Wait Until Dark

Wait Until Dark (1967) starring Audrey Hepburn, Alan Arkin, Richard Crenna, Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., Jack Weston. Three criminals (Arkin, Crenna and Weston) expend an incredible amount of energy trying to find a doll filled with heroin. They suspect that Susy Hendrix (Hepburn) knows where it is, and (since she is blind) they think it will be easy to con her into giving it to them. But she turns out to be one smart blind woman, and their plot goes awry. It all leads up to a very scary climax, in which Mr. Roat (Arkin) terrorizes Susy in her darkened apartment. Hepburn was nominated for an Oscar for her work in this film, which was a box-office success. The doll, of course, is a MacGuffin, and a little doll filled with packets of heroin would scarcely seem to merit all the intensity that the three crooks focus on it. Nevertheless, this is a very entertaining movie, well produced with good acting all around. (English subtitles are available, as well as closed captions.) Grade: B+