Based on the play written by Frederick Knott, the film, Wait until Dark was produced in 1967. The plot concerns a recently blinded woman named Suzie Hendrix (Audrey Hepburn) who is visited by three thugs who are looking for a doll filled with a fortune in heroine which they believe, unbeknownst to her, is hidden somewhere in her apartment. They contrive to get the husband, Sam Hendrix, (Effrem Zimbalist, Jr.) out of town overnight, leaving Suzie alone and at their mercy. All of the action takes place in the interior of the Greenwich Village apartment.
Audrey Hepburn is fabulous as the vulnerable “champion blind lady”, and she earned an Oscar nomination for her efforts. She attended a school for the blind to study the visually impaired, even going so far as to learn to read Braille. She was also forced to wear special and painful contact lenses because the powers that be thought her eyes were too expressive for a blind person. Her husband at the time, Mel Ferrer, produced the film.
When the film was first released, the theaters darkened all their lights “to the legal limit” during the last twelve minutes of the film, each light going out as Audrey Hepburn smashed each lightbulb, which brought her closer and closer to equalization with her murderous attackers. Alan Arkin is superb as psychopath, Harry Roat, who will stop at nothing to find the heroine he knows is hidden somewhere in the house. This role was very difficult to cast because most actors couldn’t bear to terrorize not only a blind woman, but also beloved Audrey Hepburn to boot! Arkin creates a Harry Roat who is chilling and evil to the core!
The last ten minutes of the film are enough to give anyone a heart attack. The great supporting cast of Jack Weston and Richard Crenna heighten the tension, making Wait Until Dark a classic, must see thriller.
What are some of YOUR favorite moments from this suspenseful film?