Rosemary's Baby (1968)

Director:

Roman Polanski

Writers:

Ira Levin (novel)
Roman Polanski (screenplay)

Release Date:

12 June 1968 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Mystery

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 | Pregnancy | Baby

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 11 wins & 9 nominations

Cast

Mia Farrow	...	Rosemary Woodhouse
John Cassavetes	...	Guy Woodhouse
Ruth Gordon	...	Minnie Castevet
Sidney Blackmer	...	Roman Castevet
Maurice Evans	...	Hutch
Ralph Bellamy	...	Dr. Sapirstein
Victoria Vetri	...	Terry (as Angela Dorian)
Patsy Kelly	...	Laura-Louise
Elisha Cook Jr.	...	Mr. Nicklas (as Elisha Cook)
Emmaline Henry	...	Elise Dunstan
Charles Grodin	...	Dr. Hill
Hanna Landy	...	Grace Cardiff
Phil Leeds	...	Dr. Shand (as Philip Leeds)
D'Urville Martin	...	Diego
Hope Summers	...	Mrs. Gilmore
Marianne Gordon	...	Rosemary's Girl Friend
Wende Wagner	...	Rosemary's Girl Friend (as Wendy Wagner)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Bill Baldwin	...	Salesman (uncredited)
Walter Baldwin	...	Mr. Wees (uncredited)
Roy Barcroft	...	Sun-Browned Man (uncredited)
Charlotte Boerner	...	Mrs. Fountain (uncredited)
Gail Bonney	...	Babysitter (voice) (uncredited)
Carol Brewster	...	Claudia Comfort (uncredited)
Lynn Brinker	...	Sister Veronica (uncredited)
Sebastian Brook	...	Argyron Stavropoulos (uncredited)
William Castle	...	Man by Pay Phone (uncredited)
Gordon Connell	...	Allen Stone - Guy's Agent (uncredited)
Patricia Ann Conway	...	Mrs. John F. Kennedy (uncredited)
Tony Curtis	...	Donald Baumgart (voice) (uncredited)
Joyce Davis	...	Dee Bertillon (uncredited)
Paul Denton	...	Skipper (uncredited)
Duke Fishman	...	Man (uncredited)
Janet Garland	...	Nurse (uncredited)
Michel Gomez	...	Pedro (uncredited)
John Halloran	...	Mechanic (uncredited)
Ernest Harada	...	Young Japanese Man (uncredited)
Marilyn Harvey	...	Dr. Sapirstein's Receptionist (uncredited)
Jean Inness	...	Sister Agnes (uncredited)
Jack Knight	...	Investigating patrolman (uncredited)
Mona Knox	...	Mrs. Byron (uncredited)
Louise Lawson	...	Portia Haynes (uncredited)
Natalie Masters	...	Young Woman (uncredited)
Elmer Modling	...	Young Man (uncredited)
Floyd Mutrux	...	Man at Party (uncredited)
Patricia O'Neal	...	Mrs. Wees (uncredited)
Robert Osterloh	...	Mr. Fountain (uncredited)
Josh Peine	...	Man at Party (uncredited)
Gale Peters	...	Rain Morgan (uncredited)
Jack Ramage	...	Patron (uncredited)
Joan T. Reilly	...	Pregnant Woman (uncredited)
George R. Robertson	...	Lou Comfort (uncredited)
George Savalas	...	Workman (uncredited)
Almira Sessions	...	Mrs. Sabatini (uncredited)
Michael Shillo	...	Pope (uncredited)
Bruno Sidar	...	Mr. Gilmore (uncredited)
Tom Signorelli	...	Man at the Party (uncredited)
Al Szathmary	...	Taxi Driver (uncredited)
Clay Tanner	...	Devil (uncredited)
Viki Vigen	...	Lisa (uncredited)
Frank White	...	Hugh Dunstan (uncredited)

Directed by
Roman Polanski

Writing credits
Ira Levin		(novel)
Roman Polanski		(screenplay)

Produced by
William Castle	....	producer
Dona Holloway	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Krzysztof Komeda		(as Christopher Komeda)

Cinematography by
William A. Fraker		(director of photography) (as William Fraker)

Film Editing by
Sam O'Steen
Bob Wyman

Production Design by
Richard Sylbert

Art Direction by
Joel Schiller

Set Decoration by
Robert Nelson

Costume Design by
Anthea Sylbert

Makeup Department
Sydney Guilaroff	....	hair styles creator: Miss Farrow
Vidal Sassoon	....	hair styles creator: Miss Farrow
Allan Snyder	....	makeup artist
Sherry Wilson	....	hair stylist

Production Management
William Davidson	....	unit production manager (as William C. Davidson)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Daniel McCauley	....	assistant director (as Daniel J. McCauley)
Gene Marum	....	second assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Paolo Rocco Innamorato	....	first assistant art director (uncredited)

