A hard foam axe used by Jack Nicholson's character in the Stanley Kubrick film The Shining has gone on sale for £45,000 ($62,453).
Often regarded as one of the greatest horror films ever made, the 1980 movie is well known for the memorable scene in which Nicholson’s Jack Torrance tries to break down a door with an axe.
While a real wooden axe was used for the actual scene, auctioneers Paul Fraser Collectibles says the one on sale is a prop stunt ace that was substituted for the original wooden axe “as a safety measure and ease of use during filming.”
Happy belated birthday Jack Nicholson!
— Paul Fraser (@PFCollectibles) April 23, 2021
His door-breaking axe scene is regarded as among the most iconic in cinema history... and we have the prop stunt axe for sale!https://t.co/Towf4pA9lX#TheShining #JackNicholson #HappyBirthday
“It would have been used in long shots and when two or more characters were on screen,” the company says.
Made of hard polyfoam, the 89 centimetre-long axe was professionally painted to resemble wood grain, while the foam head features silver tape to resemble the metal surface. The axe comes in its own UV resistant and anti-glare conservation glass case along with an authenticated signed photo of Nicholson from the film and plaque.
"Warner Bros created several axes for filming The Shining. Only a tiny number of foam versions are believed to still exist. A similar example to ours sold for $57,600 in 2019," says Paul Fraser Collectibles.
Only one original wooden axe is thought to remain in existence, which sold for $211,000 in 2019.
The Shining was based off Stephen King's 1977 novel of the same name. While King criticised the film for deviating too much from its original source, the movie is considered by many to be a horror movie masterpiece, and has influenced generations of filmmakers.
In 2019, King's follow-up to The Shining called Doctor Sleep was also turned into a film, starring Ewan McGregor – received positive reviews as well as praise from the author.
Overlook, a spin-off TV series inspired by the Overlook Hotel in the movie and based on some of the film's characters, is currently in production, with JJ Abrams's Bad Robot Productions developing the show.
