I have fond memories of this minor classic as the very first ABC Tuesday Movie of the Week. SEVEN IN DARKNESS was the premiere installment of these 90-minute films made for TV that appeared on Tuesday and Wednesday nights on ABC between 1969 and 1975. This film was an unsettling adventure about seven blind people, flying to some kind of convention for blind people and what happens when the plane crashes and they are the only survivors. Sean Garrison, Barry Nelson, Milton Berle, Dina Merrill, Alejandro Rey, Lesley Ann Warren, and Elizabeth (Tippy) Walker grope their way through the title roles. I remember finding it very unsettling to watching blind people stumbling in around in dark forests and tripping over things, but it definitely held my attention. The performances are OK, with Berle and Merrill doing standout work, but it is the plight of these survivors that sustains viewer interest here. No masterpiece, but a guilty pleasure of mine.
13 Reviews
Familiar plot but well done.
Hup234!20 September 1999
It's the story of a plane crash in a remote area, where the surviving passengers attempt to make their way to civilization and life. Here, though, they happen to be blind. Milton Berle is superb as Sam, an embittered, angry man caught up in his past disappointments and who is now in the struggle of his life.
Talk about a contrived plot!
planktonrules1 November 2016
"Seven in Darkness" is the first episode of "The ABC Movie of the Week" and it's certainly a memorable...though contrived one. Think about it...an airliner with a group of blind people headed to a conference crashes...and just about all the blind people are fine but, miraculously, all the non-blind folks are killed!!! What are the odds?! So it's up to the blind folks to grope their way through the wilderness in order to find help...otherwise the gathering wolves will tear them to pieces. Along for the trek are a variety of caricatures-- such as the grouch who doesn't want to come to terms with being blind (Milton Berle), a pregnant woman, a war hero and a variety of other broad types. It's not a bad film and keeps you engaged...but the basic premise is a bit silly and tough to believe.
Good TV Adventure
Michael_Elliott24 August 2015
Seven in Darkness (1969)
*** (out of 4)
A plane full of blind people are being taken to Seattle during a very bad storm when it crashes into the wilderness. Naturally, everyone on the plane who could see are now dead and it's up to seven people, including a pregnant woman, to try and make it out of the woods even though they can't see.
This here was the first ABC Movie of the Week and it's pretty funny to see how much all future TV movies can pretty much be seen here. You've got a very interesting story to grab your attention. You've got famous faces like Milton Berle, Barry Nelson, Leslie Ann Warren and Arthur O'Connell. You've got a short running time that goes by very quickly. And you've got the cliffhanger moments that build into a commercial. SEVEN IN DARKNESS has several flaws but there's no question that it holds your attention from the opening moments until the closing credits and it's certainly worth viewing.
If you're into disaster movies then you're going to enjoy this as the idea because it is quite good. How would seven blind people make it down off a mountain? With a running time of just 73 minutes nothing is given to us in great detail. In fact, I would have liked to have seen the "how" a tad bit more because it seems their journey was just a tad bit too easy for the most part. Still, there are some tense scenes including one where a couple members are attacked by wolves and another where they must try to find a way to cross a river. The performances for the most part are good and on the whole SEVEN IN DARKNESS is a good little film.
*** (out of 4)
A plane full of blind people are being taken to Seattle during a very bad storm when it crashes into the wilderness. Naturally, everyone on the plane who could see are now dead and it's up to seven people, including a pregnant woman, to try and make it out of the woods even though they can't see.
This here was the first ABC Movie of the Week and it's pretty funny to see how much all future TV movies can pretty much be seen here. You've got a very interesting story to grab your attention. You've got famous faces like Milton Berle, Barry Nelson, Leslie Ann Warren and Arthur O'Connell. You've got a short running time that goes by very quickly. And you've got the cliffhanger moments that build into a commercial. SEVEN IN DARKNESS has several flaws but there's no question that it holds your attention from the opening moments until the closing credits and it's certainly worth viewing.
If you're into disaster movies then you're going to enjoy this as the idea because it is quite good. How would seven blind people make it down off a mountain? With a running time of just 73 minutes nothing is given to us in great detail. In fact, I would have liked to have seen the "how" a tad bit more because it seems their journey was just a tad bit too easy for the most part. Still, there are some tense scenes including one where a couple members are attacked by wolves and another where they must try to find a way to cross a river. The performances for the most part are good and on the whole SEVEN IN DARKNESS is a good little film.
