Rosemary's Baby

William Castle read Ira Levin’s novel in galley proofs before publication and had Paramount buy the rights, but the studio let him produce, not direct. Roman Polanski took the chair, his first American film, and wrote a 272 page screenplay in roughly 3 weeks, lifting dialogue and detail from the book. With cinematographer William Fraker he shot everything but the opening on 18mm or 25mm wide lenses, so the apartment would act as a character, its walls closing in on Rosemary. The method is withholding: Fraker had to frame Ruth Gordon so the door jamb hides half of her and the telephone is invisible, and at dailies he watched the room lean in to see past it. The baby is never shown. Krzysztof Komeda’s lullaby is sung by Mia Farrow herself. The budget rose from 1.9 to 3.2 million dollars, partly because Polanski took up to 50 takes of a shot. Ruth Gordon won the Academy Award for supporting actress; Polanski was nominated in the category then called Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium, won by The Lion in Winter. A good fit if you treat seeing only half of Ruth Gordon on the phone, behind a door jamb, as the method. Not for viewers unwilling to watch a woman made pregnant without consent, the film’s centre.