Directed by Roman Polanski, 1968’s Rosemary’s Baby, featuring Mia Farrow, was a haunting tale that introduced the genre of psychological horror to a wider audience around the world. Known for its psychological tension and creepy atmosphere, the movie narrates the unsettling story of a pregnant woman, Rosemary Woodhouse, who suspects that her neighbors have sinister plans for her unborn child.
Actress Mia Farrow played the iconic role, proving that she is capable of portraying all sorts of complex characters. The actress once recalled that Polanski asked her to do something really risky for a scene in the movie and gave a strange justification for it.
Roman Polanski asked Mia Farrow to walk in front of oncoming traffic
While filming a shot in director Roman Polanski 1968’s movie Rosemary’s Baby, Polanski asked actress Mia Farrow to walk in front of oncoming traffic. In a past interview, the actress recalled,
“Nobody will hit a pregnant woman,’ he laughed, referring to my padded stomach. He had to operate the hand-held camera himself, since nobody else would. I took a deep breath – an almost giddy, euphoric feeling came over me. Together Roman and I marched right in front of the oncoming cars – with Roman on the far side, so I would have been hit first.”
The shot was filmed in New York City, which has always been infamous for its busy traffic. Even today, the statistics claim that NYC’s traffic fatality rate is about a quarter of the national rate.
Rosemary’s Baby ended Mia Farrow’s marriage
At the time of the movie’s release, sources stated that Mia Farrow’s marriage with Frank Sinatra ended because she agreed to star in the film. Sinatra wanted Farrow to quit the film because of issues in their marriage. Farrow almost agreed to quit the project, but then a Paramount executive, Robert Evans, showed her the dailies and told her, “Mia, you’ll win the Oscar if you do this.”
After hearing this, Farrow was firm that she wants to star in the film and several days later, Frank Sinatra gave her divorce papers on the set of the movie. Unfortunately, Farrow did not win the Oscar for her performance, in fact, she was not even nominated.
Rosemary’s Baby was a success
Farrow may not entirely regret the decision to star in the film as it was a commercial success. It received positive reviews and managed to gross $33 million at the global box office on a production budget of $3 million.
This example of an “urban horror” (a horror movie set in a big city like New York), managed to establish a new era of psychological horror that focused on subtlety rather than explicit gore. The film was praised for many things including the movie’s cinematography and Farrow’s compelling performance.
Related: 10 Essential Horror Movies for Your Collection
Source: Time
