Christie’s will be holding an exclusive sale of Elizabeth Taylor’s jewelry from Dec. 3 to Dec. 17. Some 950 pieces will be available for bidding on its online gallery.

A selection of 2,000 items from what some call “The Crown Jewels of Hollywood,” Elizabeth Taylor’s incredible collection, will hit the Christie’s auction block this December. A special, online-only component of the sale includes more than 500 pieces of fine and costume jewelry for the online-only sale, including exceptional Art Deco-era jewelry and an array of signed jewels by Cartier, Chanel, Christian Dior, and Ruser, among others.

The sale will run from Dec. 3 to Dec. 17. While Christie’s has offered bidding online since 2006, this is the first time the auction house will host an exclusive online addition to a private collection sale.

The entire Collection of Elizabeth Taylor sale mirrors the incredible offering of top designer gowns, coats, capes, handbags and designer goods that will be featured in the live auction.

The 33.19-carat Krupp Diamond set in a ring.

The pear-shaped, 69.41-carat Taylor-Burton Diamond.

I met Elizabeth Taylor twice, once at an event in Roanoke, Va., where she spoke about her film, the children’s fantasy, “The Blue Bird,” from 1971. The second time was when she spoke at a Belk’s store in Charlotte, N.C., which still sells an Elizabeth Taylor “White Diamonds” line of cosmetics.

Both times she was impeccably dressed, although not quite so lavishly at the Virginia event, which she attended with then-husband and U.S. Senator from Virginia, John Warner.

She traveled to the Belk promotions with her small white dog, which she petted while responding with quick wit to audience questions. She wore a necklace with a diamond big enough to sink a canoe.

The 50-carat La Peregrina Pearl had once been owned by Queen Mary I of England.

Richard Burton—her fourth and fifth husband—said when he met her in 1952, “She was unquestionably gorgeous. I can think of no other word to describe a combination of plentitude, frugality, abundance, tightness. She was lavish. She was a dark unyielding largesse.”

Taylor loved jewelry passionately. At her death, her jewelry collection was estimated to be worth $150 million. Burton gave her three of her most famous jewels, including the 33.19-carat Krupp Diamond, which she wore every day as a ring. He also gave her the pear-shaped Taylor-Burton Diamond, a whopping 69.41-carat gem.

Burton presented her with the 50-carat La Peregrina Pearl as a Valentine’s gift in 1969. The pearl had once been owned by Queen Mary I of England, who ruled from 1553-1558.

Taylor wrote a book about her jewelry collection, “My Love Affair with Jewelry,” published in 2002

The Elizabeth Taylor diamond (33.19 carats, D color, potentially internally flawless) has an estimated value of $2,500,000-$3,500,000.

Taylor wrote a book about her jewelry collection, “My Love Affair with Jewelry,” published in 2002 with photographs by John Bigelow Taylor (no relation to Elizabeth, but a specialist in jewelry photography).

In addition to jewelry, Taylor’s gowns and accessories always commanded attention. She gave some of the gowns and costumes from her film career to Debbie Reynolds, and some were sold during the recent auction of items from Reynold’s extensive collection.

Items up for bid in the online-only collection that starts Dec. 3, include:

• A gold, sapphire and Mississippi pearl hummingbird brooch by Ruser, valued at between $2,000 and $3,000.
• A multi-gem ring by Chaumet valued at up to $500.
• A coral and tigers eye fish bracelet by Van Cleef & Arpels valued at from $1,000 to $1,500.

Costume jewelry up for sale includes:

• A Navajo silver and turquoise squash blossom necklace valued at $400 to $600.
• An Art Deco Bracelet by Jac expected to bring from $100 to $200.

Considering the way prices have exceeded estimates at auctions of celebrity related items in the last few years, some of these prices are sure to be exceeded.

On the other hand, the really expensive jewels up for sale offline include The Elizabeth Taylor diamond, rectangular-cut diamond ring of 33.19 carats, D color, potentially internally flawless, with an estimated value of $2,500,000-$3,500,000.

Allan Maurer is a Worthologist who specializes in Hollywood and movie memorabilia and the publisher of the web site BestFilmFests.

