LISTICLE | MOVIES
Fictional Movie Bars That You Would Want to Frequent
Get your drink orders in before the credits roll at last call
Movies have always provided us with a temporary escape from reality as we immerse ourselves in the world woven for us by writers, directors, and actors.
Bars, pubs, and saloons have also always given us a similar escape from reality as we drown ourselves in a world woven by bartenders, beers, wines, and spirits.
Who hasn’t imagined chumming up to the main characters of a movie in the fictional hang-outs that they made famous?
Here is a list in no particular order of some famous movie bars in which you might like to frequent, or at least satisfy your curiosity with a quick pint of beer, a shot of whiskey, or a glass of wine.
Rick’s Place
What better way to start the list than with one of the most iconic bars from one of the world’s most classic movies, Casablanca (1949). You can find anybody at Rick’s: locals, Americans, Europeans, and authorities. At some point, everyone ends up at Rick’s Place.
Greely’s
In Unforgiven (1992), Clint Eastwood’s character, William Munny, tells the sheriff, “He should have armed himself if he’s gonna decorate his saloon with my friend” after shooting the unarmed proprietor.
Perhaps this is a place you wouldn’t want to hang out too long, but who couldn’t resist bellying up to the bar at Greely’s for a quick shot of rotgut whiskey? You could even tell the barkeep to “leave the bottle.”
Winchester Tavern
In Shawn of the Dead (2004), we are not sure exactly why Shawn and his friends are driven to seek refuge from a zombie apocalypse in their favorite pub, the Winchester Tavern, but there must be something special about the place.
I think I could sip a pint of Strongbow at the Winchester while watching Shawn and his friends battle the undead.
The Double Deuce
Patrick Swayze’s Road House (1989) largely takes place inside the fictional Double Deuce. This rowdy honkytonk has a major problem with brawls, drugs, and other illegal activities. Swayze plays a cooler (bouncer) named Dalton who has been hired to clean up the place.
We might stop in for a cold Budweiser but only after Dalton has cooled the bar down.
St. Elmo’s Bar
In St. Elmo’s Fire (1985), one can cozy up to most members of the Brat Pack at St. Elmo’s Bar, the group’s hang-out during college.
Of course, you had better get there before the end of the movie if you want to hang with Kirby, Billy, Kevin, Alec, Leslie, and Jules at their favorite college bar. By the end of the movie, they decide to meet at Houlihan’s for brunch instead because it is “not so noisy — not so many kids.”
Bob’s Country Bunker
Bob’s Country Bunker is just one of many hilarious settings in the classic comedy Blues Brothers (1980).
I am not sure about the drinks at Bob’s Country Bunker, but if you want to listen to the Blues Brothers perform “Stand by Your Man” and “Rawhide,” you had better get there early.
The Last Resort
If you find yourself on Mars and have ventured into the seedy Venusville district, you might want to stop in for a drink at The Last Resort.
You may even be able to sit down for a drink with Arnold Schwarzenegger’s character Quaid from Total Recall (1990) but you may never know if the encounter really happened or if it was all just an implanted memory in your own head.
The Titty Twister
No trip south of the U.S. border is complete without a stop at the Titty Twister, or at least that is what the characters played by George Clooney, Quentin Tarantino, Harvey Keitel, Juliette Lewis, and Ernest Liu thought in From Dusk to Dawn (1996).
Perhaps you will even get a chance to see a provocative dance by Salma Hayek before all hell breaks loose.
Mos Eisley Cantina
If you could go back in time, a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, you may want to stop by the Mos Eisley Cantina. Of course, the famous bar in Star Wars (1977) is known for its jazz-like music and a fairly rough crowd. It is located on the desert planet of Tatooine in the Mos Eisley spaceport where “you will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy.”
If you go, lay low and avoid any “imperial entanglements” while enjoying a drink or two.
Of course, this is just a partial list of many beloved bars, pubs, and saloons found in various movies over the years.
Perhaps some of them are actually based on real places or have been opened by someone since the movies came out.
Regardless, thanks to miles and miles of film footage, you can still visit them with your favorite movie characters on the big screen or in your own imagination.
For another movie list by Curt: