SCRIPT USED BY HARRISON FORD WHILE FILMING STAR WARS IN THE UK IN 1976 & LEFT IN A LONDON FLAT SELLS AT AUCTION FOR £10,796

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We are pleased to to talk about Hollywood actor Harrison Ford and his original draft script for the first ever Star Wars film made in 1976, sold at Excalibur Auctions today for £10,795 against a pre-sale low estimate of £8,000.

The script was used when Ford was filming at Elstree Studios in the UK, which is the first time we ever see him in the film as his iconic character Han Solo. Ford left the script (amongst other things also in the sale, such as shooting schedules, which sold for £4,826 against a low estimate of £800 and a letter from an agent or friend of Harrison Ford’s which sold for £177.80 against a low estimate of £60), in the London flat he rented during his time staying in the UK. The landlords renting the property found the items and have treasured them for over 50 years. They offer a personal insight into Harrison the man, as opposed to just the screen actor!

HARRISON FORD’S ORIGINAL 1976 STAR WARS SCRIPT LEFT IN A HOUSE HE LIVED IN WHILE IN THE UK FILMING SELLS FOR £10,796 AFTER BEING STORED AWAY FOR 50 YEARS !

Sets new auction record for a Star Killer script (the original working title of the film before it was changed to Star Wars).

Script used by Hollywood actor Harrison Ford while filming Star Wars in the UK in 1976, showing original title. The Adventures of Luke Star killer sold for£10,796 to an Austrian private collector.

Kings Langley, UK. February 17, 2024. There was much excitement today at specialist toy and collectables auction house Excalibur Auctions, as the hammer went down on a group of never-before-seen items belonging to Hollywood actor Harrison Ford (b. 1942). The items had been lovingly tucked away for over 50 years in a private home and were personal items of the actor’s that related to the first ever Star Wars film, created in 1976.

The original draft Star Wars script (originally called Star Killer until it was changed to Star Wars), was used by Ford to play Han Solo and was the fourth draft of the script. It was discarded by him in the London flat he was renting, while staying in the city to film at Elstree Studios in Hertfordshire, UK. The owners of the property came to know the actor quite well during his time as their tenant and they therefore treasured the items he left behind for many years. They have been sold today by their grandchildren.

Filming for the epic space fantasy written by George Lucas (b. 1944) and as mentioned, originally titled The Adventures of Luke Starkiller, took place at Elstree Studios in Hertfordshire, UK in 1976, with the film being released the following year. The role of Han Solo would skyrocket Ford’s acting career and led to his reprising of the role in four Star Wars sequels released over the next four decades. Ford was given a budget by the film studio and chose a flat to rent in London’s famous Notting Hill in West London, in order to travel easily to the studios for filming. It was here he formed a genuine friendship with the family.

The grandchildren tell us that in 1976 their grandmother put an advertisement in The Sunday Times for a ‘Flat to Let’, as she and her husband were looking for a lodger in their home. Harrison Ford was the person that came to view it and on meeting them he decided to accept the rental. The owners lived on the bottom floors of the house in Elgin Crescent in Notting Hill in West London, while Ford occupied the top two floors. Oblivious to the celebrity world, the couple had no idea who he was and that a Hollywood actor was staying in their home. The property owner’s comment about Ford was simply: “He was an excellent tenant, very tidy”. With no idea who their guest was, the owners simply mentioned to their cleaner that they had ‘a lodger’ staying. She subsequently fainted on encountering the actor and realising who ‘the lodger’ was! During Ford’s stay there were many celebrity visits to the house, with Carrie Fisher, who played Princess Leia and Mark Hamill, who played Luke Skywalker, visiting frequently. The owners had no idea who they were either and didn’t even know Mark Hamill’s name, referring to him simply as ‘the boy’, as that was how Harrison referred to him.