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WorthPoint—Discover Your Hidden Wealth

Monroe’s “Seven Year Itch” dress is expected to rake in between $1 million and $2 million.

Actress and longtime movie memorabilia collector Debbie Reynolds is selling more than 300 costumes and props in the largest such auction in 30 years, beginning June 18, to raise money for the planned Hollywood Motion Picture Museum.

“My lifetime dream has been to assemble and preserve the history of the Hollywood film industry,” Reynolds said. “Hollywood has been an enormous part of my life, as I know it has been for countless fans all over the world.

“This collection represents a lifetime of collecting Hollywood artifacts and this is a rare opportunity to own a piece of Hollywood History for those who love the movies as much as I do.”

Reynolds acquired many of the items after MGM consigned them to an auction house decades ago, sorting through 300,000 costumes and props.

Marilyn Monroe’s white dress from the subway grate scene in “The Seven Year Itch” is expected to bring between $2 and $3 million.

The iconic scene that makes this dress a must-have item for serious collectors of Hollywood memorabilia.

Reynolds labored for years trying to establish a museum to house her extensive collection, but debts mounted, forcing her to sell the collection. She has said “it is the hardest thing I’ve ever done,” but expressed the hope that some who purchase movie treasures will loan them to the museum for display afterward.

If you’re in Beverly Hills, you have until June 17 to see most of the costumes for free at the Paley Center for Media on the corner of North Beverly Drive and Santa Monica Boulevard in Beverly Hills.

Reynold’s Handpicked Collection:

Richard Burton's costume from "Cleopatra."

Charleton Heston's costume from "Ben Hur."

Claude Raines' costume from "Casablanca."

Among the items that will be crossing the block are from some of the most iconic movies in Hollywood history, including a pair of Judy Garland’s red slippers and cotton dress from “The Wizard of Oz,” Charlie Chaplin’s bowler, the hat that matched the gown Scarlett O’Hara (Vivien Leigh) made from green draperies in “Gone With the Wind,” Richard Burton’s costume from “Cleopatra,” Marilyn Monroe costumes from “River of No Return” and “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes,” Charlton Heston’s costume from “Ben-Hur,” Marlon Brando’s costume from “Desiree,” not to mention Monroe’s famed “subway grate” dress from “The Seven Year Itch.”

Judy Garland's costume from "The Wizard of Oz."

Julie Andrews costume from "The Sound of Music."

Elizabeth Taylor's costume from "National Velvet."

Other costumes and props in the auction were used by:

• Julie Andrews in “Star”;
• Fred Astaire “Belle of New York”;
• James Cagney in”Yankee Doodle Dandy” and “Strawberry Blonde”;
• Judy Garland in”Ziegfeld Follies” and “Presenting Lilly Mars”;
• Rita Hayworth in “Loves of Carmen”;
• Katherine Hepburn in”Little Minister”;
• Marilyn Monroe in”Gentlemen Prefer Blondes,” “Don’t Bother to Knock,” and “Ticket to Tomahawk”;
• Mary Pickford in”Rosita” and “Secrets”;
• Ginger Rogers in “Roxie Hart” and “Black Widow”;
• Jane Russell in “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes”;
• Lana Turner in “Weekend at the Waldorf”;
• Mae West in “Every Day’s a Holiday”

The auction will also include arm chairs and a hardware store display form “Gone with the Wind,” paintings of Garbo and Marion Davies, and more. Historical memorabilia dealer Profiles in History will auction items starting June 18, with two more auctions to follow on Dec. 6, and next spring. The December sale, “Selections from the Collection of the Debbie Reynolds Hollywood Motion Picture Museum,” will be conducted at the Le Meridien Hotel, 465 S La Cienega Blvd., Beverly Hills, Ca. Reynolds will attend an auction preview, from 6 to 9 p.m., Friday, Dec. 5, at the Le Meridien Hotel.

Online bidding for these auctions also will be conducted through Julian Entertainment. Printed catalogs are available for $15 each through Autrographs.com. Free digital catalogs are also available by calling 800.996.3977.

Allan Maurer is a Worthologist who specializes in Hollywood and movie memorabilia and is the publisher of the web site BestFilmFests.

