No matter how many times I read it or see it, I always find something to learn from "Rosemary's Baby." So, I will share some of those topics with you; keep in mind these are only my interpretation of things, and I am going to proceed in the manner of the story.
1. Was Mr. Nickles a member of the cove?. Both he and Mrs. Gardenia demonstrate that not everyone at the Bramford is a member of the coven. Mr. Nickles, wonderfully played by Elisha Cook, Jr. is either a realtor or the community representative of the building. He is only seen when showing Guy and Rosemary the apartment, and later, when people gather around the dead Terry. He is not seen during Rosemary's dream sequence--the conception scene--and he is not present when Rosemary comes into the Castavet apartment, carrying that knife.
2. Mrs. Gardenia--".... than merely the intriguing pastime I imagined it to be. I can no longer associate myself......" Mrs. Gardenia was a non-practitioner whose friendliness earned the coven's trust, and so she was recruited. She and Minnie Castevet were good friends; both had herbariums. But Mrs. Gardenia got in over her head. She thought the coven's activities was like a parlor game; when she realized that they were for real, she backed out. Smart. But since she and Minnie were in and out of each other's apartments, it was easy for Minnie to acquire something of Mrs. Gardenia's. It is my belief that the writing stopped when Mrs. Gardenia suffered a stroke or coma, thanks to the coven.
3. Terry Gionoffrio--Terry is the most problematic character in "Rosemary's Baby." I stick with Ira Levin and Roman Polanski's version. wonderfully enacted by Victoria Vetri, that she was a down on her luck drug addict and prostitute. The encounter in the basement has a touch of irony, because, while extolling to Rosemary the Castevets, she says, "At first, I thought they wanted me for some kind of sex thing." Actually, they did. The Castevets made a big mistake in telling Terry what was expected of her, and I am sure when she found out, she wanted out, tried to escape but could not. Now, was Terry pushed out of the window, or did she jump? The apartment was unoccupied, and she put a note on the door. Did Terry write it? I am sure she did, because through their incantation, the coven put into Terry's head the idea of killing herself. Now, when someone--hopefully a policeman--first spotted the body, I am sure he laid it out flat, because a jumper would not land on the ground as perfectly as Terry did. Now, had the Castevets not told Terry, like they did with Rosemary, things might have been different. Then, in 2024, some idiots came up with the idea of making a prequel to "Rosemary's Baby." Interesting in and of itself, except the creators deviated from Ira Levin. Terry here is a down and out dancer, felled by an irreparable injury. She is taken in, conceives, but at some point, the end of the Ira Levin novel is almost recreated. Terry, like Rosemary, walks into the apartment, now occupied by the coven, and in front of them runs to the window, pushes through and jumps. She is pregnant, so the ch8ld is destroyed. This completely destroys the point of Terry's story, which was to demonstrate that Satan did not necessarily want some gutter rat, but someone relatively innocent and not quite pure, like Rosemary. Anyone who watches "Apt. 7A," do not believe a word of it. Stick to Levin and Roman Polanski. They make more sense.
4. Minnie Castavet--Ruth Gordon rules!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Dianne Wiest, forget it!!!!!!!!!!! But here is the thing about Minnie. Once Rosemary has given birth, the coven is done with Guy and are now more sympathetic to Rosemary. Yes, they gaslit her, but if it was not for Guy' s consent, the baby would not have happened, and John Cassavates delivers just enough sleaziness to make Guy's selling his wife's uterus to the coven believable. What is not known about Minnie is where she comes from, and how she entered in the coven; that is, was she brought up a practicing witch, or only so when she married Roman.? I think somewhere in the novel, Minnie is alluded to having come from the Midwest but that is all we get. Much more is revealed about Roman, except how he and Minnie met, and was she already practicing or did she enter into it by marriage? There is no answer here, but it is interesting to conjecture!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
5. Doctor Abraham Sapirstein--I really thought it a surprise when it is revealed he belongs to the coven, in spite of his highly regarded reputation. It is also interesting that he does not live in the building; he is only seen in Minnie and Roman's apartment, not seeming to live at the Bramford. But he did not charge Rosemary his "fancy schmalzy society prices."
6. Edward "Hutch" Hutchins--No, darlings, this was way before "Starsky And Hutch." Next to Rosemary and her girlfriends, especially Elise, Hutch, thanks to Maurice Evans' performance, is the most likable character in the story. He mentors Rosemary, has no idea what a sleaze Guy is, but knows quite a bit about the Bramford. His mentioning a dead baby being found in the basement in 1959 suggests that the coven tried something before, but it did not work. Of course, readers/viewers only learn this when discovering what is actually going on. As for the Trench Sisters, Keith Kennedy and Pearl Ames, I wish Levin had written more about them in the book. When Hutch disappears, it is very similar to Mrs. Gardenia. And more tragic, for having gotten to know and like him.
7. The Ending-- This might be the most controversial topic of all. People have different interpretations--my David feels when Rosemary finally connects with the baby she loses her sanity. I disagree. I think Rosemary's maternal instincts kick in, and, as the mother of the presumed child of Satan, she has a power position she did not have before. Guy at this point is expendable; he will go to California, achieve some fame, but at some point, have an on-set accident. Rosemary, as the venerated mother of the child, will always be watched over and taken care of, as will the child. As Roman tells her, "You don't have to join."
Darlings, what a nice discussion we have had about "Rosemary's Baby." I leave you with much to think about.
And keep an eye on how Ruth Gordon twirls that fork in her mouth as she eats the cake!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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