This is how you work together.
mark.waltz29 April 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Yes, there's certainly are some bizarre twists in this very early TV movie (the first apparently for ABC), a few details that in retrospect makes the viewer perplexed by how unrealistic some of it was. A group of blind people survive a plane crash but all sighted people are killed. They must make it out of the mountains, surrounded by hungry wolves, and some of the individual characters have issues that stand in the way of their chance of survival.
There's the nasty Milton Berle, a self-centered old man who doesn't care if anybody else survives, as long as he gets out of there. Everything he does seems to be for his own benefit, so he is the one person to stand in the way of their unity. Then there is young wife Lesley Ann Warren, about to give birth to a baby, and she is destined to slow their way out down, through no fault of her own.
The beautiful Dina Merrill has a heart of gold as a truly sweet lady who tries to encourage everybody along the way even though at times, little accidents cause her and others to be forced to stop. They managed to find a train trestle coming out of the mountains, but not every path on the trestle leads to safety.
So this has plenty of intrigue, as well a surprises and a miracle concerning its most reprehensible character. But being a triumph of the human spirit, this is gripping in many ways even though the script could have taken a few different paths to be more realistic.
There's the nasty Milton Berle, a self-centered old man who doesn't care if anybody else survives, as long as he gets out of there. Everything he does seems to be for his own benefit, so he is the one person to stand in the way of their unity. Then there is young wife Lesley Ann Warren, about to give birth to a baby, and she is destined to slow their way out down, through no fault of her own.
The beautiful Dina Merrill has a heart of gold as a truly sweet lady who tries to encourage everybody along the way even though at times, little accidents cause her and others to be forced to stop. They managed to find a train trestle coming out of the mountains, but not every path on the trestle leads to safety.
So this has plenty of intrigue, as well a surprises and a miracle concerning its most reprehensible character. But being a triumph of the human spirit, this is gripping in many ways even though the script could have taken a few different paths to be more realistic.
Acting was decent, plot was wholly unbelievable
vnssyndrome898 May 2022
(DNF) This movie HAD potential. Unfortunately, after the plane crashes & only blind people are left, that's when it gets stupid. Unlike other reviewers, I'm ok with only blind people surviving the crash. Pilots ALWAYS die in plane crashes, and there were only two stewardesses, so no problem.
The problems begin when a blind war hero leads the survivors down a steep mountain, with nothing but some yarn. Uh, yeah, I'm out, can't watch any further. Ridiculous.
The problems begin when a blind war hero leads the survivors down a steep mountain, with nothing but some yarn. Uh, yeah, I'm out, can't watch any further. Ridiculous.
A very "different" disaster film with offbeat plot elements.
guanche21 January 2002
An interesting little film. The plot is a bit far fetched and corny at times, but not incredible. A chartered plane carrying mostly blind passengers to a convention, crashes in the wilderness and only the blind survive. It is quite interesting to see how they try to extricate themselves and make it back to civilization. Those who see this movie will never again take their eyesight for granted. This film used to be rerun quite often, but, as far as I know, it hasn't been released on video and has not been broadcast for many years. I can't figure out why. It's an interesting and unique addition to the "disaster film" genre with brand name actors; including Milton Berle in a dramatic role; and should do well if re-released.
Blind lead blind 3 years before Andes cannibal crash and spate of disaster flicks
adrianovasconcelos29 May 2023
Director Michael Caffey, about whom I know nothing, steers SEVEN IN DARKNESS as blindly as the plot's unfortunate seven blind persons who survive an air crash in an undetermined place - and the result is a largely unintentional comedy.
In addition to their handicap, these blind persons suffer from delusions of power, selfishness, they steal, lie, and do all manner of evil. Thankfully, they stop short of gorging each other down (the source of their food is not known and, to make matters worse, it is being stolen by one greedy element) but thankfully there is none of the cannibalism that would occur in a real life aviation crash in the Andes in October 1972.
