Wait Until Dark

1967

Wait Until Dark

Critics Consensus

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Movie Info

Wait Until Dark is an innovative, highly entertaining and suspenseful thriller about a blind housewife, Susy Hendrix (Audrey Hepburn). Independent and resourceful, Susy is learning to cope with her blindness, which resulted from a recent accident. She is aided by her difficult, slightly unreliable young neighbor Gloria (Julie Herrod) with whom she has an exasperated but lovingly maternal relationship. Susy's life is changed as she is terrorized by a group of criminals who believe she has hidden a baby doll used by them to smuggle heroin into the country. Unknown to Susy, her photographer husband Sam (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) took the doll as a favor for a woman he met on an international plane flight and unwittingly brought the doll to the couple's New York apartment when the woman became afraid of the customs officials. Alone in her apartment and cut-off from the outside world, Susy must fight for her life against a gang of ruthless criminals, led by the violent, psychotic Roat (Alan Arkin). The tension builds as Roat, aided by his gang, impersonates police officers and friends of her husband in order to win Susy's confidence, gaining access to her apartment to look for the doll. The climax of the film, a violent physical confrontation between Susie and Roat in her dark kitchen, is one of the most memorable and frightening scenes in screen history. All performances are outstanding, particularly those of Audrey Hepburn who plays a vulnerable, but self-reliant woman, and Alan Arkin, in perhaps his best role, as the ruthless, manipulative Roat.

Rating:

NR
Genre:

Mystery & Suspense
Directed By:

Terence Young
Written By:

Jane-Howard Carrington, Robert Carrington
In Theaters:

Oct 26, 1967 wide
On Disc/Streaming:

Aug 5, 2003
Runtime:

108 minutes
Studio:

Warner Home Video

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Cast

Audrey Hepburn
as Susy Hendrix

Alan Arkin
as Harry Roat

Richard Crenna
as Mike Talman

Jack Weston
as Carlino

Samantha Jones
as Lisa

Efrem Zimbalist Jr.
as Sam Hendrix

Julie Herrod
as Gloria

Frank O'Brien
as Shatner

Gary Morgan
as Boy

Jean Del Val
as The Old Man

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Critic Reviews for Wait Until Dark

All Critics (20) | Top Critics (1) | DVD (3)

This 1967 thriller draws its effectiveness less from the intelligence of the direction (by Terence Young) than from the unbridled sadism of the concept.

Jun 18, 2019 | Full Review…

Dave Kehr
Chicago Reader
Top Critic
It has, in the form of Audrey Hepburn and Alan Arkin, two of the very best performances in the genre's history.

Dec 6, 2016 | Rating: 10/10 | Full Review…

Tim Brayton
Antagony & Ecstasy
Nail-biting until the end.

Feb 27, 2012 | Rating: A- | Full Review…

Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews
This superb drama filled with spell-binding tension has not lost an iota of its considerable impact, even 40 years after it was made. Audrey Hepburn is mesmerising as the blind woman whose quick thinking is more illuminating than the brightest of lights

Apr 11, 2008 | Full Review…

Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile
Audrey Hepburn received her fifth (and last) Oscar nomination for effectively playing a blind woman in this well-executed thriller based on the Broadway smash hit; equally good are the villains, played by the young Alan Arkin and Richard Crenna.

Apr 6, 2007 | Rating: A- | Full Review…

Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com
Os furos óbvios do roteiro acabam sendo compensados pela direção tensa de Young, pela eficiente montagem e, principalmente, pelas atuações de todo o elenco (mas Hepburn e Arkin merecem destaque).

Nov 21, 2006 | Rating: 4/5

Pablo Villaça
Cinema em Cena
A classic and unforgettable thriller.

Oct 25, 2006 | Rating: 5/5

Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com
Superior thriller with one dynamite shock scene.

Jul 8, 2004 | Rating: 4/5

Ken Hanke
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
Wait Until Dark, Frederick Knott's gimmicky stage play about a blind woman terrorized by crooks, was brought to the screen in 1967 and was accompanied by an even more outlandish gimmick.

Aug 11, 2003 | Full Review…

Eric Henderson
Slant Magazine
a perfect example of how mood, atmosphere, music, and direction can overcome plot weaknesses

Feb 27, 2001 | Rating: 2.5/4 | Full Review…

James Kendrick
Q Network Film Desk

View All Critic Reviews (20)

Audience Reviews for Wait Until Dark

Oct 30, 2017

This is such a well-made, exquisitely-directed and nail-biting thriller that we easily overlook how contrived the plot may be, while Audrey Hepburn and Alan Arkin elevate this to a classic and offer us a climax that should be remembered as one of the most terrifying of all times.

Carlos M Super Reviewer
Nov 30, 2016

It's hard to say whether Audrey Hepburn truly pulls off being blind in this movie, but this is a strong cast, and seriously creepy story. Alan Arkin is fantastic as the ruthless drug dealer who schemes with a couple of characters played by Richard Crenna and Jack Weston to trick Hepburn into letting them into her home, in search of a doll that was used to smuggle heroin and which ended up in her husband's possession. The film is not 100% convincing and you'll probably find yourself pointing out a few plot holes, but it's convincing enough, and I liked how taut the story-telling was. What could be more eerie than thinking you're alone in your apartment, but have three men with you in the room? We feel for this vulnerable blind woman and pull for her as she begins to figure out what's happening by paying attention to her other senses (and getting some help from a neighbor girl), and there is real tension as she does. You'll have to suspend disbelief a little bit to enjoy it, but it's certainly worth watching.

Antonius B Super Reviewer
May 23, 2014

This often produced play is taken to the big screen in an excellent way. Audrey Hepburn's vulnerability is used to gripping effect as is Alan Arkin's roughian.

John B Super Reviewer
Sep 20, 2013

A group of con artists try to get a doll, laden with drugs, from a blind who unknowingly received it. A wonderful and tense thriller, Wait Until Dark works on almost every level. Alan Arkin, who made a career out of playing charismatic but curmudgeonly goofs, is bone-chilling as the sadistic Roat, and Audrey Hepburn, classic and demure, is every bit the damsel in distress. The plot unfolds brilliantly, and the con artists' plan is both clever and mysterious. The climatic scene thrills in almost total darkness. I wish that the film had not shown us what is in the doll until the very end so that we can -- like Susy -- slowly discover the plot. Overall, this is classic thriller that stands the tests of time.

Jim H Super Reviewer