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 (play), 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...

---

Plot Keywords:

blind woman | home invasion | blind protagonist | run over by a car | psychopath | 

---

Taglines:

Now on the screen, all the taut suspense...the true drama of the long-running play.

---

Genres:

Thriller

---

Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 October 1967 (USA)

Also Known As:

Warte, bis es dunkel ist

Filming Locations:

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

Box Office

Budget:

$3,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$17,550,741

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Julie Herrod also played Gloria in the 1966 stage version.

---

Goofs

When the two men first enter Suzy's apartment, the second one says "What are you calling for? She said she wasn't here." But his lips don't move.

---

Quotes

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

---

Crazy Credits

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

---

Connections

Referenced in Tales from the Warner Bros. Lot (2013)

---

Soundtracks

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

User Reviews

Great thriller, great acting, great music, great directing.

My title sums it all. I was very surprised at how good this film was. I found it very similar to a movie like "Rear Window". One other person's comments was titled "The best Hitchcock film that Hitchcock never made". It think that is very true. Most of the film is shot within this basement apartment unit. And the thriller is so great because of Hepburn being blind and these three bad guys freely walking into her unit and introducing themselves as her husband's friends, or police, or some neighbour. But they all forget one thing: She uses her ears like no regular person does, she doesn't need eyes. But that is where the thriller kicks in. Sometimes it is pretty painful for us to watch (us who can see) because she seems so vulnerable. Wrapping around of all this is Henry Mancini's music. He is using a technique that he also used in the film "Night Visitor" where there is this melody on the keyboard and after everynote there is the detuned note following it. Pretty cool effect. One thing I didn't get though, There is a scene where the room looks pretty dark and Alan Arkin still has his sun glasses on. I loved this film, 10 out of 10.