This week, we are rewatching Elsie’s favorite Halloween movie, Rosemary’s Baby, directed by Roman Polanski and starring Mia Farrow.
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Show Notes:
Decor inspiration
New York apartment building
Fireplace was Elsie’s inspiration for her fireplace
Very dark carved wood everywhere!
Shag carpet in bedroom
Other cozy inspiration (fashion, food, drink or anything?)
Scrabble board
Rosemary’s dresses and outfits generally
Minnie’s colorful and wild patterns in her outfits
Witch book and bookstore
Rate 0-5 demon babies
Elsie – 5
Emma – 5
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Episode 206 Transcript:
Elsie: Here listening to the A Beautiful Mess podcast, your cozy comfort listen. This week, we are re-watching my favorite Halloween movie, Rosemary’s Baby, which was directed by Roman Polanski and stars Mia Farrow, my queen. Okay. So my exciting update for the week is today my ceilings are being painted in my living room. My living room is finally going to be decorated normally. We have lived in our home since June, and we have been working on it since February. And we’re finally going to be done with this phase. It was supposed to be like such a miniature, small phase one, and it really escalated. So yeah, I’m very excited. As soon as the paint dries, I’m going to put up the paper bats. And just kind of start, like, cozying in for the holidays. Like, a happy thing that happened is yesterday my husband came in and said that the color in the living room is my finest moment. I was so happy.
Emma: That’s a good compliment. You know, I never thought about this, not to make this about me, but last year at this time I was finishing my house and just moving in, and I kind of missed, we were doing like the day before Halloween, so I kind of missed decorating for Halloween last year. So I like that you’re like, as soon as the paints dry, I’m putting up the bats. Like you’re not giving up on it. You’re like, it’s fine. It can be later than I wanted, I don’t care, I’m still doing it. And you’ve gotten like, your pumpkins out on your fence and different things too, but yeah, I get it. It is kinda like, when you have a lot of painting or a lot of wallpapering, you’re like, well I can’t put anything up on the walls, you know, for the season because it’s gonna be in the way.
Elsie: It’s honestly very easy to be like, I’ll do it next year, I don’t care, I give up. It is. It’s so tempting to just be like, you know what, fuck this, it’s not worth it. But I do think there’s something to it, to just like doing, even if it’s at the last minute, just like still having a little party and still, you know, having guests over and doing all the things that you would normally do, even if you’re renovating. Like you can’t let renovating rule your life or else it will just steal so many happy memories.
Emma: I mean, it’ll try and you’ve got to keep fighting back, right?
Elsie: Yes. Okay, so I’m so excited. This week we are talking about Rosemary’s Baby, which is one of my favorite movies of all time. And I had this, like, hilarious DM exchange last week where I was talking about my Rosemary’s Baby fireplace. We’ll talk about this more later, but I made a replica fireplace in my bedroom. I’m, like, a huge nerd for this. I love it. It’s a passion for me, and it’s, it’s a big decor movie for me. Anyway, the DM was like, Rosemary’s Baby is your favorite movie? And I was like, yes. And they were like, why? Like, it just said, why? And I was like, well, I really like the decor and the vibes, and it’s just something I enjoy watching every Halloween. And they just wrote back, that’s a weird favorite movie to have. And I was like, okay.
Emma: So this is someone you know?
Elsie: No, it was just a DM from a random stranger.
Emma: It’s wild to me you even answered this. Cause I am such a jerk, I would never, I would be like, oh, they just wrote why, I don’t know this person. I’m not writing back to this.
Elsie: I don’t know why, sometimes I just feel like engaging, and sometimes I don’t. A lot of times I would ignore it, but this time I was like, I’m gonna explain to this stupid a why I like this movie that is my favorite movie.
