Single White Female (1992)

Director:

Barbet Schroeder

Writers (WGA):

John Lutz (novel)
Don Roos (screenplay)

Release Date:

14 August 1992 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Allie's new roommate is about to borrow a few things without asking. Her clothes. Her boyfriend. Her life.

Plot:

When a 'Single White Female' places an ad in the press for a similar woman to rent a room (to replace the boyfriend she's just left)...

Plot Keywords:

Apartment | Twin | Puppy | Death | Software

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

US TV Schedule:

Sat. June 9

3:30 AM

AMC

Cast

Bridget Fonda	...	Allison Jones
Jennifer Jason Leigh	...	Hedra Carlson
Steven Weber	...	Sam Rawson
Peter Friedman	...	Graham Knox
Stephen Tobolowsky	...	Mitchell Myerson
Frances Bay	...	Elderly Neighbor
Michele Farr	...	Myerson's Assistant
Tara Karsian	...	Mannish Applicant
Christiana Capetillo	...	Exotic Applicant
Jessica Lundy	...	Talkative Applicant
Renée Estevez	...	Perfect Applicant (as Rene Estevez)
Tiffany Mataras	...	Twin
Krystle Mataras	...	Twin
Amelia Campbell	...	Check Cashier
Kenneth Tobey	...	Desk Clerk (as Ken Tobey)
Eric Poppick	...	Nosy Neighbor
Kim Sykes	...	TV Reporter
Michael James Collins	...	Cashier Manager
George Gerdes	...	Super
Jerry Mayer	...	News Vendor
Robert Martin Steinberg	...	Hedy's Date
Leslie A. Sank	...	Woman in Club
Ron Athey	...	Bartender
Kaaren Boothroyd	...	Bookstore Customer
Jack Wilson	...	Man in Cage

Directed by
Barbet Schroeder

Writing credits (WGA)
John Lutz		(novel "SWF Seeks Same")
Don Roos		(screenplay)

Produced by
Jack Baran	....	executive producer
Susan Hoffman	....	associate producer
Roger Joseph Pugliese	....	co-producer
Barbet Schroeder	....	producer

Original Music by
Howard Shore

Cinematography by
Luciano Tovoli

Film Editing by
Lee Percy

Casting by
Howard Feuer

Production Design by
Milena Canonero

Art Direction by
P. Michael Johnston

Set Decoration by
Anne H. Ahrens

Costume Design by
Milena Canonero

Makeup Department
Fern Buchner	....	makeup artist: New York
Judi Goodman	....	hair stylist: New York
Matthew W. Mungle	....	special makeup effects
Candace Neal	....	hair stylist
Lizbeth Williamson	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Roger Joseph Pugliese	....	unit production manager
Judith Stevens	....	unit production manager: New York
Chantal Feghali	....	post-production supervisor (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Marlene Arvan	....	second assistant director: New York
Jack Baran	....	first assistant director
Leslie Franks	....	dga trainee (as Leslie D. Franks)
Daniel R. Suhart	....	second assistant director
Jennifer Wilkinson	....	DGA trainee: New York
Richard Hawley	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Marjorie Coster	....	assistant property master
Cosmas A. Demetriou	....	lead set designer
Jodi Ginnever	....	art department coordinator
Walt Hadfield	....	construction coordinator (as Walton Hadfield)
Douglas E. Maxwell	....	lead man
James Sorice	....	chargeman scenic artist: New York
David Touster	....	property master
James F. Truesdale	....	assistant art director
James F. Walker	....	construction foreman
Bonnie Bennetts	....	set dresser (uncredited)
Sean Haworth	....	set designer (uncredited)
John Hammer Maxwell	....	on-set dresser (uncredited)
Tim Stadler	....	painter (uncredited)

