"dark ruby red in color … and valued at $1 million"
April 30, 2019 11:36 AM Subscribe
On a rainy afternoon in September 2018, the FBI gathered national media in its Minnesota headquarters for an important announcement. Jill Sanborn, special agent in charge of the Minneapolis division, stood in front of a packed room and said, “We’re here today to share with you the recovery of one of the most significant and cherished pieces of movie memorabilia in American history: Dorothy’s ruby slippers from the 1939 movie ‘The Wizard of Oz.’ ”The Case of the Stolen Ruby Slippers
So relieved they're back! What, the rest of you haven't been to Grand Rapids?!
posted by wenestvedt at 1:16 PM on April 30, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by wenestvedt at 1:16 PM on April 30, 2019 [1 favorite]
Not quite back yet: As for the slippers, they aren’t home yet — wherever home winds up being. They remain in evidence with the FBI. For the Grand Rapids police, though, it feels like a conclusion.
posted by peeedro at 1:23 PM on April 30, 2019
posted by peeedro at 1:23 PM on April 30, 2019
As for the slippers, they aren’t home yet
Well geez, just click the heels together three times.
posted by Greg_Ace at 1:49 PM on April 30, 2019 [16 favorites]
Well geez, just click the heels together three times.
posted by Greg_Ace at 1:49 PM on April 30, 2019 [16 favorites]
Minnesota? I would have looked somewhere in the west.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 3:07 PM on April 30, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 3:07 PM on April 30, 2019 [1 favorite]
I think it’s obvious who took them. “I can’t wait forever to get those shoes!”
posted by elphaba at 3:16 PM on April 30, 2019 [5 favorites]
posted by elphaba at 3:16 PM on April 30, 2019 [5 favorites]
It is believed that at least six or seven pairs of the final design were made. According to producer Mervyn LeRoy, "We must have had five or ten pairs of those shoes". The wardrobe woman who worked on the film claimed "six identical pairs" had been made. Four pairs used in the movie have been accounted for....
One pair, known as "the People's Shoes", is on public display at the Smithsonian Institution. According to Smithsonian magazine, however, the shoes do not belong together; their actual mates are the mismatched pair (left sized 5C, right 5BC) that was stolen in 2005 and recovered in 2018.
posted by fairmettle at 4:54 PM on April 30, 2019
One pair, known as "the People's Shoes", is on public display at the Smithsonian Institution. According to Smithsonian magazine, however, the shoes do not belong together; their actual mates are the mismatched pair (left sized 5C, right 5BC) that was stolen in 2005 and recovered in 2018.
posted by fairmettle at 4:54 PM on April 30, 2019
Good Lord at how tiny her feet were.
I'm sure I'm not the only kid who was transfixed by the glitter of the ruby slippers. I went through a childhood phase where I watched at least some of that movie every day. Generally, I don't understand the motives of stolen-art collectors, unless the pieces are bound up as assets in the underworld. Art can't be melted down; what would the ultimate holder do with such things? But I can easily imagine someone who was rich and lonely enough to want to hold that glitter in their hands.
posted by Countess Elena at 6:34 PM on April 30, 2019 [3 favorites]
I'm sure I'm not the only kid who was transfixed by the glitter of the ruby slippers. I went through a childhood phase where I watched at least some of that movie every day. Generally, I don't understand the motives of stolen-art collectors, unless the pieces are bound up as assets in the underworld. Art can't be melted down; what would the ultimate holder do with such things? But I can easily imagine someone who was rich and lonely enough to want to hold that glitter in their hands.
posted by Countess Elena at 6:34 PM on April 30, 2019 [3 favorites]
♫ It really was no miracle. What happened was just this:
Some twit had snatched the kitsch, then split like Spitz.
And suddenly the Feds had found they hit a hitch.
Just then, a snitch, to satisfy an itch, came in to drop a dime, in hope that they’d get rich. ♫♪
posted by yankeefog at 4:16 AM on May 1, 2019 [4 favorites]
Some twit had snatched the kitsch, then split like Spitz.
And suddenly the Feds had found they hit a hitch.
Just then, a snitch, to satisfy an itch, came in to drop a dime, in hope that they’d get rich. ♫♪
posted by yankeefog at 4:16 AM on May 1, 2019 [4 favorites]
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posted by Melismata at 11:52 AM on April 30, 2019