Their elected leader (democracy among the blind!), Milton Berle - about whom I also know zero - manages to lead them to safety. In the process, these sightless souls manage to find yarn to string themselves together, start fires to keep warm - though none seem to smoke, and why non-smokers should carry lighters on themselves is baffling -, manage to find a makeshift bridge well above the foot of a hill, and even survive an attack, and kill a brute of a wolf who, for reasons known only to itself, strays off its pack to attack first one of the seven blind, then another. Both injured men bleed profusely in wintry and windy conditions, which should put most human lives at risk, but these two brave it all and you don't see any blood on their clothes.
Lovely Lesley Anne Warren is wasted, your don't even get to see her famous legs and curvy waist. Dear old Arthur O'Connel, always a highly reliable supporting actor, disappears much too soon, leaving a motley crew of sadly limited actors to carry the action, often driven by motivations that had me containing laughter out of respect, and just as often fighting dozing off.
Amazingly, the child who they come across and reluctantly rescues them initially seems to speak a different language, but then somehow trots out perfect English. Yet another miracle if ever there was one!
The irony is that this cheapo might be the precursor of all the disaster films of the 1970s, beginning with AIRPORT (1970) and continuing with POSEIDON, EARTHQUAKE, TOWERING INFERNO, and an array of ever worsening AIRPORT sequels.
Photography is typical B TV product of the 1960s, very washed up and low grade filmmaking. The script is downright naive. 3/10.
In addition to their handicap, these blind persons suffer from delusions of power, selfishness, they steal, lie, and do all manner of evil. Thankfully, they stop short of gorging each other down (the source of their food is not known and, to make matters worse, it is being stolen by one greedy element) but thankfully there is none of the cannibalism that would occur in a real life aviation crash in the Andes in October 1972.
Their elected leader (democracy among the blind!), Milton Berle - about whom I also know zero - manages to lead them to safety. In the process, these sightless souls manage to find yarn to string themselves together, start fires to keep warm - though none seem to smoke, and why non-smokers should carry lighters on themselves is baffling -, manage to find a makeshift bridge well above the foot of a hill, and even survive an attack, and kill a brute of a wolf who, for reasons known only to itself, strays off its pack to attack first one of the seven blind, then another. Both injured men bleed profusely in wintry and windy conditions, which should put most human lives at risk, but these two brave it all and you don't see any blood on their clothes.
Lovely Lesley Anne Warren is wasted, your don't even get to see her famous legs and curvy waist. Dear old Arthur O'Connel, always a highly reliable supporting actor, disappears much too soon, leaving a motley crew of sadly limited actors to carry the action, often driven by motivations that had me containing laughter out of respect, and just as often fighting dozing off.
Amazingly, the child who they come across and reluctantly rescues them initially seems to speak a different language, but then somehow trots out perfect English. Yet another miracle if ever there was one!
The irony is that this cheapo might be the precursor of all the disaster films of the 1970s, beginning with AIRPORT (1970) and continuing with POSEIDON, EARTHQUAKE, TOWERING INFERNO, and an array of ever worsening AIRPORT sequels.
Photography is typical B TV product of the 1960s, very washed up and low grade filmmaking. The script is downright naive. 3/10.
Seven In Darkness is a top notch made for television movie
climbingivy19 October 2009
Warning: Spoilers
Seven In Darkness is a top notch 1969 made for television movie that the whole family can watch.I watched this movie for the first time a couple of days ago and I thought that for a 1969 television movie it was so good.I rate this film in the category of "Dr.Cook's Garden" a made for television movie from 1970.The cast is excellent.And who would have thought that Milton Berle the funny man comedian could play such a dramatic role?I was on the edge of my seat and hoping for a good outcome.This movie makes you realize how fortunate we are that we can see and that we take our vision for granted.I recommend this movie for the entire family.I have this movie.
I Think Irwin Allen Was Watching
StuOz29 June 2020
A group of blind people survive a plane crash.
This was probably a lot better in 1969 than it was in 2020. In the 70s several airplane disaster movies came out on TV or in cinemas, so this all seems way too routine now. Also, unlike the later versions, this sometimes features a way too obvious use of studio sets that replace location filming. And finally, the middle section of Seven In Darkness slows down to the point of boredom.
But the movie does have it's strong points, mainly the well directed ending which I dare not reveal. And the musical score was better (and more retro) than a lot of the later plane disaster shows.
I think Irwin Allen was watching and he later pinched ideas - Beyond The Poseidon Adventure (1979) had a blind guy and When Time Ran Out (1980) had a very long bridge walk that resembles this.
