Wait Until Dark (1967)

A recently blinded woman is terrorized by a trio of thugs while they search for a heroin-stuffed doll they believe is in her apartment.

Director:

Terence Young

Writers:

Frederick Knott (based on the play by), Robert Carrington (screenplay)

Stars:

Audrey Hepburn, Alan Arkin, Richard Crenna

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 4 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Audrey Hepburn	...	Susy Hendrix
Alan Arkin	...	Roat / Roat Jr. / Roat Sr.
Richard Crenna	...	Mike Talman
Efrem Zimbalist Jr.	...	Sam Hendrix
Jack Weston	...	Carlino
Samantha Jones	...	Lisa
Julie Herrod	...	Gloria

Storyline

Susy was recently blinded and recently married. Susy's husband, Sam, is asked to hold a doll for a woman he doesn't know as they get off an airplane. The woman disappears. Later, she's found dead by her former associates, Mike and Carlino, small-time hoods, in Susy's basement apartment. (Both occupants of the apartment are then absent.) The doll woman's newer partner in crime, Harry Rote, who murdered her for self-dealing, presses Mike and Carlino into a scheme to recover the doll, which contains a fortune in smuggled heroin. After disposing of the body, the thugs return while Susy is present to continue their search. They assume Susy's blindness will enable them to search her apartment under her very nose for the doll. In Sam's absence, Mike pretends to be an old friend of Sam's, while the three together spin for Susy a story of a murder investigation of her husband from which only the finding of the missing doll can save him. Rote is a predator, and his stalking of Susy becomes ever...

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Plot Keywords:

psychopath | corpse | apartment | panic | blind woman | 

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Taglines:

Audrey Hepburn, the role you're going to remember, whenever you're alone.

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Genres:

Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Audrey Hepburn tried to get this film shot in Europe, but relented when she was told not filming it in the US might have led to the closure of underused studio facilities in Hollywood.

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Goofs

Susy demonstrates excellent hearing and observation skills: she can tell when people are in her apartment, notices Carlino dusting for prints, people fiddling with the blinds, Roat's squeaky shoes, etc. However, she does not appear to notice the rotary-dial mismatch between the telephone number Mike Tallman says he's calling and the number he actually dials. It's easy to tell what number is being dialed if you listen and count the number of clicks.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Lisa: Come on Louis, come on!

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Crazy Credits

The end credits show each character with the performer's credit; Alan Arkin is shown three times, including once in each disguise.

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Connections

Version of Nowhere in Sight (2001)

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Soundtracks

Wait Until Dark
Music by Henry Mancini
Lyrics by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans
Performed by Sue Raney

User Reviews

Does she have to be the world's champion blind lady?

In "Wait Until Dark", I really felt sorry for Audrey Hepburn's Susy Hendrix: blind, lied to by a 'nice' guy who is actually in cahoots with a murderer, sassed by the bespectacled neighbor girl, and then--after a hellish night spent being terrorized by thugs--husband Efrem Zimbalist Jr. walks in and doesn't even give her a hand. "I'm over here, Susy", he tells her, mildly condescending. Film is based on Frederick Knott's popular play, and has an elaborate but obtuse set-up involving a missing doll filled with heroin. There's a great deal of talk about where it is, who had it last, etc. The filmmakers bide their time before getting to the showdown between Hepburn and Alan Arkin, cool and collected as a self-assured psychopath. If you can make it through the first half-hour or so, you'll find that "Wait Until Dark" gets cooking thereafter. There are some terrific jolts, and Hepburn is a great, stubborn fighter. The frosty, subdued color photography is 'realistic' and very stylish, as is Henry Mancini's spooky music. The end-credits theme song (by Mancini, Jay Livingston and Ray Evans) seems a throwaway, but is nicely sung by the uncredited Sue Raney. *** from ****

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 December 1967 (Netherlands)

Also Known As:

Wait Until Dark

Filming Locations:

5 St. Luke's Place, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$3,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1