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WorthPoint—Discover Your Hidden Wealth

Experts Say James Bond Memorabilia Value is Rising

By Allan Maurer

Reuters reports that the value of James Bond memorabilia has “shot up.”

“There is a high level of collector interest in original Bond movie posters,” Astrid Zweynert writes.

While posters from the first James Bond film sold for around $100 British pounds ($164.47) a decade ago, now they sell for as much as 7,500 pounds (a whopping $12,336.76).

You can read the report here here.

Universal Horror: The Bride of Frankenstein

By Allan Maurer

Beginning in the silent era with “Phantom of the Opera” and “Hunchback of Notre Dame” with Lon Chaney, Sr., Universal Pictures made a series of classic horror films starring the Frankenstein monster, Dracula, the Werewolf, the Mummy, and the Invisible Man that ran through the 1940s.

Posters, lobby cards, glossy stills, banners—just about any memorabilia from these films—pull top-of-the-line prices that range from hundreds to tens of thousands of dollars. While the original 1931 “Dracula” and “Frankenstein” are creaky, as well as creepy now, collectibles from either bring very high prices in good condition.

All of the Universal horror films featured excellent special effects for their time, relying solely on makeup, camera trickery and the occasional animation. All also had a certain spooky poetry that makes them standout even on repeated viewing today.

“Bride of Frankenstein,” (BOF) directed by James Whale and the first sequel to his “Frankenstein,” is considered by most critics and most fans, by far the best of these horror masterpieces. It’s the one in which the monster talks and meets the old blind man in the woods; a scene parodied to laugh-out-loud perfection in Mel Brooks “Young Frankenstein” in 1974.

BOF included a stirring score by Franz Waxman, memorable performances from Karloff as the monster and Elsa Lancaster as his scream queen bride.

Ernest Thesinger played a campy mad scientist who has created a tiny King, Queen, ballet dancer and other miniature people he keeps in jars. He shares a cigar with the monster saying, “It’s my only vice…”

The creation of the bride during a thunderstorm exceeds even the original monster-comes-alive scene in the original, Waxman’s music lending it all a grandeur seldom matched since.

Even stills in “lesser” condition from BOF sold for more than $70 each recently, and an insert sold for $33,000, while many other items ranged from a few hundred dollars to $3,000 or more for almost any poster or card in decent shape. A single lobby card sold for more than $12,000.

Abbott & Costello Meet the Monsters

By Allan Maurer

There are those who felt the series of Abbott & Costello meet the monsters films that began with “Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein” in 1948 and continuing through “Abbott & Costello Meet the Mummy” in 1955 were an inglorious end to the Universal Studios monster series.

The first, in which they encounter the Frankenstein monster (played again by Glenn Strange, who never quite gets the pathos Karloff brought to the part), Dracula (Bela Lugosi), the Wolf Man, (Lon Chaney, Jr.) and at the end, the Invisible Man, is the best. “Pulp Fiction” director Quentin Tarantino, has more than once expressed his admiration for it, and I agree that it’s both funny and scary.

There is nothing funny about the prices posters from their meet the monster films bring, though. Movie paper (posters, stills, etc.) from the series, which includes “Abbott & Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Boris Karloff); and “Abbott & Costello Meet the Invisible Man,” regularly draw auction prices in the hundreds of dollars or much more for single items.

A linen-backed 1-sheet from “Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein” sold for $5,400 at auction this year. An unbacked original sold for $3,700 and a Spanish version of the poster for $675.00. An 8×10 still form the film went for $275.

By way of contrast, 1-sheets from “Abbott & Costello Meet the Mummy” sold for from $1,300 to $546 from 2000 to 2005.

Curse of the B Horror Movie

By Allan Maurer

Back in the 1942, RKO studios gave producer Val Lewton a piddling $150,000 and a title, “The Cat People.” Lewton made up for the lack of a decent special effects budget by keeping all the suspense scenes wrapped in shadows.

“The Cat People” is famous for its creepy swimming pool scene, which stills sends shivers up my spine with its creative use of sound and suggestion. The film also introduced what would later be called “The Bus,” in which a woman who believes she is being followed by… something, is startled by the air brakes of a bus stopping at a corner. Even when you know it’s coming, if you watch it in the dark, you’ll jump.

