Rosemary's Baby (1968)

Director:

Roman Polanski

Writers:

Ira Levin (novel)
Roman Polanski (screenplay)

Release Date:

12 June 1968 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Pray for Rosemary's Baby

Plot:

A young couple move into a new apartment, only to be surrounded by peculiar neighbors and occurrences. When the wife becomes mysteriously pregnant, paranoia over the safety of her unborn child begins controlling her life.

Plot Keywords:

Apartment | Neighbor | Dream | Paranoia | Suicide

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 11 wins & 9 nominations

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Mia Farrow	...	Rosemary Woodhouse
John Cassavetes	...	Guy Woodhouse
Ruth Gordon	...	Minnie Castevet
Sidney Blackmer	...	Roman Castevet
Maurice Evans	...	Edward 'Hutch' Hutchins
Ralph Bellamy	...	Dr. Abraham Sapirstein
Victoria Vetri	...	Terry Gionoffrio (as Angela Dorian)
Patsy Kelly	...	Laura-Louise McBirney
Elisha Cook Jr.	...	Mr. Nicklas (as Elisha Cook)
Emmaline Henry	...	Elise Dunstan
Charles Grodin	...	Dr. C.C. Hill
Hanna Landy	...	Grace Cardiff
Phil Leeds	...	Dr. Shand (as Philip Leeds)
D'Urville Martin	...	Diego
Hope Summers	...	Mrs. Gilmore

Runtime:

136 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Spain:18 (DVD rating) | Portugal:M/16 | Canada:18+ (Quebec) | South Korea:18 | Brazil:14 | India:A | Argentina:18 | Australia:M | Canada:18A | Finland:K-16 | Ireland:18 | Netherlands:16 | Norway:15 (re-rating) | Norway:16 (original rating) | Singapore:M18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 (video rating) | UK:X (original rating) (cut) | USA:Approved | USA:R (re-rating) | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Dakota Hotel - 1 West 72nd St. at Central Park West, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

William Castle Productions

Trivia:

This was Roman Polanski's first American film. His first American film was going to be Downhill Racer (1969), but Robert Evans of Paramount decided that "Rosemary's Baby" would be more suited to Polanski.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Rosemary looks at Minnie through spy hole in door, Minnie has a huge hair curler in front of scarf covering head. When she enters apartment, the curlers are entirely covered by scarf.

Quotes:

[First lines]
Mr. Nicklas: Are you a doctor?
Rosemary Woodhouse: He is an actor.
Mr. Nicklas: Oh! An actor! We're very popular with actors! Have I seen you in anything?
Guy Woodhouse: Well, I did "Hamlet" a while back, didn't I, Liz? Then we did "The Sandpiper"...
Rosemary Woodhouse: He's joking. He was in "Luther" and "Nobody Loves an Albatross" and a lot of TV plays and commercials.
Mr. Nicklas: That's where the money is, right? The commercials.
Guy Woodhouse: And the artistic thrill too!

Movie Connections:

Edited into Scream Greats, Vol. 2: Satanism and Witchcraft (1986)

Soundtrack:

Lullaby

Truly Creepy and Demonic

This is definitely one of the best horror films ever made. The conspiracy that Rosemary goes throughout the film is truly creepy. What makes it so scary is that she goes trusting her husband and 'friends' without any idea of what really is happening to her. The rape scene is horrifying, very intense and at its best for the horror genre. "Rosemary's Baby" is a great horror film, there are no posessions, no gore, but the film is intense in content. It has power to make the audience nervous, tense and very scared. -********** A perfect 10.