Wait Until Dark (1967)

I'j not a big fan of thriller plays (and I've acted in this one), but well-made with superb casting - mainly Ms. Hepburn & Mr. Arkin with gliding, smooth support from Mr. Crenna & Mr. Weston; superbly lit with a great set and menacing music, it was Hepburn's last film for nine years and she should have won Best Actress (nominated), and I pick Bonnie & Clyde to win ALL the other categories (acting-wise), she kicks into gear and then retires..until ROBIN & MARION nine years later.

Anyway, most stage-play thrillers don't make it on FILM, but this one is very claustrophobic and believable because of Hepburn (who studies with blind people for a while). Turn the lights off ..like they did in the last 8 minutes in the theatre when it opened in '67!

Fmovies: Only a handful of actresses were able to display vulnerability as well as AUDREY HEPBURN does in WAIT UNTIL DARK--and she's especially good here because she's playing a woman recently blinded who is learning how to cope with her handicap when the story begins.

The plot's suspense depends entirely on how she gradually (very gradually) becomes aware of the danger she's in when three intruders invade her apartment on a pretext--until finally, she learns that what they are really after is a doll stuffed with heroin that has been stored somewhere within her apartment.

It's only when the full realization of her situation becomes clear to Audrey that the story builds to the proper amount of suspense this sort of tale should generate. Before that, things get a little tedious and there's too much interplay between Hepburn and the interlopers before their devious scheme is developed.

The heroin seekers are played in rather theatrical style by ALAN ARKIN, JACK WESTON and RICHARD CRENNA and the stage origins of the original are sometimes clearly evident in the claustrophobic apartment setting.

Hepburn's blindness is well-simulated, but the tale itself is a bit too contrived to be taken very seriously. By today's standards, the gripping suspense of the final moments is somewhat tamer than when the film was originally made, diluted no doubt by the more graphic exposition of crime in today's thrillers.

Perhaps this is the fault of Terence Young's direction which lets the pace slacken too much before building to a strong climax.

"Wait Until Dark" has lasted for 23 years as one of the scariest movies ever made. Audrey is fabulous as a blind woman who is harassed by three men trying to find an object in her apartment without her noticing. The cinematography is excellent, especially at the end when the audience is practically struck blind as well. A wonderful choice for viewing on a dark night.

Wait Until Dark fmovies. This is highly suspenseful and cerebral mystery that tells about a photographer(Efrem Zimbalist)arriving into N.Y. airport when a young woman(Samantha Jones) delivers secretly a heroin-filled doll.Later his blind wife(Audrey Hepburn),finding alone in their apartment is terrorized by a duo of nasties crooks(Richard Crenna,Jack Weston)and a cruel psycho(Alan Arkin)looking for the drug stuffed doll hided in her basement flat.It's a battle of wits between intelligent blind woman and evil villains and winds up pitting two rival,the obstinate blind girl and brutal psycho against each other in order to save herself and destroy them both.

The film contains tension,thriller,drama,mystery and shocks ,including decent scares with tense terror sequences especially in its final part,in a creepy denouement,near of the end with a crazy killer trying murder her.Although is sometimes slow moving and stagy,however is entertaining for the continuous suspense.Audrey Hepburn is sensational in one of her best films and terrific performance by Alan Arkin as a grisly murderer.Sinister and mysterious atmosphere is finely made by the cameraman Charles Lang and appropriate musical score by the classic Henry Mancini(Pink Panther's creator score).The film is produced by Mel Ferrer(Hepburn's husband) and based on Frederick Knotts's writings.The motion picture is well directed by Terence Young ,author of two best James Bond films(Dr No and From Russia with love)and again directed to Audrey Hepburn in a failed film titled ¨Bloodline¨.The movie will like to suspense enthusiastic and Hepburn fans.Rating : Better than average.

At first I thought this movie would only be mildly suspenseful, but how wrong I was. This is quite a clever movie. I was really amazed by the thorough attention that is given to even minor details. Everything in this movie just fits together perfectly....the pace, the setting, the overall mood, the way one thing leads to another....everything. The director of this movie did a great job. Of course, what would this movie be without the excellent performances given by its cast. Who would've known that Audrey Hepburn, one of the classiest ladies of the twentieth century, would be so appropriate for a thriller like this one. She plays a blind woman, and she is so right for this part. Her performance is remarkable....I cannot picture any other actress of the day in that role. Also, Alan Arkin is awesome, playing a psychotic killer. For the most part, this movie contains some shocking moments that will make you jump. Definitely wait until dark to see this movie....turn off all the lights and watch it after midnight if you can, for an even greater suspenseful effect.

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 ****