Zippo lighters are the best known and most recognized of the movie lighters used as props in movies. Zippo lighters have been used in over 1,500 movies, TV shows, and plays. They are part of a dramatic production that never gets old, never gets boring, never misses work because of personal problems, and never makes unreasonable demands. In the world of movie lighters they are the pre-eminent star.
The beginning of the Zippo legend
Zippos were first made in 1933. From the very beginning they were used in movies. The Zippo’s simple lines and its distinctive click when the lid was opened gave it a much more realistic feel to a movie. It would become a trademark of certain movie characters or styles in the same way a trench coat would.
During World War II the Zippo factory channeled all its production towards the use of lighters by military personnel. Zippos were made famous by Generals Douglas McArthur and George Patton. Like generals, Zippos were used by lower ranks for a myriad of purposes. This popularity among WWII troops made the Zippo the go-to accessory to bring authenticity to all movie lighters used in WWII movies.
Some examples of the use of Zippo lighters are seen in the movie From Here to Eternity when Donna Reed lights Montgomery Clift’s cigarette. Also Errol Flynn used a Zippo lighter in the movie Burma.
As Zippo remained popular with service personnel during the Korean and Vietnam wars, Zippo remained the choice of movie lighters used in movies. A Zippo is a major component between the actors Richard Widmark and Karl Malden in the movie Sergeant Terror. Gregory Peck was depicted as relying heavily on his Zippo lighter in the Korean War film Pork Chop Hill. John Wayne later used the star of the movie lighter, a Zippo, in his Vietnam War movie, The Green Berets. In another Vietnam War movie, Apocalypse Now, a Zippo was used at the beginning of the movie to create a ghostly mood. On the classic television show I Love Lucy, a Zippo lighter was often a featured accessory in the show’s living room.
Zippos as stars today
Zippos remains the star of lighters in more modern movies. Michael Douglas used a Zippo to punctuate a dramatic scene in the movie Black Rain. A Zippo helped Bruce Willis fight bad guys in two of his movies, Die Hard and Die Harder.
The dynamic duo of Harrison Ford and Sean Connery used a Zippo lighter to escape death in the movie Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. In the film Lethal Weapon III, composer Eric Clapton uses the Zippo’s clicking sound as part of the film’s score elements.
It’s almost harder to count the movies in which a Zippo hasn’t been used than it is to count the times that it has. Zippos has appeared in Midnight Run with Robert DeNiro, Bird On A Wire with Mel Gibson and Goldie Hawn, as well as Jurassic Park, Top Gun and Out of Sight.
Zippos will no doubt continue to get top billing for lighter films at future movies and shows.