Fife prop firm Scaramanga applauds role supplying forthcoming Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny film

A Fife firm that supplies props to Hollywood blockbusters has notched up another leading role, with its items having been snapped up by the makers of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny that is released in UK cinemas this Wednesdaynote-0.

The fifth film in the iconic Indiana Jones series, starring Harrison Ford, bought a satchel, wooden pulleys, and three large old iron padlocks from Cupar-based Scaramanga in May 2021, and the latter’s owner Carl Morenikeji and his staff are hoping to see them on the silver screen.

The Scottish firm, which has eight staff, says it hopes this will help cement its place as a go-to supplier of vintage lifestyle items to Hollywood movies – as it’ll be the 24th Tinseltown flick with its products released overall, including films in five of the top ten biggest-grossing movie series.

More recently, Indiana Jones marks the end of a nine-week “Hollywood high five” for the firm, which started on April 28 with the release on Disney+ of live action remake Peter Pan & Wendy that includes two vintage suitcases and a trunk supplied by Scaramanga. The following weeks have seen Fast X open with two tins, one shaped like a car; the Disney musical live action rejig of The Little Mermaid including an old wooden pulley; and The Flash, with a satchel, wooden pulleys and a vintage padlock.

Scaramanga owner Carl Morenikeji is celebrating his firm’s reputation as a go-to supplier to Hollywood confirmed by five films with his products opening in just nine weeks. Picture: ASM Media & PR.

Other films to use the company’s wares include The Hobbit, Paddington 2, James Bond – No Time To Die, The Personal History of David Copperfield, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, both Maleficent movies, The Batman, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Dark Shadows.

Scaramanga, which sells its interiors, homewares, vintage furniture and bags online and in its Cupar HQ, while it also has a concession at Hogarth, Edinburgh, added that the latest five-film streak is only the start of a year set for a record number of releases, with two more Hollywood studio films it’s supplied due to be released by the end of 2023. Its previous record was last year, when it saw five films appear with its products.

Appearances

In terms of the TV world, Scaramanga has also supplied vintage and antique items to 24 shows across ten major channels – from BBC and Netflix to HBO, Disney+ and AppleTV+ – including Strictly Come Dancing, Peaky Blinders, His Dark Materials, The Crystal Maze, Celebrity Big Brother, Towie, Hollyoaks and The Great.

Scaramanga founder and MD Carl Morenikeji said: “Seeing our vintage products so well thought-of that they’ve been used in five Hollywood movies released in just nine weeks would have been unimaginable to me when our antique trunks and chests appeared in our first movie, Dark Shadows, 11 years ago.

“I’m hugely grateful for the loyalty of our props buyers and our staff for continuing to meet their needs so quickly, which is often a crucial factor – as props can be needed for a scene being shot the next day.”

He set the firm up in 2006, envisioning bringing the iconic vintage leather satchel back to the UK after discovering one in a dusty bazaar in a former British colonial desert outpost in north-west India in 1999. Soon, Scaramanga’s first 12 traditional leather satchels had been created by workers from craft-based communities.