"Svengoolie," May 16: The original "Boss Baby" and not one you want to work for - "Rosemary's Baby" - Tonight!

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The original "Boss Baby" and not one you want to work for - "Rosemary's Baby" - Tonight!

Posted on May 16, 2026

It’s May! Spring is in full bloom … and a bunch of people in New York living in The Dakota but calling it “The Bramford” are preparing to welcome Satan’s son into the world. Terrifying, right?! Tonight, on MeTV - The Sven Squad – Gwengoolie, Nostalgiaferatoo and IMP aka Ignatius Malvolio Prankenstein – are premiering 1968’s “Rosemary’s Baby” on House of Svengoolie. Instead of May flowers, you’ll be smelling something a little more fire and brimstone.

It’s 1968 and Guy Woodhouse (John Cassavetes) and his wife Rosemary Woodhouse (Mia Farrow) have just gotten married and moved into an exclusive apartment building in New York. You’ll recognize The Dakota which is not only known for its distinct German Renaissance Revival Architecture but its famous residents over the years including Judy Garland, John Lennon, Joe Nameth, Lauren Bacall, and Paul Simon (the singer, not the U.S. Senator from Illinois). The couple is living the newlywed dream with Guy looking to advance his burgeoning acting career and Rosemary looking to advance the size of their family with the good news that she’s pregnant! We’ll skip over the part as to how she got pregnant, just focusing on the good news that she’s definitely pregnant.

Rosemary’s very excited as are their neighbors Minnie Castevet (Ruth Gordon) and her husband Roman Castevet (Sidney Blackmer). Like, maybe too excited. Not only do they stop by for visits, or a drink, or a meal, but they start bringing some very specific things for Rosemary to drink to “help her feel better” in her first and second trimesters. Rosemary eventually becomes suspicious of her neighbor’s odd behavior but it’s pretty late in the game. She calls in help from her doctor, Dr. Hill (an incredibly young Charles Grodin) when her suspicions turn to fright and then sheer terror. Imagine what all of us at home are feeling?

This 1968 film was produced and distributed by Paramount Pictures. The film’s director Roman Polanski had only directed a few smaller feature length films including Repulsion and Cul-de-Sac when he made Rosemary’s Baby, and this is the movie that is credited with putting him on the map. Critics and audiences both responded very positively to this terrifying thriller making it one of the highest grossing films of the year. Polanski earned an Oscar nomination for best screenplay adaptation for Rosemary’s Baby and would earn another 4 Oscar nominations in his career that followed including a win for Best Director for The Pianst in 2003. Ruth Gordon’s performance as nosey neighbor Minnie Castevet earned her both the Oscar and the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress.

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