Many horror film directors still use a version of “The Bus” today, making us jump at loud sounds that are red herrings.

Lewton would make nine more films for RKO, including “Curse of the Cat People,” which was really a sweet story about a little girl with an imaginary friend and not a horror story at all, and three films that gave Boris Karloff two of the best roles of his career in “Bedlam,” and “Body Snatcher,” which also starred Bela Lugosi.

The poster from “Curse of the Cat People” is often used as an example of how misleading film art can be regarding the actual content of a film.

Lewton’s other films included “The Ghost Ship,” “Isle of the Dead,” “The Seventh Victim,” “The Leopard Man,” and “I Walked With a Zombie,” all notable for their ability to conjure fear from shadows and sound and nearly nonexistent budgets.

Lewton hired directors who would later achieve fame and acclaim, including Jacques Tourneur, Mark Robson, and Robert Wise.

Always appreciated by critics such as James Agee, novelist, film critic and author of the script for John Huston’s “The African Queen,” Lewton was the topic of a recent new documentary narrated by Martin Scorsese, shown repeatedly on Turner Movie Channel and available as an extra in the Val Lewton DVD set.

Posters from the Lewton films took another leap in value the last few years, partly as a result of increased attention, but also just due to growing appreciation for how well these spooky films hold up today.

Many 1-sheets, half-sheets, and lobby cards from Lewton’s films sell for several hundred dollars each, and I noticed prices on the rise this year.

An insert from “The Cat People” sold for $1,250 in 2004 and a 1-sheet sold for $675 as far back as 1997. It’s still possible to pick up some less desirable (image-wise) lobby cards for under $50.

One-sheets from “Body Snatcher,” starring Karloff and Lugosi, sold for $1,200 to $1,500 this year. Almost anything with either Karloff or Lugosi generally brings higher prices for any type of movie paper, including original stills.

Universal Horror: The Wolf Man

By Allan Maurer

The “Wolf Man,” stars Lon Chaney, Jr. as doomed Larry Talbot, who, bitten by a werewolf, turns into a beast every full moon and kills. Chaney portrayed the tortured Talbot not only in the 1941 film that introduced the character, but also in the Frankenstein series, including “Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man,” “House of Frankenstein,” “House of Dracula,” and finally, “Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein.”

My favorite of all these sequels is “House of Frankenstein,” which starred Karloff as a mad scientist rather than the monster (who is played by Glenn Strange), the Wolf Man, played by Lon Chaney, Jr., a hunchback (J. Carrol Nash), and Dracula (John Carradine).

Touches of poetry run through the script, including this bit of verse about the Wolf Man: “Even a man who is pure at heart and says his prayers at night, can become a wolf, when the wolf bane blooms and the moon is full and bright.”

A set of lobby cards from “The Wolf Man,” sold for from $80 to $2,300 each (the later for a title card) in 2004. A set of eight went for $3,450 back in 1997. An insert sold for $3,000 in 2004. Prices have not gone down since then.

A single still from “House of Frankenstein” sold for $168 this year (2008), while a title card (lobby card) went for $4,000 four years ago, and an insert for more than $6,000 the same year.

Anytime there is an economic downturn, you can grab some collectibles at bargain-basement prices. This includes collectibles from the movie world.

The very best movie memorabilia pieces, items in perfect condition, well cared-for and preserved and representing a star, film or director of note, tend to maintain their value in all economic conditions.

But when cash is scarce, many items of lesser value go for prices you’ll never see again for quite a while after the economy recovers. Basically, that means if you have some cash right now, check out the movie poster auction sites.

This is speculative, at best. The cash crunch could make cheap buys not such a good idea if your own cash might run out or an economic downturn is prolonged.

If you have a bit to spend, however, buying movie memorabilia, particularly posters, may be an excellent investment.

I recently snagged nine half sheet movie posters for an average of $10 each that included a fine “McCabe and Mrs. Miller,” directed by Robert Altman and starring Warren Beatty and Julie Christie (not to mention Leonard Cohen’s moody ballads), and a superb “Theatre of Blood” half sheet showing Vincent Price framed by red theatre curtains and two daggers.

