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Rick Dalton's (Leonardo DiCaprio) screen-matched "Betty" flamethrower tank and backpack with a stunt thrower from Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time. . . in Hollywood. Dalton used his flamethrower rig while portraying Sergeant Mike Lewis in the fictional Nazi-blasting film The Fourteen Fists of McCluskey, shown as a "movie within a movie" in Tarantino's feature. A flamethrower with a non-vented nozzle - like the included stunt thrower - can be briefly seen as Dalton prepares to incinerate a group of Nazis behind a curtain.
Later in Once Upon a Time. . . in Hollywood, Dalton is shown keeping the flamethrower in his tool shed, where his longtime stunt double and friend Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt) retrieves tools to fix Dalton's television antenna. It's also possible that DiCaprio wore this backpack and tank rig during scenes involving the practical flamethrower. In such instances, the real flame effect would have been supplied via an off-camera fuel source for safety as no live fuel tanks would have been strapped to the performer.
Several unique features of this tank, including scuffing above the tubing next to the painted "BETTY" label, wear along the top of the tank, and a distinctive material crease that cuts through the letter "T," screen-match to shots of Dalton testing the flamethrower for The Fourteen Fists of McCluskey, and when the flamethrower sat in the shed.
The flamethrower unit consists of a dense foam rubber tank and backpack, painted a dark gray-green and adorned with a metal tube frame, faux hardware, and production-added distressing throughout. The word "BETTY" was hand-painted on the tank for filming as a custom character detail. It also includes a matching dark gray-green foam rubber thrower with metal fixtures. Dimensions: 31" x 18" x 14" (78.75 cm x 45.75 cm x 35.75 cm)
Ownership may be restricted in some countries; see replica firearm notice in Buyer's Guide.
Estimate: $20,000 - 40,000
View all lots from ONCE UPON A TIME... IN HOLLYWOOD (2019)