Rosemary's Baby (film)

Rosemary's Baby is a 1968 film about a young couple (Guy and Rosemary) move into an apartment only to be surrounded by peculiar neighbors and occurrences. When Rosemary becomes pregnant mysteriously, paranoia over the safety of her unborn child begins to control her life.
 * Directed and written by Roman Polanski, based on the novel by Ira Levin.

Pray for Rosemary's Baby

Rosemary Woodhouse

 * Awful things happen in every apartment house.
 * This is no dream, this is really happening!
 * I like the idea of having everything fresh and natural. I'll bet expectant mothers chew bits of tannis-root when nobody'd even heard of vitamin pills.
 * Tannis anyone?
 * [describing how her pregnancy feels] It's like a wire inside me getting tighter and tighter.
 * I'm having a party for our old... I mean our young friends - Minnie and Roman are not invited. Neither is Laura-Louise nor is Dr. Sapirstein. It's gonna be a very special party. You have to be under 60 to get in.
 * Dr. Sapirstein is either lying or he's, I don't know, out of his mind. Pain like this is a warning something's wrong...And I'm not drinking Minnie's drink anymore. I want vitamins in pills like everyone else. I haven't drunk it for the last three days. I've thrown it away... I've made my own drink... I'm tired of hearing how great Dr. Sapirstein is.
 * Pain, begone, I will have no more of thee!
 * Witches... All of them witches!
 * [to Guy] Do you know who Roman really is?... He's Adrian Marcato's son...Roman Castevet is Steven Marcato rearranged... [pointing to the book's picture] There he is when he was thirteen. See the eyes?... In the same house, and look, look here. [reading] Soon after that, in August 1886, his son Steven was born. 1886 - got it? That makes him seventy-nine now. No coincidence... His father was a martyr to it. The parties with the singing and the flute, and the chanting. Those are S'baths or sabbaths, whatever they're called... They use blood in their rituals and the blood that has the most power is baby's blood. And they don't just use the blood, they use the flesh too... They're not setting foot in this apartment ever again and they're not coming within fifty feet of the baby... We're gonna sub-let and move out.
 * [to Dr. Hill] You can hear them singing through the wall... Guy said it was Dr. Shand, one of these people playing a recorder. Now, how did he know it was Dr. Shand unless he was there with them. They're very clever people. They planned everything right from the beginning. They probably made some sort of deal with Guy. They gave him success and he promised them our baby to use in their rituals. I know this sounds crazy, but I've got books here. Look. There was another actor like him, Donald Baumgart and they put a spell on him. They cast a spell on him and made him blind so that Guy could get his part. Look, here. [She shows Dr. Hill the Witchcraft book excerpt] I had this friend, Edward Hutchins. Maybe you heard of him, a writer. He wrote stories for boys. Anyway, he was my good friend since I first came to New York... Anyway, once Mr. Hutchins came to visit me...It was the time I was having this pain, Doctor. I was suffering severe - you can't imagine how much I was suffering. And they wouldn't help me, nobody would. They were giving me a drink with tannis-root in it, also witches' stuff, tannis-root. Hutch came and he immediately saw something was wrong. He knew about witches, you see. Suddenly, Guy rushed home with his make-up still on, which he never did. They probably called him to come home and steal one of Hutch's belongings - which he did. Took his glove. And they put a spell on him too. Put him in a coma. Three months later, he died. Now, maybe all of this is coincidence, but one thing is for sure, they have a coven and they want my baby.

Guy Woodhouse

 * [about having sex with Rosemary while she was passed out] It was kinda fun in a necrophile sort of way.
 * I know where you got the idea that Minnie and Roman were witches but how come you thought Abe and I joined the party, huh? Let's face it, darling, you had the pre-partum crazies. And now you're gonna rest and you're gonna get over them... From now on, everything's gonna be roses. Paramount's within an inch of where we want 'em, and suddenly Universal's interested too. And we're gonna blow this town. We're gonna be in the beautiful hills of Beverly with a pool and a spice garden - the whole schmeer. And the kids too, Ro. Scouts honor, you heard what Abe said? I've gotta run now and get famous.

Edward "Hutch" Hutchins

 * Are you aware that the Bramford had a rather unpleasant reputation around the turn of the century? It's where the Trench sisters conducted their little dietary experiments. And Keith Kennedy held his parties. Adrian Marcato lived there too... The Trench sisters were two proper Victorian ladies - they cooked and ate several young children including a niece...Adrian Marcato practiced witchcraft. He made quite a splash in the 90s by announcing that he'd conjured up the living devil. Apparently, people believed him so they attacked and nearly killed him in the lobby of the Bramford... Later, the Keith Kennedy business began and by the 20s, the house was half empty... World War II filled the house up again... They called it Black Bramford... This house has a high incidence of unpleasant happenings. In '59, a dead infant was found wrapped in newspaper in the basement...
 * You're not on one of those Zen diets, are you? Pregnant women gain weight, they don't lose it.

