White Palace (film)
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| White Palace | |
|---|---|
 Promotional poster for White Palace |
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| Directed by | Luis Mandoki |
| Produced by | Griffin Dunne Amy Robinson Mark Rosenberg |
| Written by | Glenn Savan (novel) Ted Tally, Alvin Sargent (screnplay) |
| Starring | Susan Sarandon, James Spader, Jason Alexander, Kathy Bates, Eileen Brennan, Steven Hill, Rachel Chagall, Corey Parker, Renee Taylor, Jonathan Penner, Barbara Howard, Kim Myers, Mitzi McCall |
| Music by | George Fenton |
| Cinematography | Lajos Koltai |
| Editing by | Carol Fisher, Carol Littleton |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
| Release date(s) | October 19, 1990 |
| Running time | 103 min. |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
White Palace is a 1990 film starring Susan Sarandon and James Spader. It is a romantic drama about the unlikely relationship between a young middle class widower (Spader) who falls in love with a middle-aged working class waitress (Sarandon) in St. Louis, Missouri. The film was based on a novel of the same title by the late Glenn Savan (who also appeared in the film as an extra), and was directed by Luis Mandoki from a screenplay by Ted Tally and Alvin Sargent. The original music score is composed by George Fenton. The film is marketed with the tagline "The story of a younger man and a bolder woman."
The title was originally to have been The White Castle, and the novel even makes reference to a specific real White Castle location at the intersection of S. Grand Blvd. and Gravois Ave. in south St. Louis, but the restaurant chain refused permission to use its trademarked name in either the novel or the film, and also refused permission to allow any of its restaurants for filming locations.
Instead, an independent diner at the intersection of 18th and Olive Streets just west of downtown St. Louis was used - and that address is even given in the film as a plug for the diner. After the film was released the diner's owners sought permission to permanently rename it "White Palace", but were refused by the studio, so the diner was instead renamed "White Knight". As of February 2007, it still exists and is open for business, serving standard diner fare.
The movie also features Jason Alexander, Kathy Bates, Steven Hill, Jeremy Piven, and Renee Taylor, and was shot almost entirely in the St. Louis area, including the Thanksgiving Dinner scenes, which were filmed in a private home off Conway Road located at #2 Frontenac Place in west St. Louis County, and Nora's house, which was in the Dogtown neighborhood of the City of St. Louis near Hampton and Manchester at 1521 W. Billon. Nora's house is no longer standing.
[edit] Plot summary
Twenty-seven-year-old St. Louis advertising executive Max Baron has completely shut himself off from the world in the two years since the auto accident death of his wife. When he meets forty-three-year-old burger joint waitress Nora Baker, his attraction to the earthy, uninhibited woman is immediate and overpowering. However, it is not just the age difference that presents an obstacle to their happiness. Nora drinks beer, lives in a messy house in "Dogtown" (a low-rent district), and idolises Marilyn Monroe, while Max is cultured, sophisticated, and wealthy (as well as meticulously clean).
Despite their differences, Max and Nora are alike in their suffering and in their deep need for connection, but their charged relationship is put to the test when it becomes clear that Max is hiding his affair with Nora from his upper middle-class, Jewish social circle.
[edit] Main cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Susan Sarandon | Nora Baker |
| James Spader | Max Baron |
| Jason Alexander | Neil |
| Kathy Bates | Rosemary |
| Eileen Brennan | Judy |
| Steven Hill | Sol Horowitz |
| Rachel Chagall | Rachel |
| Corey Parker | Larry Klugman |
| Renee Taylor | Edith Baron |
| Jonathan Penner | Marv Miller |
| Barbara Howard | Sherri Klugman |
| Kim Myers | Heidi Solomon |
| Mitzi McCall | Sophie Rosen |
