Rosemary’s Baby (1968) | Presenting Hitchcock Podcast

Gooooood evening. In this month’s episode of Presenting Hitchcock, Cory and Aaron have a house warming party to end all house warming parties as they discuss Rosemary’s Baby.

Written by: 

Adapted for the Screen by Roman Polanski

Based on the novel by Ira Levin

Starring: Mia Farrow, John Cassavetes, Ruth Gordon, Sidney Blackmer, Maurice Evans, and Ralph Bellamy

Directed by: Roman Polanski

Trailer:

Our Favourite Trivia:

Hitchcock comparisons:

• Rope
• Dial M for Muder
• Strangers on a Train
• The Lady Vanishes
• Rebecca

Producer Cameo: William Castle is seen as the man near the phone booth.

Ira Levin felt that this film is “the single most faithful adaptation of a novel ever to come out of Hollywood.” William Castle speculated the reasons for this were because it was the first time Roman Polanski had ever adapted another writer’s work, unaware he had the freedom to improvise on the book.

According to Mia Farrow, the scenes where Rosemary walks in front of traffic were spontaneous and genuine. Roman Polanski is reported to have told her that “nobody will hit a pregnant woman.” The scene was successfully shot with Farrow walking into real traffic and Polanski following, operating the hand-held camera since he was the only one willing to do it.

Tannis root doesn’t exist; Ira Levin made it up for the story. 

The “vodka blush” cocktail that Roman prepares for everybody is real, and it is normally served with sprigs of rosemary for garnish.

Mia Farrow has said that the actor playing the devil, Clay Tanner, thanked her kindly after he spent hours grinding on top of her, completely naked. He said it was a pleasure to work with her, she shook his hand and said thank you.

The original cut ran over four hours. Roman Polanski couldn’t decide what to cut so he let editor Sam O’Steen decide. Sam would later direct the sequel Look What’s Happened to Rosemary’s Baby (1976).

Producer William Castle said that working with Polanski was painful as he spent far too long filming shots that should only take a few hours. He also admitted that Polanski was a brilliant film maker.

William Castle was convinced there was a Rosemary’s Baby curse. He thought the Sharon Tate murders and a urinary tract infection and various other maladies and illnesses he suffered during this period were evidence of that. Castle was also scared that the Devil was out to get him during this period.

Mia Farrow’s husband at the time, Frank Sinatra, pressured her to not do the film, as their marriage was suffering and he wanted her for a part in The Detective. Executives at Paramount assured her an Oscar win, so she decided to do it and Sinatra had her served for divorce papers on set. The Oscar for best actress was quite notorious in 1969, as Farrow was snubbed for a nomination, and the win was tied between Barbra Streisand for Funny Girl, and Katherine Hepburn for The Lion in Winter. The film was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay, and Ruth Gordon won for Best Supporting Actress.

The Random Draw for Next Picture:

We vitoed Naked Obsession. Next month, we’re back with Nicole Kidman in To Die For.

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