Emma: You know what, I love this movie and I gotta evangelize about it. Now that I’ve seen it, I must say, this is worth watching. It’s great, especially for the decor and fashion. But it is also a weird story, which I didn’t even realize until we were at the end of the credits, that it was an IRA 11. It was an IRA 11 book, which I love Stepford Wives. I’m a huge fan. I’m low-key working on a fan fiction sequel to it, which you will never read because again, it’s fan fiction. It’s probably illegal for me to write that, but I’m just like such a fan. I love it so much. It’s just like, so anyway, and I felt like there were a lot of things in this movie, the story that I was like, yeah, I could see how he wrote Stepford Wives later. I see a lot of the themes that he liked to write about, you know, a lot about feminism, and you know, how women are treated and a lot of different similar themes. So anyway, this movie is very much worth watching. It’s not my favorite movie, but if someone was like, this is my favorite movie, I don’t feel a why, I’m like, I don’t know if you’ve seen it, if you feel like, why, because it’s like, it’s beautiful, the set design’s incredible, the fashion’s incredible, the story is weird as fuck and it’s quite the ride. Very interesting, very strange, it kind of jumps the shark for me at the end, but also it was made in like, the late ’60s, so you have to keep that in mind. It’s excellent, like, very worth a watch. And I’m not a horror movie person.
Elsie: I’m glad you liked it. Last night it was kind of late when we finished watching it, and we were really tired. Yeah, we had soup, and we had a friend over, and Emma’s husband just completely ghosted. I was very curious if you liked it, or if you were gonna, I can tell when you’re lying, so it sounds like it.
Emma: Yeah, I think you can tell, I lie on here sometimes, but Elsie always knows.
Elsie: She lies about liking things because she doesn’t want to be mean.
Emma: You know, like people try really hard at something, you don’t want to, you know, but no, I really like this movie. It’s really good. I would definitely re-watch it. It’s a strange, weird movie, and it’s definitely old. But I feel like a lot of the problems with it kind of work with the story though, and what they’re trying to get at with it. So it sort of in a weird way still works.
Elsie: Yes. So it’s from 1968. It’s like a beautiful, gorgeous New York apartment building, and they take like a historic building. The apartment was very dark, very like wood everywhere. This is one of my favorites and they just like to paint every inch of it white. And it’s always really satisfied me to see that because I really do see both sides. Like I love wood. And you know, now I have like my unpainted wood in my house. So I do defend, but I think that like so many people are so mean about painting wood, even wood that’s not beautiful and not special that when you see these like gorgeous New York apartments that are all like white ornate moldings and stuff like you have to realize that at one point those were dark wood and like somebody painted it and now it’s like glamorous and we love to see it. I don’t know. I think there’s definitely a defense for both and a time and a place for both, but this movie, it’s very satisfying. She just like straight up goes into view. An apartment is like, I think I’m going to paint everything white and then she does it and magic.
Emma: Well, I also think, and this maybe speaks to the time, but I also think speaks to the story of what this movie is about. It’s a moment where Rosemary’s character is really doing something that she wants to do and has some power. Because a lot of the movie, things are happening to her, and people are doing things to her. And she has no power over what’s happening to her, even the very ending I think is very much about that, which is interesting. But seeing her look at them, they show us the New York apartment before they move in, they’re viewing it with the owner of the building or the guy who is the manager of the building, you know, this old guy showing them the buildings like an old lady lived here and they’re looking at the closets and looking at all of it. And she’s kind of talking about some things she would do. And then you see as they’ve moved in, not right when they move in because they have this cute scene where they’re like eat on the floor like you do when you first buy a house or an apartment. It’s really cute. But then you see everything that she does. She paints everything. She puts up wallpaper. You know, and it just looks completely different in a lot of ways. And it looks beautiful. And to me, it’s this moment of like Rosemary’s character having choices and power about her surroundings, which some people would maybe trivialize, but I think that’s a mistake because I actually think that’s an area that women throughout history did have some choices in power at times that maybe we didn’t have others like even when we weren’t allowed to vote. A lot of times we were allowed to decorate our houses, you know, and so I think it’s a really cool thing, and if you don’t like painting wood, that’s fine, whatever you can have your opinions on that. But For the story of this movie, I actually really love seeing what she does with her apartment because I think it’s like a moment of seeing Rosemary have choices.
