Development In ''Rosemary's Baby: A Retrospective'', a featurette on the DVD release of the film, screenwriter/director
Roman Polanski,
Paramount Pictures executive
Robert Evans, and
production designer Richard Sylbert reminisce at length about the production. Evans recalled
William Castle brought him the
galley proofs of the book and asked him to purchase the film rights even before
Random House published the book in April 1967. The studio head recognized the commercial potential of the project and agreed with the stipulation that Castle, who had a reputation for
low-budget horror films, could produce but not direct the film adaptation. He makes a cameo appearance as the man at the phone booth waiting for
Mia Farrow's character to finish her call.
François Truffaut said that
Alfred Hitchcock was first offered the chance to direct the film but declined.
Casting 's performance as Rosemary Woodhouse received widespread critical acclaim. Casting for ''Rosemary's Baby'' began in the summer of 1967 in Los Angeles. Polanski originally envisioned Rosemary as a robust, full-figured, girl-next-door type, and wanted
Tuesday Weld or his own fiancée
Sharon Tate to play the role.
Jane Fonda,
Patty Duke and
Goldie Hawn were also reportedly considered for the role. Since the book had not yet reached bestseller status, Evans was unsure the title alone would guarantee an audience for the film, and he believed that a bigger name was needed for the lead. Farrow, with a supporting role in
Guns at Batasi (1964) and the yet-unreleased
A Dandy in Aspic (1968) as her only feature film credits, had an unproven box office track record; however, she had gained wider notice with her role as
Allison MacKenzie in the popular television series
Peyton Place, and her unexpected marriage to singer
Frank Sinatra. Despite her waif-like appearance, Polanski agreed to cast her. Her acceptance incensed Sinatra, who had demanded she forgo her career when they wed.
Robert Redford was the first choice for the role of Guy Woodhouse, but he turned it down.
Jack Nicholson was considered briefly before Polanski suggested
John Cassavetes, whom he had met in London. In casting the film's secondary actors, Polanski drew sketches of what he imagined the characters would look like, which were then used by Paramount casting directors to match with potential actors. In the roles of Roman and Minnie Castevet, Polanski cast veteran stage and film actors Sidney Blackmer and Ruth Gordon. Veteran actor Ralph Bellamy was cast as Dr. Sapirstein. (Many years earlier, Bellamy and Blackmer had appeared in the pre-Code 1934 film
This Man Is Mine.) When Rosemary calls Donald Baumgart, the actor who goes blind and is replaced by Guy, the voice heard on the phone is actor
Tony Curtis. Farrow, who had not been told who would be reading Baumgart's lines, recognized his voice but could not place it. The slight confusion she displays throughout the call was exactly what Polanski hoped to capture by not revealing Curtis' identity in advance.
Filming served as a stand-in for exterior shots of the fictional Bramford Building
Principal photography for ''Rosemary's Baby'' began on August 21, 1967, in New York City. In the novel, Hutch even urges Rosemary and Guy to move into "the Dakota" instead of the Bramford. When Farrow was reluctant to film a scene that depicted a dazed and preoccupied Rosemary wandering into the middle of
Fifth Avenue into oncoming traffic, Polanski pointed to her pregnancy padding and reassured her, "no one's going to 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. By September 1967, the shoot had relocated to Paramount Studios in
Hollywood, where interior sets of the Bramford apartments had been constructed on
sound stages. Some additional location shooting took place in
Playa del Rey in October 1967. Farrow recalled that the dream sequence in which her character is attending a dinner party on a yacht was filmed on a vessel near
Santa Catalina Island. Though Paramount had initially agreed to spend $1.9 million to make the film, the shoot was overextended due to Polanski's meticulous attention to detail, which resulted in his completing up to fifty takes of single shots. The shoot suffered significant scheduling problems as a result, and ultimately went $400,000 over budget. In November 1967, it was reported that the shoot was over three weeks behind schedule. The shoot was further disrupted when, midway through filming, Farrow's husband, Frank Sinatra, served her divorce papers via a corporate lawyer in front of the cast and crew. In an effort to salvage her relationship, Farrow asked Evans to release her from her contract, but he persuaded her to remain with the project after showing her an hour-long
rough cut and assuring her she would receive an
Academy Award nomination for her performance. Filming was completed on December 20, 1967, in Los Angeles. ==Music==