members can buy, sell, share and manage their collections, earning exclusive loyalty points to spend on amazing products, special discounts and entry to fantastic competitions.

To celebrate Alien, here are ten of our favourite props, costumes and pieces of monstrous memorabilia from the terrifying sci-fi movie series which collectors snapped up at auction.

 
 

(Image: Profiles in History)
(Image: Profiles in History)

Brett’s Nostromo crew cap (Alien)

This Nostromo crew cap was worn by cult actor Harry Dean Stanton as engineering technician Brett in Alien. When Stanton auditioned for the part, his first words to director Ridley Scott were “I don’t like sci-fi or monster movies.” Nonetheless, he won the role and was famously dispatched by the creature whilst searching for the ship’s cat Jones.
The Director’s Cut of the film featured a deleted scene in which Ripley later discovers Brett’s fate – to be transformed into an egg containing a face-hugging alien. The screen-worn cap sold at Profiles in History in 2012 for $7,000.

 
 

(Image: Bonhams)
(Image: Bonhams)

MOTHER computer key (Alien)

Here’s a key prop from the original Alien – literally. It’s the security key Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) uses the key to access MOTHER, the artificial intelligence computer mainframe aboard the USCSS Nostromo. In one of the film’s most important scenes, Ripley discovers from MOTHER that her employer, the Weyland-Yutani Corporation, wants the alien brought back alive, and that the crew is deemed expendable. The original screen-used prop key sold at Bonhams in 2010 for £5,040 (approx. $7,330).

 
 

(Image: Profiles in History)
(Image: Profiles in History)

Ripley’s Notstromo crew jacket (Alien)

This jacket was worn on screen by Sigourney Weaver in Alien, during scenes on the ship’s lower deck with Parker and Brett. The jacket features the original USCSS NOSTROMO embroidered patches and a Wing patch on the left breast, along with its original hand-written wardrobe department labels on the inside. It remained in the 20th Century Fox archive until 1993, when it was acquired by collector John Gorman and used as part of the ‘Alien War’ attraction museum in London. The jacket sold at Profiles in History in 2014 for $13,000.

 
 

(Image: Profiles in History)
(Image: Profiles in History)

Hyper-sleep chamber (Aliens)

Hyper-sleep chambers are amongst the most recognizable props used throughout the entire Aliens series, and play a major role in the plots of each film. This particular chamber appears on-screen in Aliens, aboard the USS Sulaco as it makes its way to the doomed terraforming colony on the exomoon LV-426. It also appears towards the end of the film, as Ripley, Newt, Hicks and the badly damaged android Bishop enter hypersleep for their return to Earth. Built for the production at Pinewood using steel, aluminium and Plexiglas over a wooden frame, the chamber sold at Profiles in History in 2012 for $65,000.

 
 

(Image: Profiles in History)
(Image: Profiles in History)

Flame thrower (Alien)

When the crew of the Nostromo realize that the creature’s acidic blood could cause serious problem for the ship, they have to put down their standard weapons and break out the flamethrowers. Constructed from steel, aluminium, industrial plastic, brass, wood and resin, this highly detailed (non firing) prop was designed by production designer Roger Christian, and was one of several used on-screen in the film by characters including Dallas, Parker and Ripley. The flamethrower was another prop owned by John Gorman and used as part of the ‘Alien War’ attraction, before selling at Profiles in History in 2012 for $70,000.

 
 

(Image: Profiles in History)
(Image: Profiles in History)

Warrior alien costume (Aliens)

This ‘warrior’ creature costume is believed to be one of just three full surviving examples worn on-screen in Aliens. Stan Winston Studios originally built 12 suits for the production, based on H.R. Giger’s designs, but many were destroyed by explosive squibs during the filming of action sequences. This example features ten separate components, with the main jumpsuit made from spandex and foam detailing to ensure the performers had complete freedom of movement. The suit sold at Profiles in History in 2012 for $80,000.

 
 

(Image: Profiles in History)
(Image: Profiles in History)

Original alien monster head (Alien)

This screen-worn Alien creature head is one of the few surviving examples used during filming of the original movie. H.R Giger used a variety of materials to craft his iconic design, including pieces of snake vertebrae, cooling tubes from a Rolls-and even part of a human skull for the monster’s face. The original clear dome which sat on the top of the creature’s head cracked during production, but this costume piece remained intact. As worn by Nigerian design student Bolaji Badejo, who portrayed the creature with a terrifying grace, the rare alien head sold at Profiles in History in 2010 for $60,000.

 
 

(Image: Profiles in History)
(Image: Profiles in History)

Colonial Marines Drop-ship (Aliens)

This Colonial Marines Drop-ship filming miniature was one of two 1/12th scale models built at Pinewood Studios in 1985 for James Cameron’s sequel. It appears extensively on-screen, during scenes in which the crew land on LV-426 to investigate the Hadley’s Hope colony, and was designed to feature activating weapons pods and a fully detailed and painted cockpit.
The miniature was originally owned by one of the film’s Visual Effects supervisors, who won an Academy Award for their work on the film, and sold at Profiles in History in 2012 for $225,000 –  a record price for memorabilia from the Aliens franchise.

 
 

(Image: Profiles in History)
(Image: Profiles in History)

Original alien monster suit (Alien)

Here’s the original, screen-worn creature suit from Alien, designed by Swiss artist H.R Giger and described as “one of the most iconic movie monsters in film history”. The suit was worn on-screen by Bolaji Badejo, a 26-year-old Nigerian design student who was spotted in a bar by a member of the production team. Standing 6ft 10 inches tall with a slender frame, he studied t’ai chi and mime to help create the creature’s movement.
The latex suit was created using a plaster cast of his entire body, and the creature’s head – manufactured by effects expert Carlo Rambaldi – featured about nine hundred moving parts and points of articulation. In 2007 the iconic suit sold at Profiles in History for $126,500.

 
 

(Image: Bonhams)
(Image: Bonhams)

Chest burster alien (Alien)

This little guy is responsible for one of the most famous and horrifying scenes in movie history – the ‘chest burster’ scene in Alien. According to legend, Giger’s original design for the chest burster resembled a “degenerate plucked turkey”, made the crew laugh and was too big to fit inside the dummy ribcage.
It was redesigned by effects artist Roger Dicker, who then operated the puppet as it plunged its way out of John Hurt’s fake torso, spraying an unsuspecting cast with blood and viscera and scaring the hell out of them. In 2004 the original screen-used creature sold at Bonhams for £29,875 (approx $43,400) to the British pop star and ‘Lady in Red’ singer Chris de Burgh.

 
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