Sound Department
Richard Beggs	....	sound re-recording mixer
Gloria S. Borders	....	supervising sound editor
Christopher Boyes	....	assistant sound designer
Carl Fischer	....	boom operator
Ken Fischer	....	sound editor
Rob Fruchtman	....	supervising adr editor
J.R. Grubbs	....	assistant sound editor
Don Hall	....	sound editor
Petur Hliddal	....	production sound mixer
Tim Holland	....	supervising sound editor
Tom Johnson	....	sound re-recording mixer
Eva Kadrey	....	assistant sound editor
Marilyn McCoppen	....	sound editor
Tom Myers	....	assistant sound designer
E. Jeane Putnam	....	sound editor
Gary Rydstrom	....	sound designer
Gary Rydstrom	....	sound re-recording mixer
Claire Sanfilippo	....	assistant sound editor
Robert Shoup	....	sound editor (as Bob Shoup)
Frank Stettner	....	sound mixer: New York
Ethan Van der Ryn	....	sound editor
Gwendolyn Yates Whittle	....	sound editor
James Ashwill	....	foley mixer (uncredited)
William Jacobs	....	sound editor (uncredited)
John Roesch	....	foley artist (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Josh Hakian	....	special effects
Eddie Surkin	....	special effects (as Eddie Etan Surkin)
Grady Holder	....	lab technician: M.B.P. (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Paul Lasaine	....	visual effects supervisor (uncredited)
Michael Douglas Middleton	....	visual effects plate photographer (uncredited)

Stunts
Joni Avery	....	stunts
Hannah Kozak	....	stunt double
Jamie Jo Medearis	....	stunts
Edward J. Ulrich	....	stunt coordinator
Webster Whinery	....	stunt coordinator (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
David Burnett	....	assistant chief lighting technician (as David R. Burnett)
Gary Dagg	....	key grip
François Duhamel	....	still photographer
Bob Hall	....	first assistant camera: "a" camera
Joe Kelly	....	best boy grip
Brian LeGrady	....	second assistant camera
Mike Miller	....	key grip: New York
Mike Moyer	....	gaffer (as Mike G. Moyer)
David W. Nims	....	dolly grip (as David Nims)
Monty Rowan	....	camera operator
Charles 'Woody' Lang	....	best boy grip: re-shoots (uncredited)
Paul Taylor	....	Steadicam operator (uncredited)

Casting Department
Jakki Fink	....	casting assistant
Todd M. Thaler	....	extras casting: New York (as Todd Thaler)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Elisabetta Beraldo	....	assistant costume designer
Jaqueline De La Fontaine	....	costumer
Eileen Kennedy	....	costume supervisor
Ingrid Price	....	wardrobe supervisor: New York
Andrea Wallace	....	assistant costume designer
Dayna Cussler	....	wardrobe assistant (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Sarah Peddie	....	assistant film editor
Emily Wallin	....	first assistant editor (as Emily C. Wallin)
Eric Alan Donaldson	....	post-production runner (uncredited)

Music Department
Homer Denison	....	orchestrator
Michael Dittrick	....	music editor
Frank Macchia	....	music preparation
Joel Moss	....	music mixer
Joel Moss	....	music recordist
David Olson	....	assistant music editor
Jim Weidman	....	music editor
Tom Boyd	....	musician: oboe soloist (uncredited)
Blake Martin Moulin	....	assistant music editor (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Tom Briggs	....	transportation coordinator
James R. Brown	....	transportation captain (as James Brown)

Other crew
Andrew M. Comins	....	location manager (as Andrew Comins)
Paul Condolora	....	production trainee
Adam Cook	....	office production assistant
Robert Dawson	....	title designer
Jane Nerlinger Evans	....	production office coordinator: New York
Christine Fugate	....	assistant: Mr. Schroeder
Wilma Garscadden-Gahret	....	script supervisor
Barbara Heller	....	locations: New York
Elyse Katz	....	production coordinator
Steve Kurland	....	office production assistant (as Steven Scott Kurland)
Margaret Mitchell	....	production accountant (as Margaret A. Mitchell)
Paul 'Sled' Reynolds	....	animal trainer
Al Valentine	....	location assistant
Beverly Walker	....	unit publicist
Gloria Zimmerman	....	assistant: Mr. Baran
Chuck Dudley	....	production assistant (uncredited)
Bill McCamey	....	on-set nurse (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Columbia Pictures Corporation (as Columbia Pictures) (presents)

Distributors

• Columbia Pictures (1992) (USA) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Films (1992) (France) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Film Distributors (1992) (UK) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Film (1992) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Films (1992) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Films de Argentina (1992) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Films de España (1992) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1995) (USA) (TV)
• Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment (????) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (199?) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (1992) (USA) (VHS)
• LK-TEL Vídeo (Brazil) (VHS)
• LK-TEL (1993) (Argentina) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Cinema Research  opticals
• D. Bassett & Associates  negative cutting
• Hollywood Animal Rentals  animal supplier
• Pacific Studios Inc.  chromatrans background
• Panavision  camera and lenses
• Skywalker Sound  post-production sound services
• TAJ Soundworks  foley

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated R for strong sexuality, and for violence and language

Runtime:

107 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Hong Kong:III | Portugal:M/18 (Qualidade) | New Zealand:R16 (re-rating) | New Zealand:RP13 (original rating) | Iceland:16 | Netherlands:16 | Argentina:18 | Australia:M | Chile:18 | Finland:K-16 | France:-12 | Germany:16 | Norway:18 | Peru:18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R | Singapore:R21

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

The Ansonia on the Upper West Side of Manhattan was used for the apartment building. The interiors were shot on a sound stage but the scenes in the stairwells were shot at The Ansonia.