Elsie: Yeah, it is completely magical. And from just like a strict design standpoint, it’s one of my favorite combinations ’cause it’s like a historic building, just like very ornate, like carved wood everywhere with all, you know, since it was in 1968. All mid-century, everything for like, the furniture, the record player, the table, the lighting. And it just turns out so cute. It’s iconic. And I’m glad you liked it, cause it’s one of the reasons why I like to rewatch it so much is that I find the interior, it’s like one of those spaces where you notice something different every single time.
Emma: Yeah, absolutely. And I kind of loved all of her choices, even though I wouldn’t necessarily decorate my space like that. Not even just the, you know, I don’t live in a New York apartment and it’s not 1968, but just, they just aren’t necessarily like the colors I would pick or this or that, but I pretty much love everything except for the headboard, which I’m sure we’ll talk about. And they also have this kind of shag carpet in their bedroom that looks cozy, but it also looks like it would get worn in a way that I would not want that carpet, but that’s more of a time thing the headboard though is unforgivable. But that’s the only thing in the whole apartment that’s unforgivable.
Elsie: Yeah It is a real New York City apartment I can’t remember what the name of the real one is you can google it very easily. So if you want to just like take a picture in front of it when you’re in New York 100 percent you can do that. I’ve never done it, but someday I will it’s very cool. Also, there is an older couple, there are the other main characters in the movie who are like the next door across the hall neighbors. And they have also an equally big, amazing apartment, but it’s decorated, you know, like the old people’s way. And it’s amazing as well. It’s a treat for the eyes. And then it was immediately like, you should make the vodka blush cocktail for the blog.
Emma: Now it will be our dinner party that we talked about in the last episode.
Elsie: That’s a good one. Yeah. There’s a lot of just like, I don’t know. I guess I watched it so many times. There’s always like one or two new things to notice every time you watch it. Lots of cozy inspiration. And I have a thing I was just talking to our friend Donnie Rogers Jr. about this. I have a thing for ’70s and ’60s movies set in New York City. Like if I had a time machine, I would go to 60s, 70s New York City. That’s one of my first stops. I just like love it. It is the place. And there’s, I mean, there’s so many different versions of New York throughout the years that would be fun to visit.
Emma: They have a lot of scenes in this movie too, where different characters are out on the street, either, like, using a payphone or getting into a taxi or, like, waiting for a friend outside of a building, you know, things like that, and it’s beautiful. New York’s beautiful. It goes through a few seasons because we go through an entire pregnancy in this movie. But like we see it at Christmas time, we see kind of like a spring look and then like summer when they’re like, it’s so hot and she’s about to have the baby then. And yeah, it makes New York very, you kind of get to see New York in all the seasons of 1968. I guess it would have been 1967 when they were filming. I don’t know.
Elsie: It’s wonderful. Okay. So what were some of our other cozy inspirations? I think the Scrabble board. I will never play Scrabble without thinking of Rosemary’s Baby. It’s just a little bit ingrained. I want to like make the words all of them, which is every single time I get out Scrabble tiles, and I just like can’t help myself. There’s lots of food and drinks, and she is always using a Chemex to make coffee, I noticed in the mornings, and then I’m like, oh my gosh, I need to get back on my Chemex, like, just kind of like everything she does.
Emma: I use a Chemex every day, and I felt really cool when I saw her doing it. I was like, yes, I use a Chemex too, I’m awesome, like, Rosemary.
Elsie: I have a little dinner party.
Emma: Yeah, with her young friends, as she says, because their neighbors are like older. And everyone’s dressed really cool. One character has these really disco ball-looking earrings and they’re really pretty, which is a sparkly, fun party. But that would be another thing if the fashion in this movie was so fun. All of Rosemary’s outfits are adorable and she is very pregnant throughout some of the movies, but it’s a lot of, it’s not a shift dress, but what would you call it? It’s like you could wear it not pregnant. It’s like kind of short and your belly could just get big or small and you could wear it. I don’t know what to call it.
