To celebrate its 100th anniversary, Warner Bros has opened its highly secure Corporate Archive to reporters, offering a rare glimpse into a vault of movie treasures that is deliberately kept off Google Maps. The archive, located in an obscure Los Angeles neighbourhood, houses a century's worth of props, costumes, and set pieces from iconic films and TV shows.
The highlight is the Batcave, a protected room containing nine Batmobiles from films dating back to 1989, each a fully functioning vehicle. The most expensive cost nearly $1 million and features wing-shaped tyre treads that leave bat imprints. Within a locked room inside the archive, mannequins wear original Superman and Wonder Woman costumes, while four masked Batmen stand alongside rows of Batmasks labelled with the names of actors who wore them, including George Clooney, Michael Keaton, Ben Affleck, and Christian Bale.
Warner Bros, founded by the Warner brothers—Harry, Albert, Sam, and Jack—Jewish immigrants from Poland, pioneered the 'talkies' with 1927's The Jazz Singer. The archive reflects the studio's storied history, from Humphrey Bogart's signed cowboy hat to Bette Davis's scuffed shoes. Items are preserved at precise sizes for the stars who wore them, such as James Dean's petite jeans from Rebel Without a Cause.
Archivists review new Warner Bros films to select key intellectual property for preservation, including the pink Cadillac from the latest Elvis film, robotic sentinels from The Matrix, and Freddie Krueger's hand. The archive's exact location remains secret to protect its contents, which are watched over by a dedicated team in chilled rooms.
