{"id":20216,"date":"2011-10-23T15:20:00","date_gmt":"2011-10-23T22:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=20216"},"modified":"2022-12-01T16:27:19","modified_gmt":"2022-12-01T23:27:19","slug":"wait-until-dark-1967","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=20216","title":{"rendered":"Wait Until Dark (1967)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;This is the big bad world, full of mean people, where nasty things happen.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/Wait-Until-Dark-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/Wait-Until-Dark-Poster-195x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"195\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-20217\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/Wait-Until-Dark-Poster-195x300.jpg 195w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/Wait-Until-Dark-Poster-83x128.jpg 83w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/Wait-Until-Dark-Poster.jpg 492w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 195px) 100vw, 195px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nThe blind wife (Audrey Hepburn) of a man (Efrem Zimbalist, Jr.) who unknowingly possesses a doll stuffed with heroin is terrorized by three men (Alan Arkin, Richard Crenna, and Jack Weston) determined to get the doll back at any price.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Alan Arkin Films<\/li>\n<li>Audrey Hepburn Films<\/li>\n<li>Blindness<\/li>\n<li>Con-Artists<\/li>\n<li>Play Adaptation<<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Review: <\/strong><br \/>\n<em>Wait Until Dark<\/em> &#8212; based on a Broadway play by Frederic Knott (who also wrote <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=7359\"><em>Dial M for Murder<\/em><\/a>) &#8212; is an often chilling and well-acted but ultimately frustrating thriller. It&#8217;s undone by its very premise, which is simply too contrived to swallow &#8212; beginning with the opening scenes, in which Hepburn&#8217;s naive husband (Zimbalist) befriends a beautiful woman (Samantha Jones) on a plane and agrees at the last minute to take a (heroin-filled, though he doesn&#8217;t know that) doll from her. After this puzzling, dialogue-free scene (frustratingly, we don&#8217;t learn until far too much later the rationale behind why Jones gave up the doll, and why Zimbalist accepted it), we&#8217;re suddenly plunged into the heart of the thriller, as we learn that the doll is now somewhere in Hepburn&#8217;s house &#8212; though once again, we&#8217;re given too little information to go on (what does Hepburn know about the doll, if anything?). Next, we&#8217;re introduced to an inexplicably bratty neighbor girl (Julie Herrod) who magically transforms into the more helpful assistant\/accomplice Hepburn needs her to be, and we begin to learn more about the needlessly convoluted scenario the three con-men have devised in order to befriend Hepburn and convince her to give up the doll&#8217;s location. <\/p>\n<p>Clearly, there are flaws in the essential construction of the plot &#8212; yet director Terence Young does a fine job building and maintaining a fair amount of tension throughout; we can&#8217;t help wondering what will happen next, and how\/when Hepburn will finally realize she&#8217;s being duped (then survive). The last half-hour of the film is particularly chilling, and is notable for supposedly offering audiences only the second on-screen instance of a now-very-common kind of horror thrill (which I can&#8217;t give away here at risk of divulging spoilers). The film as a whole remains of historic interest as well, given that it offered Audrey Hepburn her last significant role before her semi-retirement at the age of 38; along with Young, she trained extensively beforehand at a nearby institute for the blind, and is remarkably convincing. She deserved her Academy Award nomination for the role &#8212; though interestingly, Peary insists she actually should have been given the award for her performance the same year in Stanley Donen&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=30358\"><em>Two for the Road<\/em><\/a>, and neglects to even nominate her for her work here.  <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Audrey Hepburn as Susy Hendrix<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/Wait-Until-Dark-Hepburn.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/Wait-Until-Dark-Hepburn.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"416\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-20219\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/Wait-Until-Dark-Hepburn.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/Wait-Until-Dark-Hepburn-128x73.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/Wait-Until-Dark-Hepburn-300x173.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Alan Arkin as Roat<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/Wait-Until-Dark-Arkin.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/Wait-Until-Dark-Arkin.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"416\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-20226\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/Wait-Until-Dark-Arkin.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/Wait-Until-Dark-Arkin-128x73.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/Wait-Until-Dark-Arkin-300x173.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>The chilling finale<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/Wait-Until-Dark-Finale.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/Wait-Until-Dark-Finale.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"416\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-20220\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/Wait-Until-Dark-Finale.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/Wait-Until-Dark-Finale-128x73.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/Wait-Until-Dark-Finale-300x173.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Henry Mancini&#8217;s score<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nNo, but it&#8217;s certainly recommended for one-time viewing. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0062467\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1967\/10\/27\/archives\/the-screenaudrey-hepburn-stars-in-wait-until-dark.html\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/dvdsavant\/s917dark.html\">DVD Savant Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.qnetwork.com\/index.php?page=review&#038;id=851\">Q Network Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/24754\/wait-until-dark\/#articles-reviews?articleId=1107\">TCM Article<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;This is the big bad world, full of mean people, where nasty things happen.&#8221; Synopsis: The blind wife (Audrey Hepburn) of a man (Efrem Zimbalist, Jr.) who unknowingly possesses a doll stuffed with heroin is terrorized by three men (Alan Arkin, Richard Crenna, and Jack Weston) determined to get the doll back at any price. Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Alan Arkin Films Audrey Hepburn Films Blindness Con-Artists Play Adaptation<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20216","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20216","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=20216"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20216\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":88738,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20216\/revisions\/88738"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=20216"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=20216"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=20216"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}