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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Miller's Crossing
In 1990, the Coen Brothers chose New Orleans as the location to film Miller's Crossing, an American gangster film. Set in 1929, a political boss and his advisor have a parting of the ways when they both fall for the same woman. This volatile situation eventually led to citywide gang war.
Miller's Crossing starred Gabriel Byrne, Albert Finney, Marcia Gay Harden, Jon Polito, John Turturro and Louisiana native John “Spud” McConnell.
The Coens and line producer Graham Place visited three different cities before settling on New Orleans, where economic factors and a preservation movement dating from the thirties had left many buildings from the twenties intact. Although the city in which the action takes place is not identified, it was filmed on location in and around New Orleans. According to various news reports, Ethan Coen commented in an interview:
"There are whole neighborhoods here of nothing but 1929 architecture. New Orleans is sort of a depressed city; it hasn’t been gentrified. There’s a lot of architecture that hasn’t been touched, store-front windows that haven’t been replaced in the last sixty years."
Scenes for the film were shot at several locations including: the International House (Leo’s club); the Louise S. McGehee School in the Garden District (Caspar’s house); Gallier Hall (Caspar’s Great Room and Mayor’s Office); French Quarter; Magazine Street shops; Old Metairie; and a tree farm ninety minutes from New Orleans in St. Tammany (the woods). All sets were housed in a garage on Annunciation Street.
Miller's Crossing was a box-office failure at the time, making slightly more than $5 million, out of its $10–$14 million budget. However, it has made a great deal of revenue in video and DVD sales. In 2005, Time Magazine chose Miller's Crossing as one of the 100 greatest films made since the inception of the periodical.
Poster: Australian Daybill