Roman Polański in Munich: between fame and infamy

The next big crisis in his private life followed in March 1977, shortly before the end of the theatre season, when Roman Polański was accused of raping a 13-year-old girl in Los Angeles. In order to escape the charge, he came to an agreement with the plaintiff to plead guilty before the relevant US court. In return he agreed to accept a conviction for “extramarital sex with a minor” and a reduced prison sentence. After a six-week stay in a psychiatric prison he was finally released on bail. By arrangement with the judge, Polański travelled to Europe to finish a film production before the final verdict was to be pronounced. Back in Munich in September 1977, he was photographed with a group of young women at the Oktoberfest.[8] The harmless looking photo of Polański with underage girls that was published in the US press prompted the judge to renege on the previous deal. Instead he demanded a sentence of 50 years in prison for the Polish-French director. Fearing the threat of imprisonment Polański decided not to return to the USA but to settle in Europe. Since then he has lived in France, Switzerland and Poland.

Despite the scandal, Roman Polański's career in the coming years was constantly productive and marked by international success. He also directed more theatre plays, including “Amadeus”, Franz Kafka's “Metamorphosis”, and a stage version of “The Dance of the Vampires”. However, his last opera production to date remains that of “Rigoletto” in Munich.

Katarzyna Salski, April 2018

Further reading:

Paul Werner: Polanski, München 2013.

Thomas Koebner: Roman Polanski. Der Blick der Verfolgten. Eine Biographie, Stuttgart 2013.

James Greenberg: Roman Polanski. Seine Filme, sein Leben, München 2013.

Media:

Audio feature: "Rigoletto" unter Roman Polanski in München im Mittagsjournal 30.10.1976