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Wait Until Dark

Audrey Hepburn, possibly the most charming and elegant woman ever to grace the silver screen, likely doesn’t strike you as the obvious choice for a nail-biting thriller. She can strut by Tiffany’s with ease or melt a grumpy millionaire’s heart, no problem, but fighting off aggressive and crafty thugs doesn’t seem like her cup of tea. Hepburn, however, defies such expectations in 1967’s Wait Until Dark, the movie which clinched her fifth and final Oscar nomination, and boasts stunning suspense.

Hepburn plays Susy Hendrix, a blind woman who unwittingly becomes involved in three murderous criminals’ drug scheme. It all starts when her husband, Sam (Efrem Zimbalist, Jr.), a photographer intent on making her as independent as possible, brings home a doll given to him by a woman at the airport which is, unbeknownst to him, filled with heroin. The three thugs, led by the ruthless Harry Roat (Alan Arkin), try to get Susy to give it up after luring Sam away, but get a surprisingly strong fight from their seemingly easy target, who is aided by her young neighbor, Gloria (Julie Herrod).

The legendary Hepburn makes a great terrorized victim in her career-second thriller (the first being the less horrific, but just as good, Charade), but what is truly noteworthy about this film is Arkin, who creates an absolutely terrifying and unforgettable villain, still scary by present-day standards. He makes the audience both uneasy and enthralled in every one of his scenes, reaching shriek-inducing heights in one particularly frightening segment, ranked #10 on Bravo’s 100 Scariest Movie Moments. In fact, the movie’s brilliance lies largely in its sparing use of Arkin. He is the sinister force lurking in the background, whose presence we are constantly aware of, yet he doesn’t truly emerge until the outstanding final act.

And what a finale it is. After a little over an hour of masterfully-built tension, the movie explodes into one of the most genuinely scary climaxes I’ve ever seen. I won’t say much more to avoid spoilers, but I will say this: The movie was great to begin with, but the ending alone makes it a classic – which any fan of Hepburn, Arkin or just thrillers simply cannot miss.

Written by: Kristin Hunt

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