Roman Castevet

 * To 1966! The year one!

Minnie Castevet

 * Now! That's what I call the long arm of coincidence!
 * Anyone! Anyone! It didn't have to be a no-good slut straight from the gutter. Just as long as she is young, healthy and not a virgin!
 * [referring to Rosemary] As long as she ate the mousse, she can't see nor hear. She's like dead now.

Others

 * Terry Gionoffrio: [about the Castevets] They picked me up off the sidewalk, literally... I was starving and on dope and doing a lot of other things. They're childless though. I'm like the daughter they never had. At first, I thought they wanted me for some kind of a sex thing but they turned out to be like real grandparents... I'd be dead now if it wasn't for them. That's an absolute fact. Dead or in jail.
 * Laura-Louise: [referring to the tannis-root charm] You'll get used to the smell before you know it.
 * Rosemary's friend: [about Dr. Sapirstein] He sounds like a sadistic nut... Pain like that is a warning that something isn't right. Go see Dr. Hill. Go see anybody besides that... nut. You can't go on suffering like this.
 * Dr. Sapirstein: Come with us quietly, Rosemary. Don't argue or make a scene. Because if you say anything more about witches or witchcraft, we're gonna be forced to take you to a mental hospital. You don't want that, do you? So just put your shoes on.

Dialogue

 * Rosemary: I thought you were Victoria Vetri, the actress.
 * Terry Gionoffrio (played by Victoria Vetri): That's OK. Everybody thinks I'm Victoria. I don't see the resemblance, though.


 * Roman: No Pope ever visits a city where the newspapers are on strike.
 * Minnie: I heard he's gonna postpone and wait till it's over.
 * Guy: Well, that's show-biz.
 * Roman: [chuckling with his wife] That's exactly what it is. All the costumes or rituals, all religions.
 * Minnie: Uh, I think we're offending Rosemary
 * Rosemary: Oh no.
 * Roman: You're not religious, are you my dear?
 * Rosemary: I was brought up a Catholic. Now I don't know. He is the pope.
 * Roman: You don't need to have respect for him because he pretends that he's holy... A good picture of the hypocrisy behind organized religion was given I thought in Luther.


 * Rosemary: I dreamed someone was raping me, I think it was someone inhuman.
 * Guy: Thanks a lot. Whatsa matter?
 * Rosemary: Nothing.
 * Guy: I didn't want to miss the night.
 * Rosemary: We could have done it this morning or tonight. Last night wasn't the only split-second.
 * Guy: I was a little bit loaded myself, you know.


 * Rosemary: What's in this drink?
 * Minnie: Snips and snails and puppy dog's tails.
 * Rosemary: Oh? And what if we wanted a girl?
 * Minnie: Do you?
 * Rosemary: Well, it would be nice if the first one was a boy.


 * Guy: [on Rosemary's decision to switch doctors] You know what Dr. Hill is? He's a Charlie Nobody, that's who he is!
 * Rosemary: I'm tired of hearing about how great Dr. Sapirstein is!
 * Guy: Well, I won't let you do it Ro.
 * Rosemary: Why not?
 * Guy: Well, because... because it wouldn't be fair to Sapirstein.
 * Rosemary: Not fair to Sapir - what about what's fair to me?


 * Guy: [about Rosemary's haircut] What the hell is that?
 * Rosemary: I've been to Vidal Sassoon.
 * Guy: You mean you actually paid for it?


 * Rosemary: I look awful.
 * Guy: What are you talking about? You look great. It's that haircut that looks awful.


 * Grace Cardiff: Hutch regained consciousness at the end and he thought it was the next morning. You know, when you had the appointment... I wasn't there but he told the doctor to make sure that you got the book that was on his desk. Oh, and I'm to tell you. The name is an anagram.
 * Rosemary: [confused] The name of the book?
 * Grace Cardiff: Apparently. He was delirious, so it's hard to be sure.


 * Dr. Sapirstein: [telling Rosemary her baby died] It was in the wrong position. In a hospital, I might have been able to do something about it, but you wouldn't listen.
 * Rosemary: You're lying. It didn't die. You took it. You're lying. You witches. You're lying! You're lying! You're lying! You're lying!