I found a very nice half sheet from “The Last Hurrah,” directed by John Ford and starring Spencer Tracy, for under $10. I can’t remember ever seeing posters from a film directed by Ford go that inexpensively in an auction. I’ve bid higher for the same item in similar condition and lost.

I haven’t seen prices like that for decent–if not perfect posters–for decades. Some of these items I’ve been buying have significant edgewear, tears, missing pieces, wrinkles. Few fail to sell. Movie paper sells in all conditions. But most are in very good condition.

Fixed-priced vendors still charge high end retail prices, but if you are willing to look, you might build the basis of a collection now for much less than it will likely cost when the economy recovers.

A number of artists best known for their work in other fields also did at least some movie posters.

Today, Charles Addams is best known for creating the “Addams Family,” as familiar to us now through the two movies and the television show as through the dark humor of his weird New Yorker cartoons.

Addams’ bizarre sense of humor is perhaps best caught in his cartoon of the entire Addams’ Family on the roof of their Gothic home, getting ready to pour boiling oil on a group of Christmas carolers below. The characters never had names until the TV sitcom, when Addams fleshed them out a bit, so to speak and now we know them as Gomez, Morticia, Lurch, Pugsley, Wednesday and Uncle Fester.

Addams did movie poster art for “Murder by Death,” (1976) and “How to Murder a Rich Uncle,” (1957), among other films.

“Murder By Death,” written by Neil Simon, author of the “Odd Couple,” starred writer Truman Capote in a farce about five famous literary detectives and their sidekicks invited to a mansion bizarre enough to have appeared in one of Addams cartoons to solve a mystery.

The IMBD listing for “Murder by Death” is here: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074937. Wikipedia’s entry on Addams is here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Addams

In a recent issue of a monthly newspaper dedicated to movie poster collecting, five of seven dealers used the one-sheet from 1957′s “Forbidden Planet” showing Robbie the Robot cradling sexy Anne Francis in his metallic arms as a prominent part of their ad.

The 1957 MGM film is often cited as a precursor to “Star Trek,” and featured, among other wonders, a Disney animated monster from the “ID.” It had all the MGM trimmings, stars, a big special effects budget, and a plot derived from Shakespeare’s “Tempest” set on the planet Altair IV.

About 25 years ago, I bought a “Forbidden Planet” 1-sheet at a science fiction convention for $30. It was perfect and I had it framed in my home for years.

Then during a time of financial need, I sold it at another science fiction convention. We were on the steps leading to the convention dealer’s room, which had not yet opened.

I should have known something was fishy when the dealer who bought it made sure it was original, then almost broke his hand reaching for his wallet.

He peeled off four bills and said, “I’ll give you $350 for it right now.”

At the time, I thought, great profit, took the money and handed over the poster.

Recently, I saw one offered at a fixed price from a dealer for $30,000.

That seems excessive to me, but it has regularly sold for $3,500 or more in recent years. All the movie paper from “Forbidden Planet” sells at high prices. Even single lobby cards can sell for hundreds of dollars.

But that one-sheet of Robbie the Robot holding Anne Francis (which he never does in the movie), has been described as the single most desired science fiction film movie poster.

It was a better investment than stocks and bonds, even with the profit I made then, let alone what it would bring now.

I say to myself, who knew?

But that’s part of the value of a site such as Worthpoint, I think.

You’ll know.

Some Tolkien fans never forgave Ralph Bakshi for his animated version of “The Lord of the Rings,” at least until Peter Jackson did the trilogy right in live action (and plenty of computer generated imagery).

Bakshi also directed the melancholy animated story based loosely on the doomed lives of all too many pop musicians in his “American Pop,” in 1981, which I can still watch with a mixture of pleasure and pain.

He did the posters for his version of “Lord of the Rings,” and “American Pop,” and while I’m not crazy about his version of LTR, I do really like his poster for “Cool World,” a film similar to “Who Killed Roger Rabbit” in its combination of live action and animation worlds.

Bakshi’s work still sells at reasonable prices. You could buy a one-sheet from “American Pop” last year for $14.00. A British Quad of “Fritz The Cat,” sold for $104.00 this year. Oddly enough, that is also exactly the high price for a 1-sheet from his 1978 version of “The Lord of the Rings.” Nothing from any of his films sold for much more than that.