Faux Gold…
Flash Gordon’s (Sam J. Jones) Mongo Military Jacket, FLASH GORDON (1980)
Flash Gordon (played by Sam J. Jones) is the eponymous hero of Mike Hodges’ science fiction adventure. The film is remembered for its style, which includes the spectacular costumes. This particular item is the very distinctive red jacket that Flash wore when he was attempting to escape from the planet Mongo with Princess Aura. The jacket is a custom made piece in red leather with epaulettes and a wealth of beaded embellishments and gold braiding.
Auction Estimates: £5,000 – £7,000
Going under the gavel on September 27th as part of their latest Entertainment Memorabilia Auction taking place at the ODEON BFI IMAX in London’s Waterloo, this superb lot offered by Propstore is as stunning as it is unique.
Described as Flash Gordon’s ‘Mongo Military Jacket’ this splendid, intricate piece of design by Danilo Donati has somehow survived the test of time in pristine state and is easily the most significant item of costume offered from the film in some years.
Though Ming’s army is shown wearing similar tunics brandishing similar bead applique’s, none are leather like the jacket liberated by Princess Aura to disguise Flash to aid his escape from Mongo. Its appearance in the film may have been limited to a few scenes but it was used extensively for promo shots such as this –
Interestingly, the inscription in the collar reads ‘double’ so it is this was a backup jacket for Sam rather than a stuntman as scenes featuring this costume were light on action. Regardless, between its iconic status and Propstore’s stellar reputation there will no doubt be plenty of interest in this lot so it will likely go beyond estimate…
UPDATE – ITEM SOLD FOR £8,500!