 * [Rosemary enters, carrying a knife]
 * Mrs. Gilmore: Rosemary! Go back to bed. You know you're not supposed to be up and around.
 * Japanese man: Is that the mother?
 * Roman: Rosemary -
 * Rosemary: Shut up.
 * Roman: Rosemary -
 * Rosemary: Shut up! You're in Dubrovnik. I don't hear you. [She slowly walks over to the cradle, sees her child in the bassinet - her eyes widen in terror] What have you done to it? What have you done to its eyes?
 * Roman: He has his father's eyes.
 * Rosemary: What are you talking about?! Guy's eyes are normal! What have you done to him? You maniacs!
 * Roman: Satan is his father, not Guy. He came up from hell and begat a son of mortal woman. [Coven members cheer 'Hail, Satan!'] Satan is his father and his name is Adrian. He shall overthrow the mighty and lay waste their temples. He shall redeem the despised and wreak vengeance in the name of the burned and the tortured. Hail, Adrian! Hail, Satan! Hail, Satan!
 * Minnie: He chose you out of all the world - out of all the women in the whole world, he chose you. He arranged things, because he wanted you to be the mother of his only living son.
 * Roman: His power is stronger than stronger! His might shall last longer than longer.
 * Japanese man: Hail, Satan!
 * Rosemary: No! It can't be! No!
 * Minnie: Go look at his hands.
 * Laura-Louise: And his feet.
 * Rosemary: Oh, God! [realizes in horror as flashbacks of red eyes looking at her appear from dreamscape; drops knife]
 * Roman: God is dead! Satan lives! The year is One, the year is One! God is dead! Why don't you help us out, Rosemary? Be a real mother to Adrian. You don't have to join if you don't want to. Just be a mother to your baby. Minnie and Laura-Louise are too old. It's not right. Think about it, Rosemary.
 * Rosemary: Oh, God!
 * Laura-Louise: Aw, shut up with your Oh, Gods or we'll kill ya - milk or no milk!
 * Mrs. Gilmore: You shut up. Rosemary's his mother, so you show some respect.
 * Roman: [to Argyron Stavropolous, one of the guests who has just arrived] Come my friend. Come see him. Come see the child.
 * Guy: They promised me you wouldn't be hurt and you haven't been...really. I mean, supposing you had the baby and you lost it? Wouldn't that be the same? And we're getting so much in return, Ro. [She spits in his face.]
 * Roman: Oh, Guy, let me introduce you to Argyron Stavropolous.
 * Argyron: How proud you must be. Is this the mother?
 * Minnie: [She gives Rosemary a cup and saucer.] Here, drink this. You'll feel a little better.
 * Rosemary: What's in it, tannis root?
 * Minnie: Nothing's in it, just plain ordinary Lipton's tea. You drink it.
 * [The baby starts to cry. Rosemary watches as Laura-Louise roughly rocks the bassinet, and then slowly walks over.]
 * Laurie-Louise: [To Rosemary] Get away from here! Roman!
 * Rosemary: You're rocking him too fast.
 * Laurie-Louise: Sit down. [To Roman] Get her out of here. Put her where she belongs.
 * Rosemary: You're rocking him too fast. That's why he's crying.
 * Laura-Louise: Oh, mind your own business.
 * Roman: Let Rosemary rock him. Go on, sit down with the others. Let Rosemary rock him.
 * Laura-Louise: Well, she's liable to -
 * Roman: Sit down with the others, Laura-Louise. [To Rosemary] Rock him.
 * Rosemary: Are you trying to get me to be his mother?
 * Roman: Aren't you his mother?
 * [Rosemary begins to rock her child gently; child stops crying; everyone gathers around to admire Rosemary bonding with her baby; photographer takes pictures; Rosemary begins to hum a lullaby to her child; scene fades]

About the film of Rosemary's Baby

 * It incorporates whole pages of the book's dialogue and even uses specific colors mentioned. It was not only Polanski’s first Hollywood film but also the first one he made based on someone else's material; I’m not sure he realized he had the right to make changes. His understated directorial style perfectly complemented the style of the book, and the casting couldn’t have been better. I'm one of several people who claim credit for first suggesting Mia Farrow for the leading role.
 * The movie of Rosemary's Baby attracted some of the hostility I had worried about while writing the book. A woman screamed "Blasphemy!" in the lobby after the first New York preview, and I subsequently received scores of reprimanding letters from Catholic schoolgirls, all worded almost identically. The Legion of Decency condemned the film, but the film turned around and condemned the Legion; when the film became a major hit despite, or because of, its C rating, the Legion, already on its last legs, was disbanded.
 * Ira Levin "'Stuck with Satan': Ira Levin on the Origins of Rosemary’s Baby" Criterion Collection (November 5, 2012), quoting from the New American Library edition afterword dated April 2003.

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
 * Patsy Kelly - Laura-Louise
 * Elisha Cook Jr. - Mr. Nicklas
 * Emmaline Henry - Elise Dunstan
 * Charles Grodin - Dr. C.C. Hill
 * Hanna Landy - Grace Cardiff
 * Hope Summers - Mrs. Gilmore