Elsie: A loose-fitting 60s dress. I don’t know what you call it, like an apron dress maybe?
Emma: Yeah, something like that. It’s like kind of like fits your shoulders and your arms, but then it’s kind of loose. So you really could wear it like throughout a pregnancy or it’s kind of just a style. At any rate, just Google it. She has really cute, cute, cute outfits.
Elsie: I always buy a dress with sleeves and like collars, like a white Peter Pan collar, is Rosemary’s baby dress to me. And I will always buy it every time I see one, probably forever. It’s like kind of the thing in my closet and I think that’s part of where it comes from. It’s just like such an iconic. It’s like before the Adams family, you know, it’s like that, it’s like a Wednesday Adams dress before there was Wednesday Adams.
Emma: Yes. I also really like the older couple, the neighbors, I can’t remember the character’s name.
Elsie: Minnie.
Emma: Yes. Minnie’s, outfits are really fun too, because they’re very colorful and have wild patterns. And I just think they’re really fun.
Elsie: She’s bringing the pure joy with her outfits. Like, she’s got, like, eye shadow like my daughter wears.
Emma: Yes, so much blue eye shadow. Yeah, I don’t know who won best supporting actress this year, but I hope this woman was up for it at least if she didn’t win because I thought she was so good in this movie, kind of like hilarious, like truly very funny performance. But it’s also it’s a horror movie. It’s Rosemary’s baby. And I also was like, oh, I know people like this. Oh, I know some old ladies who say those kinds of things it just felt like so relatable and real, but also like a hilarious comedic performance. Like I just loved it. I thought she was so excellent.
Elsie: It was incredible. Yeah. I love her style, her voice, kind of everything about her. She’s such an icon. She’s a nude scene. She does the most for this movie.
Emma: Everyone kind of has a nude scene. It’s a wild movie.
Elsie: Yeah, and as far as, like, how satanic is Rosemary’s Baby, it’s pretty satanic, okay? Like, it has a devil, like, having a sex scene with a woman.
Emma: It’s a rape scene.
Elsie: It’s bad, it’s bad, yeah. But also, it is pretend. And so, like, I don’t know, it just doesn’t have, to me, like, a scary feeling. Like, I have gotten a lot of messages that people don’t like that I say Rosemary’s Baby isn’t scary. But I just mean it’s not scary in a traditional horror movie way. It’s disturbing, maybe, is how I would put it.
Emma: Yeah, I would say it’s very disturbing.
Elsie: It’s in your head, it’s creepy. I wouldn’t say it’s scary. There’s like no part in the movie where you jump, right? So it’s just different types of feelings, like, I know there were parts where you and Trey, who were watching it for the first time, were kind of like, eh, like that kind of feeling.
Emma: There are parts where they really show, like, a doctor putting a needle into her arm, which, again, not necessarily a scary thing, like, I’ve had doctors put needles in my arm many times. Especially when I was pregnant, but it is creepy in this movie because of the story. And also I think the filmmakers are trying to make it a little disturbing. They know what genre they’re making. So, you know, there’s a lot of things like that. There is a rape scene where the woman is drugged, Rosemary’s drugged. That’s obviously very disturbing, but I also think the way they show it is very arty and it’s meant to be like, you know, what’s happening, but it’s, it’s not graphic.
Elsie: It doesn’t feel real, at all.
Emma: Yeah, and it’s not supposed to because you’re kind of like, Rosemary’s like, did that happen? You know, she’s been drugged. So I think they’re kind of playing with that. So it’s very much like a psychological horror thriller. So it’s definitely scary but not like a Saw movie not like a movie where, like, things jump out at you all the time.
