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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King Creole French
The year was 1958 and there was no star bigger in entertainment than Mississippi’s own Elvis Presley. With three films already under his belt, Presley was cast in the title role of Paramount Pictures King Creole, a screenplay adapted from the Harold Robbins novel, A Stone for Danny Fisher. Producer Hal Wallis chose veteran Casablanca director Michael Curtiz to helm the film. Besides Presley, the cast included Carolyn Jones, Walter Matthau, Dolores Hart and Dean Jagger.
The story revolved around a 19-year-old delinquent, who, after flunking out of school, gets involved with the mob and women in the French Quarter of New Orleans.
King Creole was the last picture Presley made before entering the U.S. Army to serve for two years. He had been drafted and ordered to report on January 20, 1958. Presley was given a sixty-day deferment in order to shoot the film, on which Paramount had already spent approximately $350,000 in pre-production costs. So instead of reporting for Army duty, Presley, without his signature sideburns, boarded a train and arrived in New Orleans for location filming on March 1, 1958.
King Creole was shot in part on location in New Orleans’s French Quarter, Lake Pontchartrain, and a local high school. Cinematographer Russell Harlan photographed the film in a dark, moody lighting style that captured the seedy but seductive atmosphere of the French Quarter.
During location filming, Elvis had a major problem with fans mobbing him at The Roosevelt Hotel where he was staying. Hal Wallis arranged for heavy-duty security so that Elvis could get enough rest to look fresh on camera. Pinkerton guards patrolled the hallways, the elevators, and even the fire escapes of the hotel to keep well-intentioned but troublesome fans away. When he returned to his hotel in the evening, Elvis had to go to the top of an adjacent building, cross over the roof, and enter the Roosevelt by way of a fire escape. He was unable to enjoy New Orleans celebrated night clubs or famous restaurants because of the persistence of his fans. Shooting in the city’s streets was even worse. City policemen had to be used for crowd control.
Poster: French Petite Reissue