Author | Ira Levin |
---|---|
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Genre | Horror |
Publisher | Random House |
Publication date | March 12, 1967 |
Media type | Print (hardcover and paperback) and Audio Book |
Followed by | Son of Rosemary |
Rosemary's Baby is a 1967 horror novel by American writer Ira Levin; it was his second published book. It was the best-selling horror novel of the 1960s, selling over 4 million copies. [1] The high popularity of the novel was a catalyst for a "horror boom", and horror fiction would achieve enormous commercial success. [2]
The book centers on Rosemary Woodhouse, a young woman who has just moved into the Bramford, a historic Gothic Revival-style New York City apartment building, with her husband, Guy, a struggling actor. Guy has so far appeared only in small roles in the stage plays Luther , Nobody Loves an Albatross , and various TV commercials. The pair is warned that the Bramford has a disturbing history involving witchcraft and murder, but they discount this. Rosemary wants to start a family, but Guy prefers waiting until his career is more established.
Neighbors Minnie and Roman Castevet, an eccentric, elderly couple, welcome Rosemary and Guy to the Bramford. Rosemary finds them meddlesome and annoying, but Guy begins frequently visiting them.
After the lead actor in a new stage play suddenly goes blind, Guy is cast in the role. Immediately afterward, Guy unexpectedly agrees with Rosemary that they should have their first child. That night, Rosemary dreams of a rough sexual encounter with a huge, inhuman creature with yellow eyes. The next morning Rosemary finds claw marks on her breasts and groin, which Guy dismisses as resulting from his hangnail, which he has cut. Rosemary subsequently learns that she is pregnant.
Rosemary falls severely ill; but her intense pain and weight loss are ignored by others and attributed to hysteria. Her doctor and Minnie feed her strange and foul concoctions. Rosemary also develops a peculiar craving for raw meat.
Guy's performance in the play garners favorable notices, and other increasingly significant roles follow. Guy soon begins talking about a career in Hollywood.
Rosemary's friend, Edward "Hutch" Hutchins, also becomes mysteriously ill. He had sent Rosemary a warning, leading to her discovery that Roman Castevet is the leader of a Satanic coven. She suspects her unborn baby is wanted as a sacrifice to the devil. Despite her growing conviction, she is unable to convince anyone, particularly Guy. Ultimately, Rosemary discovers the coven's real intent for wanting her baby, whom she wanted to name Andrew ("Andy") but whom the coven insists will be renamed Adrian. He is the Antichrist, and Satan sired him, not Guy.
Cherry Wilder wrote that "Rosemary's Baby is one of the most perfectly crafted thrillers ever written". [3]
Horror scholar Gary Crawford described Rosemary's Baby as "a genuine masterpiece". [4]
David Pringle described Rosemary's Baby as "this sly, seductive impeccably-written horror novel ... is an expertly constructed story, a playwright's book, in which every physical detail and line of dialogue counts." [5]
Thirty years later Levin published a sequel to the novel, titled Son of Rosemary (1997). [6] Levin dedicated it to Mia Farrow.
Rosemary's Baby was published in Spanish translation during the Francoist dictatorship. The Francoist censors cut passages from this translation, claiming the cut passages "glorified Satan". [7] As of April 2019, all the Spanish-language editions of the book still retain these cuts. [7]
In 1968, the novel was adapted as a film of the same name, starring Mia Farrow, with John Cassavetes as Guy. Ruth Gordon, who played Minnie Castevet, won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Roman Polanski, who wrote and directed the film, was nominated for Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium. The exterior shots of the fictional Bramford apartment were filmed at the Dakota on Central Park West in New York. [8]
A television film sequel to the Polanski film, Look What's Happened to Rosemary's Baby , was produced in 1976.
In 2014, the novel was adapted as an NBC television miniseries, with Zoe Saldaña as Rosemary. The two-part miniseries aired on Mother's Day of that year. [9] Neither the TV sequel nor the TV miniseries garnered critical acclaim.
Paramount produced a prequel titled Apartment 7A , starring Julia Garner and Dianne Wiest.
Horror is a genre of fiction that is intended to disturb, frighten or scare. Horror is often divided into the sub-genres of psychological horror and supernatural horror, which are in the realm of speculative fiction. Literary historian J. A. Cuddon, in 1984, defined the horror story as "a piece of fiction in prose of variable length... which shocks, or even frightens the reader, or perhaps induces a feeling of repulsion or loathing". Horror intends to create an eerie and frightening atmosphere for the reader. Often the central menace of a work of horror fiction can be interpreted as a metaphor for larger fears of a society.
Sharon Marie Tate Polanski was an American actress and model. During the 1960s, she appeared in advertisements and small television roles before appearing in films as well as working as a model. After receiving positive reviews for her comedic and dramatic acting performances, Tate was hailed as one of Hollywood's most promising newcomers.
Ira Marvin Levin was an American novelist, playwright, and songwriter. His works include the novels A Kiss Before Dying (1953), Rosemary's Baby (1967), The Stepford Wives (1972), This Perfect Day (1970), The Boys from Brazil (1976), and Sliver (1991). Levin also wrote the play Deathtrap (1978). Many of his novels and plays have been adapted into films. He received the Prometheus Hall of Fame Award and several Edgar Awards.
Sliver (1991), by U.S. author Ira Levin, is a novel about the mysterious people in a privately owned high-rise apartment building in New York City, especially after a new tenant — an attractive young working woman in publishing — has moved in. The novel became the basis for the 1993 film of the same name, starring Sharon Stone, William Baldwin, Polly Walker and Tom Berenger.
