As Titanic door prop is set to fetch £32,000 at auction... did Jack really need to die?

It is a question that frustrated audiences have never been able to let go of since the release of Titanic in 1997.

But a prop auction has finally solved the mystery of whether there was enough room for both Jack and Rose on the wooden door frame at the end of the blockbuster.

The makeshift life raft is up for sale for a starting price of £32,000 ($US40,000) and auctioneers have revealed it measures 8ft long and 41in wide – big enough for both Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet to have fitted on top.

In the iconic scene, Jack freezes to death in the water as he sacrifices himself to keep Rose safe on the panel.

Leonardo Dicaprio and Kate Winslet during the famous scene in the 1997 blockbuster Titanic

The life raft was inspired by a real piece of debris salvaged from the 1912 disaster

The famous piece of wood from the film Titanic that Jack and Rose used as a life raft

Audiences have repeatedly debated the film's ending, with some fans even producing recreations of the prop to demonstrate that both could have survived.

Titanic director James Cameron has previously defended the scene, saying the raft would have sunk beneath the weight of the couple and that Jack 'had to die' as the story was a tragedy.

The life raft was inspired by a real piece of debris salvaged from the 1912 disaster. The prop was not a door as is commonly believed, but was crafted to resemble part of an ornate wooden door frame from the real-life Titanic's first-class lounge.

The chiffon 'swim dress' worn by Ms Winslet in the film's final scene

Carpathia life rings that were used during the filming of Titanic

Other props from the film are also being sold by Heritage Auctions in the US, including the ship's helm wheel 

A description on the auctioneer's website says: 'Based on the most famous complete piece of debris salvaged from the 1912 tragedy, this intricately carved prop bears a striking resemblance to the Louis XV-style panel housed in the Maritime Museum in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

'Researchers believe the original oak panel represents the precise area where the liner split in two.

'After breaking apart, it is theorised that the panel rose to the surface as the ship sank into the North Atlantic Ocean.' 

Other props from the film are also being sold by Heritage Auctions in the US, including the ship's helm wheel and the chiffon 'swim dress' worn by Ms Winslet in the film's final scenes. The auction will take place from March 20 to 24.

The most expensive cinema prop ever sold was Robby the Robot from the 1956 film Forbidden Planet, which fetched £4.2million ($US5.3million) in 2017.