Wait Until Dark
A recently blinded woman is terrorized by a trio of thugs while they search for a heroin stuffed doll they believe is in her apartment.
- Director: Terence Young
- Genre:Crime / Drama / Thriller
- Runtime:108 minutes
Cast
Audrey Hepburn : Susy Hendrix
Alan Arkin : Roat / Roat Jr. / Roat Sr.
Richard Crenna : Mike Talman
Efrem Zimbalist Jr.: Sam Hendrix
Jack Weston : Carlino
The film opens in a Montreal apartment, where a con artist named Lisa (Jones) waits for a man to sew bags of heroin into a doll. Lisa takes the doll with her on an airline flight to New York, but when she notices a man spying on her, she becomes worried and gives the doll to a stranger, professional photographer Sam Hendrix (Zimbalist).
Some time later, small-time con artist Mike Talman (Crenna) and his partner Carlino (Weston) arrive for an appointment with Lisa at the below-ground apartment where Sam lives with his wife Susy (Hepburn), who is blind. After leaving their fingerprints in the apartment, they are joined by Lisa’s husband, Harry Roat (Arkin), who has killed her for betraying him and forces them to help him retrieve the doll, which Sam told Lisa he was unable to find.
Later that day, Susy’s neighbor leaves for the weekend, and Sam leaves for a business trip the next morning. Once Susy is alone, the criminals begin an elaborate con game: In order to gain entry into the apartment, Talman poses as a friend of Sam’s, Corlino poses as a policeman, and Roat poses first as an old man and then as the man’s son. By fabricating a story that Sam murdered Lisa after having an affair with her, the men persuade Susy to help them find the doll, which they claim Sam gave to Lisa as a gift. Susy insists that the previous tenant threw away the key to the safe in the living room, and Talman gives her the number for the phone booth across the street as his own after falsely warning her of a police car stationed outside.
During this time, Susy has grown suspicious of Carlino and Roat, and Gloria (Herrod), a girl who lives upstairs, has been going in and out of the apartment to help Susy with her grocery shopping. After Talman leaves, Gloria sneaks into the apartment carrying the doll, which she stole some time earlier. She tells Susy there is no police car outside, and Susy discovers the doll. Wanting to confirm her suspicions about Carlino and Roat, Susy tells Gloria to go home and watch the phone booth. If a man goes into it, Gloria is to phone Susy, let the phone ring twice, and hang up. Gloria tells Susy she can signal her by banging on the pipes. Read more
