Horror film the Screw". A few years later, Roman Polanski wrote and directed "Rosemary's Baby" (1968), based on the bestselling horror novel by Ira Levin. The highly influential film tells the story of a pregnant woman who suspects that an evil cult wants to take her baby for use in their rituals. Meanwhile, ghosts were a dominant theme in Japanese horror, in such films as "Kwaidan", "Onibaba" (both 1964) and "Kuroneko" (1968). Another influential American horror film of the 60s was George A. Romero's "Night of the Living Dead" (1968). Produced and directed by Romero on a budget of $114,000, it grossed
Rosemary's Baby (film) bigger name was needed for the lead. Mia Farrow – with only a supporting role in "Guns at Batasi" (1964) and the then-unreleased "A Dandy in Aspic" (1968) as her only feature film credits – had an unproven box office track record, but her role as Allison MacKenzie in the popular television series "Peyton Place" and her unexpected marriage to Frank Sinatra had made her a household name. Patty Duke auditioned for the role of Rosemary Woodhouse but lost out to Mia Farrow. Despite her waif-like appearance (which would ultimately prove beneficial, as Rosemary became more frail as her pregnancy