Sound Department
Harold Lewis	....	sound recordist

Visual Effects by
Farciot Edouart	....	process photography

Stunts
Roger Creed	....	stunts (uncredited)
Frank Orsatti	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Steve Birtles	....	lighting technician (uncredited)
Robert Willoughby	....	special still photographer (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Joan Joseff	....	costume jeweller (uncredited)

Music Department
Bob Bain	....	musician: guitar (uncredited)

Other crew
Hawk Koch	....	dialogue coach (as Howard W. Koch Jr.)
Luanna S. Poole	....	script continuity
Robert Evans	....	developer (uncredited)
Wayne Fitzgerald	....	title designer (uncredited)
Stephen Frankfurt	....	title designer (uncredited)

Production Companies

• William Castle Productions (as A William Castle PRODUCTION)

Distributors

• Paramount Pictures (1968) (USA) (theatrical) (as Paramount A Gulf+Western Company)
• Les Films Paramount (1968) (France) (theatrical)
• Paramount (1968) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1973) (USA) (TV)
• Pioneer (1995) (UK) (video) (laserdisc)
• Paramount Home Entertainment (2000) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• Paramount Home Video (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Entertainment (2004) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Video (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Entertainment (2008) (Netherlands) (DVD) (Award Winning Collection)
• Mercurio Films S.A. (1969) (Spain) (theatrical)
• New Star (2011) (Greece) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Paramount-Films (1969) (Finland) (theatrical)
• CIC Vídeo (Brazil) (VHS)
• CIC-Taft Home Video (199?) (Australia) (VHS)
• Criterion Collection, The (2012) (USA) (DVD)
• Esselte Video (1980s) (Finland) (VHS)
• Nelonen (2004) (Finland) (TV)
• Paramount Filmes do Brasil (Brazil) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Entertainment Finland (2002) (Finland) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Entertainment (2004) (Germany) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Video (19??) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video (USA) (VHS)
• Renacimiento (19??) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (1987) (1997) (2010) (Finland) (TV)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

136 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

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) (1987) (2001) | UK:X (original rating) (passed with cuts) | USA:Approved (MPAA rating: certificate #21674) | USA:R (re-rating) | West Germany:16 (f) | Spain:18 (DVD rating) | Portugal:M/16 | Canada:18+ (Quebec) | South Korea:18 | Brazil:14 | India:A | Italy:VM14 | France:U | UK:18 (tv rating) | USA:R | Germany:16 (DVD rating)

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

William Castle Productions

Trivia:

Oscar-nominated editor Sam O'Steen would later direct the sequel, Look What's Happened to Rosemary's Baby (1976) (TV).

Goofs:

Continuity: Obvious wig on Rosemary during the rape.

Quotes:

[First lines]
Guy Woodhouse:Are you a doctor?
Guy Woodhouse:Yes. Yes.
Rosemary Woodhouse:He's an actor.
Mr. Nicklas:Oh,an actor. We're very popular with actors. Have I, uh, seen you in anything?
Guy Woodhouse:Well,let's see, I-I did "Hamlet" a while back, didn't I, Liz? And then we did "The, uh, The Sandpiper" and then...
Rosemary Woodhouse:He's joking. He was in "Luther" and "Nobody Loves an Albatross" and a lot of television plays and commercials.
Mr. Nicklas:Well, that's where the money is, isn't it? Commercials.
Guy Woodhouse:And the artistic thrills, too!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Elvira's Movie Macabre: Scared to Death (#1.6)" (2010)

Soundtrack:

Lullaby

Polanski's Baby

When people talk about perfect films I don't actually know what they mean. Perfect for whom? Perfect compared to what? I think that perfection is in the brain and heart of the beholder. "Rosemary's baby" is a perfect film to me. Scary in a way that makes you breathless. You're thinking and feeling throughout the film. One of the many sides of Polanski's genius is to suggest. And what he suggest is so monstrous that we don't want to believe it, but we do. The characters are so perfectly drawn that there is no cheating involved. John Cassavettes's superb study in selfishness and egomaniacal frustration is so real that comes to no surprise that he could do what he does to advance his career, but we are surprised, we're horrified. The spectacular Ruth Gordon and Sidney Blackmer are not Deborah Kerr and David Niven, are they? So that they turn out to be what they turn out to be is totally believable, but Polanski presents it in such a light of normality that you can't believe it. Mia Farrow's predicament is as classic as the boy who cried wolf tale and yet, as told by Roman Polanski in the wonderful face of Mia Farrow, is as if we're hearing it, seeing it and living it for the first time. Every silence, every voice in the distance, every door opening. Your heart is always in your throat. There is something there that accelerates a constant state of dread. Very few movies have been able to take me to that place, most of them by Roman Polanski, what about "The Tenant" or "Repulsion"? Other movies that come to mind: David Lynch's "Eraserhead" and Martin Donovan's "Apartment Zero" But "Rosemary's baby" stands alone as a terrifying masterpiece.