Rosemary's Baby (1968)

User Rating:

8.1/10   

Director:

Roman Polanski

Writers:

Ira Levin (novel)
Roman Polanski (screenplay)

Release Date:

12 June 1968 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery | Romance | 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 | Dream | Neighbor | Suicide | Paranoia

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	...	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
Marianne Gordon	...	Joan Jellico, Rosemary's girlfriend
Wende Wagner	...	Tiger, Rosemary's girlfriend (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)
Mona Knox	...	Mrs. Byron (uncredited)
Mary 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 stylist: Miss Farrow
Vidal Sassoon	....	hair stylist: 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)

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)

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

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

Production Companies

• William Castle Productions

Distributors

• Paramount Pictures (1968) (USA) (theatrical)
• Les Films Paramount (1968) (France) (theatrical)
• 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)
• CIC Vídeo (Brazil) (VHS)
• CIC-Taft Home Video (199?) (Australia) (VHS)
• Paramount Filmes do Brasil (Brazil) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Video (19??) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video (USA) (VHS)
• Renacimiento (19??) (Argentina) (VHS)

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:

The last movie of special effects creator Farciot Edouart.

Goofs:

Incorrectly regarded as goofs: The doctor tells Rosemary June 28th is the day of her expected delivery, NOT the date for her next appointment. She found out she was pregnant at the end of October, and the doctor wanted Rosemary to come in the next week for the blood sample, hence why blood is written on the calendar in November.

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:

Referenced in Mia melissa ton Avgousto (2007)

Soundtrack:

Lullaby

One of the ultimate horror classics

Every bit of acclaim that Rosemary's Baby has earned is totally deserved. The Dakota, located at 72nd and Central Park West, is the perfect setting for the demonic events; all that rich Gothic detail in the heart of Manhattan provides the perfect atmosphere, serving as a dark fairy-tale world of its own within the modern setting. Roman Polanski knows this and utilizes it brilliantly, opening the film with stunning aerial shots of the skyline and focusing in on the ornate castle amongst the skyscrapers and tenements.

The acting is fantastic, particularly Mia Farrow, who is the only person I can envision as Rosemary. Her fine-boned fragility makes her the ideal target for terror. She goes from obliviousness to suspicion to fear to near madness without showing a seam, and we as the audience are with her all the way. And Mia is given a run for her money by the delightful Ruth Gordon, a comical yet sinister presence popping in on a deliberate schedule with pale green drinks and sandpapery advice. She's scary because we know her--a batty old broad with a seemingly sweet nature beneath her caustic surface. That such a person could possibly be a vessel of evil is a thoroughly unnerving concept.

Unnerving is the proper adjective for the entire movie. Unnerving, eerie, and penetratingly frightening in a very subtle manner. The subtlety is key, since a more explicit treatment would've spoiled everything. As the tension heightens, we feel what Rosemary feels: Curiosity, then vague suspicion, then paralyzing terror at the final revelation. At all times, the movie retains its dignity, from the opening and closing shots of the building to the flourishing title script to the beautiful music. Even on TV, this picture can chill you to the bone. The best big-budget horror movie of all time.