Lab equipment
Used In: Frankenstein (1931), Young Frankenstein
How Noticeable? It all just looks like generic 'mad scientist' lab equipment, doesn't it? But Mel Brooks actively sought out the props to use from the very film he was parodying, not that anyone realised.
Mr Fusion
Used In: Alien, Back To The Future II
How Noticeable? You have to be REALLY studying the background to notice this item (which is actually a Krups coffee grinder originally) lining the wall in Alien, so making the Doc Brown connection is practically impossible.
Gigameter
Used In: Ghostbusters II, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
How Noticeable? Not the most memorable of Ghostbuster equipment, but true tech heads with a passion for blinky 80s props will spot this one anywhere.
Creation tank
Used In: Rocky Horror Picture Show, The Revenge Of Frankenstein .
How Noticeable? To be honest, it looks like any old tank prop and one that's easily constructed. Its own roots in classic horror are just a neat bonus for Frank-N-Furter fans.
Chachapoyan golden fertility idol
Used In: Raiders Of The Lost Ark, The Majestic.
How Noticeable? Used in The Majestic 's own Indiana Jones-like film-within-a-film Sand Pirates Of The Sahara , this isn't as much a coincidental prop lease as a knowing nod and wink to the audience.
Navigation globe
Used In: Forbidden Planet, The Time Machine (1960)
How Noticeable? It IS a giant bubble-like prop with lines drawn all over it. There aren't too many of those knocking about
EVA Pod
Used In: 2010, Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace
How Noticeable? Put it this way, no one noticed its inclusion in The Phantom Menace until the audio commentary pointed it out and, even then, it was claimed to be the original prop from 2001: A Space Odyssey . However, Kubrick actually had all the props and models from his sci-fi epic destroyed so this is most likely the replica built for the sequel 2010 . And if the filmmakers aren’t even sure of what prop they have used, how are we expected to recognise it?
Space station model
Used In: Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan
How Noticeable? Asking Star Trek fans not to notice that the Regula 1 space station in Wrath Of Khan wasn't just the same model for the orbital office complex in the previous film turned upside down? The filmmakers should have known better.
Hattori Hanzo swords
Used In: Kill Bill, Sin City
How Noticeable? Used only a couple of years apart and in similarly cool cult films, this should be a no-brainer but it's only natural to assume that there are more than two such swords in the world.
A flying car
Used In: Blade Runner, Back To The Future II
How Noticeable? Given the abundance of flying vehicles in Back To The Future II , you'd be forgiven for not spotting this Blade Runner prop tucked away up a driveway (although it is also seen parked in the street in one scene alongside the Star Car from The Last Starfighter ). A CGI version can also be seen briefly in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace , again not that you'd notice among all them spaceships.