Elsie: Yeah. 70s horror movies are my favorite. They have their own, like, way of being. They’re usually very quiet. They’re usually very slow. And then something about them is so much worse than anything you would see in a movie now. And that’s how I would describe a lot of them, and I think this kind of fits. This is actually kind of on the soft side, though, of all the 70s horror movies I’ve seen. It’s just a little bit, like, not so horrible. But it’s not appropriate for children. It has stuff in it that if you’re very sensitive towards, like, Satan or something, then you probably wouldn’t want to watch it.
Emma: Yeah, I mean, it also has a rape scene where a woman’s drugged, so that would definitely be something a lot of people wouldn’t want to watch. Totally understandable. But I do think for the story, it’s really interesting.
Elsie: I think they make it very campy. Like, they make the Satan rituals kind of adorable, in an old-timey way.
Emma: It feels very Satanic Panic from the 90s, like the way we thought of witches and Wicca then, you know? Like, very silly. Yes. Okay. Someone’s playing the flute, like, just like an accountant-looking guy, stuff like that. Where you’re like, okay, Satan’s baby, Rosemary Satan’s baby at the end is in this little crib that’s like got all this black tulle. And the little mobile that’s hanging above him is like an upside-down cross. So it’s like, ooh, it’s like they bought it from Hot Topic. You know what I mean? So there’s a lot of things like that in it too.
Elsie: That is the perfect description. You just nailed it. You just, you just nailed it.
Emma: So I will say my favorite part of the movie, my very favorite thing is the very end. I just think there’s such good storytelling where Rosemary has had the baby. It’s Satan’s baby. She’s discovered, that they told her at first that the babies died, but she doesn’t really believe them because she knows they’ve been messing with her this whole time. And she’s right, the baby is not dead. And they seemed likely to just steal the baby. Yeah, she kind of thought they were going to steal the baby, and then they did. She didn’t know that it was Satan’s baby though, so then she figures out that the baby’s still alive, she finds the baby, she sees the baby, and they don’t show it to us in the movie as an audience member, but from her reaction, you know that the baby looks half like Satan. So whatever that is, like she’s like, it’s eyes, you know, so something’s going on with the baby’s eyes. We don’t know.
Elsie: Then she says, you should see his feet.
Emma: Oh, yeah, it’s a hilarious movie. But my favorite thing is, that she’s at first kind of repulsed. She didn’t realize it was Satan’s baby. And now she knows this, she has this information. And the main bad guy, the old man who’s the neighbor, he’s like, maybe you should raise the baby, Rosemary. It is your child. And she didn’t want this baby like she wanted a baby, but she’s been raped. She was drugged and raped.
Elsie: She’s just finding that out too, for the first time.
Emma: So she’s a victim in so many ways in this movie. But now she sees the baby that she’s had with her rapist, the devil. And they’re like, why don’t you raise the baby, just think about it. And then someone’s like rocking the baby’s cradle too hard, and she’s like, Hey, you’re rocking the baby’s cradle too hard. And she goes over and starts rocking the cradle. And that’s kind of where the movie is ending. It does imply that she’s gonna raise the baby. And it’s this moment where, I love her performance, because you kind of see it on her face, where she’s like, kind of realizing I do love this baby, and I do want to be its mother. I feel the pull, but also it is the devil’s child, and she’s raised Catholic, and she’s obviously really torn about all of those things, too. I feel like it’s this thing in the story where there’s this tension of like, she’s almost like trapped by love. And it’s just really complicated, and I think really beautiful, and I think her performance in that scene is so good, and I just think that whole idea is very interesting and extremely tragic, and there’s just a lot there. You know, also, like, as a mom, and I think even if you’re not a mom, you could understand this, like, I kind of get it, where you’re like, oh like, I don’t, I think I would do it too, I guess. But it would completely change the course of your life because now, you know? Anyway, I just think it’s interesting and obviously it’s fantastical. There is no devil. This is a ridiculous movie but it’s also kind of beautiful and interesting and I just love that part. I love that it ends that way I think it speaks to such strong storytelling and interesting things to me. I rarely come away from a horror movie not that I watch that many where I’m like really thinking about it. You know what I mean? Like a lot of times, I feel like they’re meant to kind of just scare you and that’s the fun part. It’s thrilling. It’s like a rollercoaster ride and then it’s over and that’s it. But this one I’m like, oh, this one think about like, what does it mean to be a parent? What does it mean to be a victim? This kind of like role of love in our life and how it could expand in ways that maybe it’s going to harm us, but we, we just want it anyway. And I don’t know, there’s just kind of a lot there. And I’m like, that’s. Interesting. I was not expecting to think that much from this movie, but it’s really good.