Repulsion is a 1965 British psychological horror thriller film directed by Roman Polanski, and starring Catherine Deneuve. Based on a story written by Polanski and Gérard Brach, the plot follows Carol, a withdrawn, disturbed young woman who, when left alone in the apartment she shares with her sister, is subject to a number of nightmarish experiences. The film focuses on the point of view of Carol and her vivid hallucinations and nightmares as she comes into contact with men and their desires for her. Ian Hendry, John Fraser, Patrick Wymark, and Yvonne Furneaux appear in supporting roles.
Anne of Green Gables: The Sequel is a 1987 Canadian television miniseries film. A sequel to the 1985 miniseries Anne of Green Gables, it is based on Lucy Maud Montgomery's novels Anne of Avonlea, Anne of the Island, and Anne of Windy Poplars. The story follows Anne Shirley as she leaves Green Gables in Avonlea, Prince Edward Island to teach at a prestigious ladies' college in New Brunswick. The main cast from the original film reprised their roles, including Megan Follows, Jonathan Crombie, Colleen Dewhurst, Patricia Hamilton, and Schuyler Grant.
Avon Publications is one of the leading publishers of romance fiction. At Avon's initial stages, it was an American paperback book and comic book publisher. The shift in content occurred in the early 1970s with multiple Avon romance titles reaching and maintaining spots in bestseller lists, demonstrating the market and potential profits in romance publication. As of 2010, Avon is an imprint of HarperCollins.
The Tenant is a 1976 French psychological horror thriller film directed by Roman Polanski from a screenplay he co-wrote with Gérard Brach, based on the 1964 novel of the same name by Roland Topor. The film stars Polanski, Isabelle Adjani, Melvyn Douglas, Jo Van Fleet, Bernard Fresson, Lila Kedrova, Claude Dauphin and Shelley Winters. It is the final installment in Polanski's "Apartment Trilogy", following Repulsion (1965) and Rosemary's Baby (1968).
Look What's Happened to Rosemary's Baby is a 1976 American made-for-television horror film and a sequel to Roman Polanski's 1968 film Rosemary's Baby starring Stephen McHattie, Patty Duke, George Maharis, Ruth Gordon and Ray Milland. The film premiered as the ABC Friday Night Movie on October 29, 1976.
Rosemary's Baby is a 1968 American psychological horror film written and directed by Roman Polanski, based on Ira Levin's 1967 novel of the same name. The film stars Mia Farrow as a young wife living in Manhattan who becomes pregnant, but soon begins to suspect that her elderly neighbors are members of a Satanic cult who are grooming her in order to use her baby for their rituals. The film's supporting cast includes John Cassavetes, Ruth Gordon, Sidney Blackmer, Maurice Evans, Ralph Bellamy, Patsy Kelly, Angela Dorian, and Charles Grodin in his feature film debut.
Son of Rosemary is a 1997 horror novel by American writer Ira Levin. It is the sequel to his 1967 novel, Rosemary's Baby.
John and Mary is a 1969 American romantic drama film directed by Peter Yates, and starring Dustin Hoffman and Mia Farrow in the title roles. The screenplay was adapted by John Mortimer from the 1966 Mervyn Jones novel.
All of them Witches is a 1996 Mexican supernatural horror film by director Daniel Gruener. Based on a screenplay by Gabriel González Meléndez, it features Susana Zabaleta, Ricardo Blume, Alejandro Tommasi, and Delia Casanova. The name of this movie matches that of a book of witchcraft that appeared in the 1968 film Rosemary's Baby, based on the book by Ira Levin.
The Lords of Salem is a 2012 supernatural horror film written, produced, and directed by Rob Zombie. It stars Sheri Moon Zombie, Bruce Davison, Jeff Daniel Phillips, Ken Foree, Patricia Quinn, Dee Wallace, María Conchita Alonso, Judy Geeson, and Meg Foster. The plot focuses on a troubled female disc jockey in Salem, Massachusetts, whose life becomes entangled with a coven of ancient Satan-worshipping women.
Rosemary's Baby is a 2014 two-part, four-hour television miniseries adaptation of Ira Levin's best-selling 1967 horror novel of the same name and its 1997 sequel Son of Rosemary. Zoe Saldana stars in the NBC production, directed by Agnieszka Holland. Unlike earlier versions, it is set in Paris rather than New York. The work was not well received by critics, many of whom said that it was stretched to fill two two-hour timeslots. Although there are several notable changes, this miniseries is considered to be a faithful updating of the original 1968 film adaptation.
Rosemary's Baby may refer to:
Legacy of Satan is a 1974 horror film written and directed by Gerard Damiano. It stars John Francis, Lisa Christian, Paul Barry, Deborah Horlen and Sandra Peabody, who respectively portray Dr. Muldavo, Maya, George, the High Priestess, and a cult member. Set in New York, the film revolves around Maya (Christian), a young woman who is chosen to be the queen of a satanic cult, and her descent into madness when her normal life is hindered by a series of evocative dreams. Originally written as a hardcore film, Damiano ultimately decided to rewrite it as a psychological horror film.
The Rosemary's Baby franchise consists of American horror installments including a theatrical film, its made-for-television sequel film, and a television miniseries. Based on the 1967 novel of the same name by Ira Levin, the plot follows a young married couple who after moving into a new apartment experience interactions with a Satanic cult that's determined to usher in the birth of the antichrist. Each installment details the disturbing events that follow their decision to take up residence there, despite the potential dangers.
Apartment 7A is an upcoming American psychological horror film directed by Natalie Erika James, who co-wrote the screenplay with Christian White and Skylar James, based on a story by Skylar James. It is intended to serve as a prequel to 1968's Rosemary's Baby, which was an adaptation of the 1967 novel of the same name by Ira Levin. Julia Garner, Dianne Wiest, Marli Siu and Rosy McEwen star in undisclosed roles. The film will be released by Paramount Pictures.