Infamous wooden plank from 'Titanic' sold for over $700,000
The iconic 1997 Titanic movie prop that caused much debate from fans, many of whom have argued that the floating wood panel could have supported both Jack and Rose in the cold Atlantic Ocean, has sold at auction.
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The wooden plank, often mistakenly referred to as a door, that saved Rose's life at the end of 1997 film "Titanic" sold for more than $700,000 at auction. (Photo courtesy of Heritage Auctions)
March 28 (UPI) -- A buyer shelled out $718,750 for one of the most controversial wooden planks in cinematic history: the door frame panel that saved Rose's life in the 1997 film Titanic.
Heritage Auctions announced the ornate piece of wood, sold as part of a Planet Hollywood movie memorabilia auction, fetched the ship-sinking sum after numerous bids.
The wreck of the Titanic is being eaten and may soon vanish.
The prop, made from balsa wood, was based on the "most famous complete piece of debris" salvaged from the real sinking of the Titanic in 1912, the auction house said.
"Often mistakenly referred to as a door, the ornate structure was in reality part of the door frame just above the first-class lounge entrance," the item description reads.
The auction house acknowledged the controversy surrounding the wooden plank.
"The iconic prop has caused much debate from fans, many of whom have argued that the floating wood panel could have supported both Jack [Leonardo DiCaprio] and Rose [Kate Winslet] -- making his fateful decision to stay in the frigid water an empty gesture," the description states.
The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution unveiled rare footage from the Titanic wreckage filmed in 1986. The ship sank to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean on April 15, 1912, after striking an iceberg.
Director James Cameron said he had a scientific study performed in an attempt to put the debate to rest once and for all.
"We took two stunt people who were the same body mass of Kate and Leo and we put sensors all over them and inside them," Cameron said in a 2022 interview with the Toronto Sun. "We put them in ice water and we tested to see whether they could have survived through a variety of methods and the answer was, there was no way they both could have survived. Only one could survive."
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