Movies Filmed In Downtown Covington

A large number of movies have been filmed in downtown Covington. 

Last year North Columbia St. in Covington was the shooting location for a scene in the Netflix film "The Highwaymen," starring Kevin Costner and Woody Harrelson. After the filming was completed, several pictures were taken showing the movie set being dismantled and the old antique cars being driven away. 

For two or three days Columbia Street had been turned into 1930's Arcadia, La., where Bonnie and Clyde met their demise at the hands of several lawmen. The St. Tammany Art Association building had been converted into the "Bank of Arcadia" 

and Mo's Art Supply Store became Conger's furniture store with a morgue in the back (where Bonnie and Clyde were taken after being ambushed.)

Even Roy K. Burns Jr. attorney's office had been given a faux facade to become a 1930's portrait photography studio. 

It was the old cars lining both sides of the street that were the star of the Thursday morning show, however, as auto wranglers tried to start them up and load them onto a car carrier truck parked in back of Dependable Glass. Some of the old cars actually started up right away, and a few of the other old cars didn't want to start at all despite prolonged cranking. 

So some of the old cars had to be towed away by the other old cars that were up and running. There was even an old antique tow truck, which is quite rare I am told. 

The variety of old cars was quite amazing, several hardtops, several ragtops, and various different makes. 

 

 
The front porch of H.J. Smith's Sons General Merchandise Store underwent some slight modification for the movie, but not much, considering it already looked like a 1930's store, which is interesting because it was built in the 1970's to look old.  

The Smith museum is next door to the main store, and when Kevin Costner was invited to take a tour of the museum, he took them up on the offer.  He is quite a history buff, it seems, and he asked numerous questions about many of the things he saw in the museum.

Costner also visited Roy's Knife and Archery shop next door to Roy K. Burns Jr. office, and he talked for a while with Roy Blaum while checking out the bows and arrows.

It was a closed set Wednesday, so not a lot of locals got to see the action up close, except for the 300 extras in the crowd scene. All those people dressed up in 1930's costumes was a very interesting sight, especially when they took out their smart phones during breaks in the shooting.

All in all, it was a distinct break in the routine for Columbia Street merchants, and another good chance for Covington to be spotlighted by the movie industry as it has several times in the past few decades. I asked how many times has the front of H.J. Smith been used for the set of a movie shot, and I think they have lost count.

 

Meanwhile, on the other side of the street on the south wall of the Art Association building, movie set sign painters had added a new sign below the existing washateria advertisement. The top "15 cent coin operated" ad is real from years ago, and the bottom Carharttt overalls sign is brand new, made to look old. 

 

One of the crew members once told me on a movie set that one of the reasons directors, cast and crew love it when they get to come to St. Tammany Parish to make a movie is that, after shooting is done for the day, then New Orleans is only a short drive away with its good times, parties, and night life. That close proximity to New Orleans helped St. Tammany become a Hollywood favorite in more ways than one.

 

Some of the movies that have been filmed in part in the Covington area are the following:

The Cincinnati Kid - 1965
Nightmare Honeymoon- 1973
Dead Man Walking - 1995
Kingfish: The Story of Huey P. Long - 1995
Eve's Bayou - 1997
Love Liza - 2002
Local Color - 2006
I Love You Philip Morris - 2008
Malice in Wonderland - 2008
Yellow Hankerchief - 2008
Alabama Moon - 2009
Journey to Promethea - 2010
Pregnancy Pact - 2010
Violin Maker - 2011
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter - 2012
No One Lives - 2012
Beautiful Creatures - 2013
Rappaccini's Daughter - 2013
American Ultra - 2015
Capture the Campers - 2015