Basically, watch Seven In Darkness, but don't expect too much.
This was probably a lot better in 1969 than it was in 2020. In the 70s several airplane disaster movies came out on TV or in cinemas, so this all seems way too routine now. Also, unlike the later versions, this sometimes features a way too obvious use of studio sets that replace location filming. And finally, the middle section of Seven In Darkness slows down to the point of boredom.
But the movie does have it's strong points, mainly the well directed ending which I dare not reveal. And the musical score was better (and more retro) than a lot of the later plane disaster shows.
I think Irwin Allen was watching and he later pinched ideas - Beyond The Poseidon Adventure (1979) had a blind guy and When Time Ran Out (1980) had a very long bridge walk that resembles this.
Basically, watch Seven In Darkness, but don't expect too much.
O' My God!
kapelusznik1812 September 2016
Warning: Spoilers
****SPOILERS**** One of the first and best made for TV movie ever made that has to do with a plane of blind people on their way to a seeing eye or blind persons convention in Seattle that goes off course and crashes in the wilds of Northern Canada with the seven blind survivors having to find their way back to civilization before the cold weather as well as wolf packs finishes them all off. Lead by blind Vietnam Veteran Mark Larson, Sean Garrison, the group find their way to an old abandoned railroad track that they hope can show them the way out. Only for one of them Larry Wise, Arthur O'Connell, who ends up falling through the cracks and to his death into the rushing stream below when he made a wrong step.
The blind people's attempt to get rescued was sabotaged by one of them Alex Swain, Barry Nelson, who stole their supply of food and water and tried to blame Mark for it as well as revealing that he chickened out in Vietnam and left six of his comrades or GI's to get slaughtered by the Viet Cong which he felt he'll do to him and his fellow blind men & women lost in the woods. There's also the I'm all for me and no one else Sam Fuller, Milton Berle,who feels that Alex is nothing but a lowlife rat and tries to have him fall to his death off a cranky wooden bridge by leading him , with his walking cane, the wrong way. Only to have Mark,whom Alex was trying to screw and blame for all the trouble the blind survivor found themselves in, to save his sorry a** making up for his cowardice that he showed back in Vietnam.
***SPOILERS*** Almost too emotionally drained to watch ending with the blind survivors after surviving the cold and a wolf attack find their way to safety by a friendly Rin Rin Tin like dog, not a wild and dangerous 150 pound Timber Wolf, coming to their rescue and having both his master the little boy and his pop leading them back to their home as well as civilization! Great performances by everyone in the cast with Milton Berle a real standout in him playing both a bad as well as good guy part. That by him finally "seeing" the light and realizes that by just trying to save himself he'll not only jeopardize everyone else's lives but if he in some way survives he'll also have to live with their deaths, like Mark in what he did in Vietnam, on his conscious for the rest of his life.
The blind people's attempt to get rescued was sabotaged by one of them Alex Swain, Barry Nelson, who stole their supply of food and water and tried to blame Mark for it as well as revealing that he chickened out in Vietnam and left six of his comrades or GI's to get slaughtered by the Viet Cong which he felt he'll do to him and his fellow blind men & women lost in the woods. There's also the I'm all for me and no one else Sam Fuller, Milton Berle,who feels that Alex is nothing but a lowlife rat and tries to have him fall to his death off a cranky wooden bridge by leading him , with his walking cane, the wrong way. Only to have Mark,whom Alex was trying to screw and blame for all the trouble the blind survivor found themselves in, to save his sorry a** making up for his cowardice that he showed back in Vietnam.
***SPOILERS*** Almost too emotionally drained to watch ending with the blind survivors after surviving the cold and a wolf attack find their way to safety by a friendly Rin Rin Tin like dog, not a wild and dangerous 150 pound Timber Wolf, coming to their rescue and having both his master the little boy and his pop leading them back to their home as well as civilization! Great performances by everyone in the cast with Milton Berle a real standout in him playing both a bad as well as good guy part. That by him finally "seeing" the light and realizes that by just trying to save himself he'll not only jeopardize everyone else's lives but if he in some way survives he'll also have to live with their deaths, like Mark in what he did in Vietnam, on his conscious for the rest of his life.
It's a good thing they can't see all the danger they're in
Woodyanders30 April 2018
Warning: Spoilers
A motley assortment of blind folks are forced to fend for themselves in the hostile wilderness after they are the sole survivors of a plane crash.