As they got to know their famous tenant, we are told the owners struck up a genuine rapport with Ford, spending time in the garden having drinks and relaxing after filming. One particularly touching story the owner recalls is Ford giving them money to purchase new plants for their garden, as they all spent so much time there. She recalled: “Summer 1976 was a great time”, Ford even attending her son’s first birthday party in said garden! She summarises: “He was an ideal tenant! It really was a fun time.”

Shooting schedules, a call sheet and a collection of notes left in the London flat by Ford after filming sold for £4,826

On leaving the flat Ford left the script behind. It was a revised fourth draft of Star Wars Episode IV:  A New Hope, originally titled as it is here, The Adventures of Luke Star Killer as taken from the Journal of the Whills by George Lucas (Saga I) Star Wars (March 15, 1976). The script is incomplete (most pages up to page 88 including the famous “Chasm scene”) and unbound with differing-coloured pages indicating revisions. In the current copy we see page 56, a pivotal scene, in the film, which is the first time we are introduced to the character of Han Solo, played by Ford. There were five drafts of the first Star Wars script and this 4th revised edition gives an interesting insight into the making of one of the most important block buster movies ever made, including scenes and characters that were cut from the final edit. It sold today to an Austrian private collector for £10,795 against a low estimate of £8,000.

Alongside the script Ford left other items including a pair of shooting schedules, a call sheet and a collection of notes. The call sheet is number 28 dated April 28th 1976 for the ‘Death Star Hallway to Core Shaft’ scene numbers A110 and B110, featuring Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher. The reverse of the call sheet has a hand-written note: ‘Browns Hotel, Dover St. Sunday 8th Robert Watts, Roast Beef’, which appears to refer to a meeting between Harrison Ford and the film producer Robert Watts (b. 1938), who worked with Ford on the Star Wars and Indiana Jones film series.

Star Wars Shooting Schedule no. 1 is dated 8th March 1976, one page is annotated with circles and there is writing on the back that reads ‘1st Tony Wayne 2nd Gerry and 3rd Terry’, who all worked as Assistant Directors on the Star Wars film. Shooting Schedule no. 2 is dated April 23rd, 1976 and is annotated on two pages, scene 58 ‘Group arrived at grid, Montross leaving’ B58 – ‘Good bye to Montross’ and scene 50 ‘Han intro in cantina’ written in pencil. Other assorted notes including timings for parties and telephone numbers include one to the back of a card reading ‘For the good time – Her’. The group sold to a UK buyer for £4,826 against a low estimate of £800.

Harrison Ford’s shooting schedule for the first Star Wars film amongst a group lot that sold for £4,826.

A typed letter believed to be from an agent or friend of Harrison Ford sold for £177.80 to a UK buyer.

Also left in the flat was a typed letter from an agent or friend. It is dated April 16, 1976 and discusses his contracts and future film prospects. The letter also tells how they have spoken to Ford’s first wife Mary Marquadt, who the actor was married to between 1964- 1979. She mentions that she hasn’t heard from Ford, for which the writer scolds him! The jovial nature of the correspondence highlights a strong relationship with the letter’s writer. It sold to a private collector in the UK for £177.80 against a low estimate of £60.

Commenting on the result of the sale, Excalibur Auctions’ auctioneer Jonathan Torode said: “The sale saw competitive bidding from around the globe for these never-before-seen pieces of Star Wars history. Although other copies of this script have come to market previously, this sale saw a new record set for a Star Walker script, which shows how a personal link to the items is so enticing to Star Wars fans. The personal provenance makes them totally unique. We hope they will be as treasured by their new owners as much as they were by the previous ones.”

One of Harrison Ford’s hand-written notes on reverse of a call sheet detailing a meeting between Harrison Ford and the film producer Robert Watts (b. 1938) – part of a group lot that sold for £4,826

MORE INFORMATION : Excalibur Auctions Ltd

https://www.excaliburauctions.com/

Selection by : Rachel Joulia-Helou, editor-in-chief of AMILCAR MAGAZINE GROUP

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  • Alexandre Joulia, photographer and deputy editor of AMILCAR MAGAZINE GROUP.

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