Elsie: Oh, nice. Yeah, I definitely feel like every time I watch it, there’s some new thing. Okay, so if you didn’t know, Rosemary’s Baby is also a book by Ira Levin. It is very play-by-play, almost the same as the movie, which I feel would never happen now. I’ve never ever read a book that was that close to a movie before. Any other time, it’s very similar, and I listened to the audiobook, and Mia Farrow also read the audiobook. So, if you enjoy audiobooks and you just want to read them for fun, I would definitely recommend it. I think I remember it was somewhat of a short book. But yeah, it was nice. It was definitely fun. And there is a sequel called Son of Rosemary, which I haven’t read yet, but I feel like kind of is on the list.
Emma: Yeah, I’m, I’m interested. I’m like, that’s going to be one hell of a toddler.
Elsie: I’m so glad you liked it because I was pretty sure you were going to hate it. Emma and I kind of, like, diverge on this subject of our interests.
Emma: I’m not really a horror movie person, yeah, and Elsie’s seen, like, all of them. So, it’s, yeah. But I like action movies, and you’re like, eh, you’re not really into them.
Elsie: I think action movies are my most boring torture. Yeah. Bruce Willis who? I mean, like, I love Bruce Willis in The Fifth Element only.
Emma: I mean, yeah, that’s a banger, for sure.
Elsie: Anyways, okay, so any more cozy inspiration, I talked about the audiobook. There’s lots of food. It shows a little bit of New York City, not a ton, but it shows New York City at Christmas in the sixties, which is everything. Shows them decorating an apartment, which is everything. I love the witch book. I love the bookstore. I love the suitcase.
Emma: It really is a beautiful movie. I mean, I think if you wanted to cut out the, you know, getting drugged, and raped scene.
Elsie: You can easily fast forward through that part if you’re like, I don’t want to watch.
Emma: Yeah, I think if you cut that part out and then also there’s a scene where, well, there’s this character who allegedly jumps from the building, although it seems from the movie we’re supposed to be unclear if she jumped or if something else happened. But they kind of show her body on the ground and it’s very bloody and I’d cut that too if you’re like, I don’t want to see gory.
Elsie: But I don’t know why we’re trying to teach people how to make Rosemary’s Baby into a Disney Plus movie. It’s okay.
Emma: It’s not a Disney Plus movie.
Elsie: It is what it is. I defend it as a comfort rewatch. This is my official statement. I defend it because of the interiors. So help me God, amen.
Emma: I feel like it’s kind of like described when you have like a hero and you’re, like a real person hero and you’re like I love this person for these reasons and then someone will come at you with, yeah but did you know that they also this and it’s like yeah, they’re human, you know And I’m like, well, this movie is like really cool. And also it has some problems. Did you hear us mention the director? Like there are some problems right? Like there are some things that I would not defend, but I don’t think that necessarily means you have to throw the whole thing away. I mean, I just thought it was a very interesting film. One of the more interesting ones I’ve seen in a while. And I really enjoyed myself, but I wouldn’t defend everything about it. I mean, my lord, who would do that with any movie of all except for Knives Out?
