TRACK #187:

Main Title (Rosemary’s Baby) by Krzysztof Komeda and Mia Farrow

Fading us out of our witch/spell/magick block is the melancholic and eerie theme from a tale of perhaps the worst witches cinema may have yet seen. Witches so powerful, many have suggested their influence seeped through the silver screen and into our reality.

I know it’s certainly not the type of film we tend to champion around here, and I doubt it would be any Diggers favorite pick (with the exception of one particularly beautiful & faithful reader) Rosemary’s Baby is widely considered one of the finest examples the horror genre has to offer.

And rightfully so, as it’s a fine piece of film-making, in any genre, with a star-making and brilliant performance from Mia Farrow and a supporting cast that provides the best kind of support.

Additionally, Rosemary’s Baby is as much a critique on society of the mid 60′ and men’s abuse and control of women within that society, as it is a critique on American moral and spiritual unraveling and the burgeoning Satanic scene.

Some even say it’s also cursed.

Let’s begin at the beginning…

The film’s source material, Ira Levin’s novel of the same name, was published 1968. It is set in New York City of 1965/1966, or more appropriately, June of 1966,…6/66.

Pitched at a point in history which saw not only the birth of Anton Lavey’s Church of Satan, but when Time Magazine had just famously wondered “Is God Dead?” in an issue Rosemary can be seen reading in the film.

As with any literary success, Hollywood wasn’t far behind. Initially the book was optioned to Alfred Hitchcock, who reportedly turned down the offer. In swooped everyone’s favorite schlockster William Castle, who morgaged his home and purchased the rights for 100,000 with the intent to direct. It was to be his first A-List horror picture, and he was rightly stoked.

He brought the script to Paramount Pictures, but famous executive Robert Evans had other ideas though. There wasn’t any chance in hell he was letting the inventor of “Emergo” and “Percepto” helm the biggest horror property in Hollywood. No, Castle could produce but a young European auteur named Roman Polanski would be brought in to class up the act.

And the the success train kept rolling. Lauded upon release and a blockbuster success, Castle and Evan’s had helped Polanski hit a culture nerve with his first American feature. Not bad.

But then, that’s when the weird shit started happening.

The first victim of Rosemary’s Curse was none other than the composer of tonight’s selection, Jazz musician Krzysztof Komeda. While drinking at a party in Los Angeles shortly after the film premiered, Kryzsztof was “accidentally” shoved of a rocky cliff  by author Marek Hłasko. He sustained head injuries that led him into a coma he never awoke from. He died the following April in Poland. He was 37 years old. Fans will no doubt mark the similarity of his fate to that of Edward Hutchins in the film.

Next, though much less severe, was producer William Castle. His kidney’s failed soon after the release, and he was reported to have hallucinated scenes from the film while in the hospital, at one point shouting “Rosemary, for God Sakes put down the knife!”

Most tragic however, and perhaps in need of no further explanation, was the fate of Polanski’s wife Sharon Tate and their then-unborn son at the hands of the Manson Family.

Sharon, who had desperately fought to play Rosemary, was said to have often been lingering around the set, and even eerily appears in the background at Rosemary’s party.

Other strange coincidences can be traced all throughout this tale, such as this bizarre linage of synchronicity:

The words “Healter Skelter” (sic) were scrawled on the scene of the crime at Roman and Sharon’s home on 10050 Cielo Drive. The song Helter Skelter by The Beatles was featured on The White Album, which was mostly written while at the ashram of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in India. Also in attendance at that time were Donovan, Prudence Farrow (inspiration for the song Dear Prudence) and Rosemary herself, Mia Farrow. On December 8th, 1980, John Lennon was shot in New York City, in the archway of The Dakota Apartments, which will no doubt look familiar to any Rosemary’s Baby fan.

And lastly, I wouldn’t be the first paranoid observer to suggest the strange similarity between Rosemary and Guy’s tale and Polanski’s own career trajectory. Did Roman, like Guy, make some unholy, sacrificial pact for success and legal invulnerability? Only Roman knows for sure. Strange that “Roman” is also Steven Marcato’s false name.

Tonight, The Shindig presents that sweet sort of haunting theme, composed by Krzysztof Komeda. Even more appropriately, Mia Farrow herself provides the quiet vocal accompaniment.

The strange legacy of Rosemary’s Baby, all the players and the true nature of their interconnected fates, may forever remain a mystery. Whatever transpired, whatever it means, whomever or whatever was responsible…beware…because, there’s only one thing we can say for sure…