Shell Beach sign from Dark City

Miniature prop sign from Dark City with vintage sun, woman in bikini waving, and text: “The water’s fine! Come to Shell Beach
https://www.nfsa.gov.au/sites/default/files/2025-07/prop-shell-beach-sign-dark-city-1641111.jpg
Title:
Shell Beach sign from Dark City
NFSA ID
1641111
Year
1996
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‘Come to Shell Beach. The water’s fine!’ This original prop miniature sign, complete with a slightly sinister winking sun and a waving woman dressed in a bikini, was used for special effects during the production of Australian director Alex Proyas' 1998 tech-noir film Dark City. This imagery of Shell Beach is key to the film. It represents an out-of-reach distant memory for the central character, Murdoch (played by Rufus Sewell), who inhabits a place that is in direct contrast to Shell Beach: a dark city bathed in shadows where the sun never shines.