Elsie: Yeah, Knives Out is our perfect angel. Okay, so let’s do some trivia. According to Mia Farrow, the scenes where Rosemary walks in front of traffic were spontaneous and genuine. That is upsetting. Roman Polanski is reported to have told her that, quote, nobody will hit a pregnant woman. The scene was successfully shot with Farah walking into real traffic and Polanski following operating a handheld camera since he was the only one willing to do it.
Emma: I don’t know how to feel about that.
Elsie: That makes him seem like an ass.
Emma: That’s the thing. Yeah. Okay. He is, but this movie is beautiful.
Elsie: We are renouncing Roman Polanski if you didn’t notice. So he’s renounced.
Emma: Okay, next trivia. Mia Farah actually ate raw liver for the scene of the movie, despite being a vegetarian at the time.
Elsie: What?
Emma: Ugh. I feel like she really committed.
Elsie: I thought it was like really dark red jello or something.
Emma: It’s kind of black, I think.
Elsie: It is a very disgusting scene.
Emma: A very disgusting scene. They show a scene, too, where she just, like, very quickly sears a steak and eats it, which, is more normal. That’s not how I eat my steak, personally. But, you know, people do that. That’s a thing.
Elsie: I love her so much. She did the most for this movie. She’s also been to Vidal Sassoon for this movie. But that is, like, the most iconic haircut.
Emma: She looks like Twiggy. It’s like a very 60s.
Elsie: She’s so pretty, yeah. Like, I can talk all day about how much I think she’s the most beautiful woman of all time.
Emma: And clearly an extremely committed actress, clearly.
Elsie: During the telephone booth scene, Mia Farrow can be seen mouthing numbers as she dials Dr. Hill’s office on the rotary telephone, specifically 477 turned upside down spells H E L L. Hell. Okay, I don’t think they needed that, but that’s a nice touch.
Emma: Yeah, I like it. It’s kind of like when you’re in school and you do that calculator thing and it spells out boob or something. Can you tell I was really good at math? I was really paying attention in school. Okay, next one. William Castle, who is the producer of Rosemary’s Baby, later became convinced the film was cursed. Shortly after production, he suffered gallstones to such a severe extent that he required surgery. As he recovered from that illness, Rosemary’s Baby composer, Krzysztof Komita suffered an accidental fall that led to a coma, and eventually, his death. Awful. Then, in the summer of 1969, actor Sharon Tate, Polanski’s wife, was famously murdered by the Manson family. We all know about that one. For Castle, it all added up. The story of Rosemary’s Baby was happening in real life. Witches, all of them, were casting their spell, and I was becoming one of the principal players, he later recalled. I don’t know why he’s lumping in Sharon Tate, because other than being married to Polanski, wasn’t a part of this production, as far as I know.
Elsie: I feel like other people died and he just got gallstones and he was making it a little bit about himself.
Emma: I mean, I understand having a phase in life where you feel like a lot of bad things are happening all around you. Like, I think we’ve all gone through seasons like that, but I don’t really know.
Elsie: I don’t know, but it probably just added to the success of the movie at the time, or the movie’s, like, reputation at the time, I’m sure it was very controversial. Like, Emma and I grew up in the Harry Potter being banned era. And my heart could not take the things people probably said about Rosemary’s Baby in 1968 and 1969 and stuff.
Emma: Well, I doubt I would have watched it as a kid. Yeah. Whereas I was reading Harry Potter as a kid.
Elsie: I bet the church people were really upset.
Emma: I mean, they still are, I imagine.
Elsie: Okay, send us an email and let us know. Rosemary’s Baby starts off with a pan shot that ends on the Dakota. A building with a rather rich and ominous history in New York City. So I guess that’s what the real building is called. It was the city’s first true luxury apartment complex when it was built in 1884. That’s really cool. Based on a design by Henry J. Herdenburg, who created the Plaza Hotel. Whoa! This is cool. Over the years, it has attracted a plethora of wealthy celebrities from Lauren Bacall to Judy Garland. It gained notoriety for the death of John Lennon, who was murdered right outside the front of the building. In fact, the death of the character Terry in the film takes place eerily close to where Lennon was killed. That is interesting and disturbing. I’m glad that they picked a haunted building though, because I do think it fits.
