Louisiana Movie Poster Museum
Welcome to the the Louisiana Movie Poster Virtual Museum. Since 1895 more than 3,000 movies have been made in or about Louisiana. These posters advertised a few of them. We have hundreds to add, so check back with us as we grow.
Ed and Susan Poole, renowned movie poster experts and authorities on Louisiana film history, curated this initial exhibit. It is based on the Backdrop Louisiana! exhibit that premiered in Slidell, Louisiana in January, 2020 and we’re looking forward to a post-pandemic tour. A smidgen of their knowledge can be found at Learn About Movie Posters, known worldwide as LAMP. Visit Hollywood on the Bayou for a deeper dive into Louisiana film history.
This museum is funded in part by grants from the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Foundation and the New Orleans Entertainment Coalition.
Take a Tour – We love your stories!
Click on a poster to view larger image. Then click “i”. Post your story in Comments. We love to hear about films you remember and your experiences. It’s a highlight of our live exhibits that we hope to recreate in the virtual museum.
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The Baltimore Bullet
Hide Your Women, Lock Up Your Cash, Billie Joe & The Baltimore Bullet are on their way! This was the warning given by producers of 1980’s pool hustler film, The Baltimore Bullet. The film starred James Coburn, Omar Sharif, Ronee Blakley and Bruce Boxleitner and was directed by Robert Ellis Miller.
Coburn is "The Baltimore Bullet," a legendary pool player who's seen better days. Coburn "adopts" aspiring pool champ Boxleitner, teaching him practically everything he knew. Inevitably, the plot requires Coburn and Boxleitner to face each other in the climactic winner-take-all match.
The film’s production notes reported that writer-producer John Brascia’s fascination with pool sharks turned into a nine-month cross-country trip, in which he provided betting money to two pool hustlers to gather research for his screenplay. Inspiration for the film’s FBI raid came from an actual early 1970s raid at Paulie Jansco’s Showbar in Johnson City, IL; the FBI and the IRS clamped down on the exchange of great amounts of tax-free money involved in illegal gambling during a real tournament. Brascia and co-writer Robert Vincent O’Neill also borrowed the nickname of champion pool player Irving “The Deacon” Crane to use for Omar Sharif’s hustler character in the film.
The Baltimore Bullet was shot in a number of different locales. Scenes involving The Deacon’s poker game at a posh hotel were filmed at the Royal Orleans Hotel, known for its rococo-style architecture in the old French Quarter of New Orleans. During the production, a national pocket billiards championship with a $25,000 purse was filmed to capture footage of the professionals and pickup shots of their most difficult moves. The tournament was aired on CBS and narrated by “Minnesota Fats” [aka Rudolf Walter Wanderone, Jr.].
The following acknowledgments appear at the end of the film: “The Producers wish to thank the City of New Orleans; Royal Orleans Hotel; Louisiana Film Commission: Phil Oakley, Phil Seifert; Sports Illustrated magazine, and World of Leisure MFG, Co. – Pool Tables.”
Poster: U.S. One Sheet