Goofs:

Plot holes: Apparently, the huge NY apartment complex where Allie lives has only four tenants: Allie, Graham, the landlord and the neighbor who brought the landlord down to open Allie's door when she turned the TV up too loud as a call for help after Hedy had tied her up. Gunshots, broken items thrown about, violent struggles - all were not loud enough for the one neighbor to complain, but they do complain about a rock music video. No other tenants are seen in this highly desirable section of the city in which to live, and the building looks all but abandoned. Additionally, the ventilation system that Graham (Allie's upstairs neighbor) pointed out carried sound so well did nothing to alert other neighbors that perhaps somebody should call the police.

Quotes:

[last lines]
Allison Jones:[voice-over] I cried the whole week of Sam's funeral. Graham says that it won't bring him back. He said that I should start letting go. He's right. Hedy's parents said that for years they tried to explain to her that her sister's death wasn't her fault. She never forgave herself for surviving. So, every day I try to forgive Hedy for killing Sam. Then, I try to do what she couldn't: forgive myself for killing her. I know it can happen to someone who doesn't.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "I Love the '90s: 1992 (#1.3)" (2004)

Soundtrack:

RHYTHM OF TIME

Who needs references these days anyway?

Single White Female is directed by Barbet Schroeder and adapted to screenplay by Don Roos from the novel "SWF Seeks Same" written by John Lutz. It stars Bridget Fonda, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Steven Weber, Peter Friedman and Stephen Tobolowsky. Music is by Howard Shore and cinematography by Luciano Tovoli.

When it's revealed that her partner Sam (Weber) has been cheating on her with his ex-wife, Allie Jones (Fonda) kicks him out of the apartment and advertises for a female roommate. She chooses Hedra Carlson (Leigh), who on the surface seems to be the perfect roommate. Smoothly helping Allie through her crisis, a real friendship is formed, but it's not long before Hedra starts to exhibit some dark behaviour patterns…..

The early 90s saw the "Woman from Hell" back in vogue in mainstream cinema. After the success and publicity of Fatal Attraction (1987), there was a period where you feel that sensible film makers wisely chose to let that particular film disappear from the film lovers memory banks. As it happens, they must have collectively chose 5 years as the cooling off period. For 1992 saw a wave of mad female on the loose pictures released. Led by the publicity gobbling Basic Instinct, films such as The Hand That Rocks the Cradle and Single White Female put bums on cinema seats and reopened the "Mad Bitch" sub-genre. Of the three, Single White Female grossed the least, which is strange since it's a better movie than the other two.

Schroeder's (Barfly/Reversal of Fortune) movie isn't a complete success, there's not enough development of the main characters and there's some unintentionally funny moments. But when it's good it's real good. Reeling off a number of memorable and often chilling scenes, film is further boosted by the psychological smarts in Roos' (Boys on the Side) screenplay. It helps that Schroeder has a knack for pacing, too, where he neatly simmers the plot until the spill over for the big finale. No disappointment there either, a good combination of genre staples is enhanced in impact by some unexpected character developments, and there's moments of genuine suspense to lure the viewer to the edge of their seat.

It's also stylishly shot by Schroeder and Tovoli (Suspiria/Tenebrae). Allie's Upper West Side apartment is imposing and expansive, with high ceilings, old time plumbing, a clunky lift and a dingy laundry in the basement. It's a different set-up for such a thriller, no picket fence harmony house or beach side residence, this is bustling New York, big spaces, but as it turns out, that means no hiding place. The boys behind the cameras get the maximum they can from the locale by blending imposing and ominous with grainy veneer and filtered light. On the acting front, the girls put great effort into making their thinly developed characters work, with Leigh doing a good line in progressive instability. While Friedman, Weber and a wonderfully naughty Tobolowsky, make the most of their secondary roles.

One or two obvious flaws aside, this still rounds out as a thoroughly enjoyable thriller. 7.5/10