Emma: Yeah, it does fit, because a lot of haunty things are happening in this movie.
Elsie: Plus, when you bring that on a filming look, like it’ll always be the Rosemary’s Baby building now too. So it’s like they weren’t really bringing any more creepy vibes onto something that was already like, we’re done.
Emma: Yeah. It is strange though, like to think about a city like New York and for like one building to have lots of different things, you know what I mean? Because you’re like, it’s such a big city.
Elsie: It’s true. Probably every building has dozens of interesting, scary, and beautiful in every kind of story because it’s such a historic place. We’re just not used to that.
Emma: Plus, I mean, the Arconians had like three deaths in it already, and they’re going to have another season of Only Murders in the Building, so there’ll be another death.
Elsie: I seriously knew you were going to bring up Only Murders in the Building, and I, okay, I will say, I fucking love Only Murders in the Building. I don’t think we’ll ever talk about it on the podcast, but I love it. And Steve Martin is daddy, and like, we will always support him forever.
Emma: Yeah. And I want every sweater and outfit that Selena Gomez wears, I’m like, sign me up.
Elsie: And Martin Short is funny, and anyone else who writes an article about how he’s not can go straight to hell.
Emma: Go to hell. He’s hilarious. Okay. Mia Farrow’s iconic pixie cut became a popular hairstyle after the movie’s release. Following the release of Rosemary’s Baby, Mia Farrow’s short and stylish haircut gained widespread popularity and became known as the Rosemary’s Baby cut. Which is great because in the movie, everyone’s like, what did you do to your hair?
Elsie: Yeah, but I mean, to be fair to Mia Farrow, it was her most iconic, like haircut era. And that is like when in her, like, I’m Mary Frank Sinatra era was I think right after this movie. So, it was gorgeous, and Emma and I both had pixie cuts in high school. And it’s not for everyone, okay?
Emma: It did not look as good as hers, yeah.
Elsie: It’s not for everyone. It’s, sadly, Jeremy said he had a dream that I shaved my head and it looked good, and I was like, oh, Jeremy, that is such a sweet, generous dream.
Emma: Yeah, I feel like I’ve seen your hair short and don’t do it.
Elsie: This is the right amount of hair for me, right? Maximum.
Emma: I know. I always do want to chop my hair a little bit though when I see things, you know, like movies and stuff. And I’m like, no, don’t do it. Don’t do it. You’ve done it.
Elsie: I honestly just want to like be Mia Farrow for a day. I love her. Rate this movie from zero to five Demon Babies. Five out of five demon babies.
Emma: I’m also gonna give it 5 Demon Babies because the sets are gorgeous, the costumes are gorgeous, and I think the story is a 10, but I love that author, so I’m already a fangirl.
Elsie: It is good, and yeah, if anyone thinks it shouldn’t be a comfort rewatch, just give it a chance one time. Just do it for us.
Emma: It also doesn’t have to be for you. I don’t really give a fuck.
Elsie: Remember us, the creators of the Knives Out fantastical era. We will not do you wrong, okay?
Emma: I mean, I don’t think this movie’s for everyone. I do think Knives Out is for everyone. But I don’t think this one is. I think it’s pretty arty and it has some pretty harsh themes. And some people just don’t want to deal with that, and I think that’s fine. But it’s a beautiful movie. Alright, now it is time for a joke, or a fact, or maybe a meditation with our dear friend, Nova.
Elsie: Hey Nova, what do you have for us this week?
Nova: A joke.
Elsie: A joke? Okay.
Nova: How does a chicken stay fit?
Elsie: How?
Nova: Egg-ercise.
Elsie: That’s wonderful. Thank you. Thank you so much for listening. You can submit questions at podcasts@abeautifulmess.com or call our voicemail anytime at 417-893-0011. Next week, we will be back with our annual ghost stories episode.