Director Michael Caffey keeps the gripping story moving along at a brisk pace, takes some time to develop the characters, maintains a tough serious tone throughout, and generates a good deal of tension. John W. Bloch's tight script not only offers a touching message about the resiliency of disabled people and the need for our protagonists to set aside their differences in order to work together as a team so they can all survive, but also sets up assorted forms of cruel peril that include the bitter cold, a pack of vicious wolves, and a rickety old wooden bridge. The sound acting from the able cast rates as another substantial asset: Milton Berle as sour grouch Sam Fuller, Sean Garrison as troubled Vietnam veteran Mark Larson, Dina Merrill as the sweet Emily Garth, Barry Nelson as the selfish and deceitful Alex Swain, Lesley Ann Warren as the fragile Deborah Cabot, Alejandro Rey as the concerned Ramon Rahos, Tippy Walker as Ramon's pregnant wife Christine, and Arthur O'Connell as the amiable Larry Wise. Howard Schwartz's sharp cinematography provides lots of nice shots of the beautiful sylvan scenery. Mark Bucci's robust score hits the stirring spot. A nifty little nail-biter.
Director Michael Caffey keeps the gripping story moving along at a brisk pace, takes some time to develop the characters, maintains a tough serious tone throughout, and generates a good deal of tension. John W. Bloch's tight script not only offers a touching message about the resiliency of disabled people and the need for our protagonists to set aside their differences in order to work together as a team so they can all survive, but also sets up assorted forms of cruel peril that include the bitter cold, a pack of vicious wolves, and a rickety old wooden bridge. The sound acting from the able cast rates as another substantial asset: Milton Berle as sour grouch Sam Fuller, Sean Garrison as troubled Vietnam veteran Mark Larson, Dina Merrill as the sweet Emily Garth, Barry Nelson as the selfish and deceitful Alex Swain, Lesley Ann Warren as the fragile Deborah Cabot, Alejandro Rey as the concerned Ramon Rahos, Tippy Walker as Ramon's pregnant wife Christine, and Arthur O'Connell as the amiable Larry Wise. Howard Schwartz's sharp cinematography provides lots of nice shots of the beautiful sylvan scenery. Mark Bucci's robust score hits the stirring spot. A nifty little nail-biter.
Follow Those Tracks
cutterccbaxter21 January 2024
Warning: Spoilers
The reviewer who chronologically preceded me apparently thinks Milton "Mr. Televsion" Berle is Sean Garrison in Seven In Darkness. Silly reviewer. Milton played the pregnant woman in this movie who was married to the guy from The Flying Nun.
Don't you just love the internet and how people feel compelled to share their ignorance with the world?
I'm also not sure where the reviewer got the idea that the kid at the end didn't speak English. He spoke English. He just didn't want to speak it because he was dumbstruck by finding Milton Berle in the Rocky Mountains. That doesn't happen every day you know.
If I encountered the blind survivors I would pull leader Sean Garrison aside and ask him if he couldn't set me up on a blind date with Dina Merrill or Lesley Ann Warren.
It's too bad Tippy Walker was confined to a stretcher for the brunt of the made for TV movie because it would have been interesting, based on her name, to see her blindly make her way through the wilderness.
In all seriousness, I used to drive by a blind institute on my way to work. Whenever I saw a vision impaired individual making their way along the sidewalk or crossing the street, I couldn't help but admire their spirit and hoped they were leading satisfying lives.
Don't you just love the internet and how people feel compelled to share their ignorance with the world?
I'm also not sure where the reviewer got the idea that the kid at the end didn't speak English. He spoke English. He just didn't want to speak it because he was dumbstruck by finding Milton Berle in the Rocky Mountains. That doesn't happen every day you know.
If I encountered the blind survivors I would pull leader Sean Garrison aside and ask him if he couldn't set me up on a blind date with Dina Merrill or Lesley Ann Warren.
It's too bad Tippy Walker was confined to a stretcher for the brunt of the made for TV movie because it would have been interesting, based on her name, to see her blindly make her way through the wilderness.
In all seriousness, I used to drive by a blind institute on my way to work. Whenever I saw a vision impaired individual making their way along the sidewalk or crossing the street, I couldn't help but admire their spirit and hoped they were leading satisfying lives.
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