6. Rosemary’s Baby (1968)
Ira Levin wrote the best-selling novel Rosemary’s Baby in 1967 that became a film the following year directed by Roman Polanski. The movie is consistently ranked in top lists, including the American Film Institute’s 100 Years…100 Thrills list and has been deemed significant by the Library of Congress.
The film, in some ways has eclipsed the novel. Producer William Castle, who mortgaged his home to obtain the rights of the movie, is believed to have received a letter while the making of the movie. The letter in part is said to read “My prediction is you will rot during a long and painful illness which you have brought upon yourself.” It’s rumored that he collapsed while making the film and at one point in the hospital screamed “Rosemary, for god’s sake, drop the knife!” He suffered kidney failure after the movie’s release and was never able to capitalize on its success. He died in 1977. The composer of the film’s score died in 1969 of a hematoma of the brain, a death familiar to a character in the movie. Also in 1969, one of the most notorious killing sprees took place, the Manson murders in which actress Sharon Tate, Polanski’s wife, and her unborn baby were murdered in a cult killing.
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