Vintage original 27 x 41 in. US one-sheet poster from the 1950's political-themed thriller drama/romance, A LION IS IN THE STREETS, released in 1953 by Warner Bros and directed by Raoul Walsh, in which a charismatic peddler from the bayous finds his true calling in politics. Is he a demagogue in the making?
The design is dominated by artwork depicting a color image of James Cagney as "Hank Martin" with the caption: "He Was King of a Double-Cross Empire...and the Gutter Was His Throne!" The left side depicts b&w images of cast members Anne Francis, Lon Chaney Jr. .and others. Unrestored and folded as originally issued, it is in fine condition with a Canadian censor stamp in the top left panel.
The film is based on a 1945 novel of the same title which was a fictionalized account of assassinated Louisiana politician Huey Long (1893-1935) by Adria Locke Langley. A film based on a similar subject, All the King's Men (1949), won the Academy Award for "Best Picture" in 1949. That b&w film shot on location with non-professional extras had a gritty realism that this studio-bound movie did not have, and the latter film suffered by comparison.