Wait Until Dark Review

Hype:  Wait Until Dark is a movie I have actually never heard of.  I looked it up on IMDB and saw that it stars Audrey Hepburn and Alan Arkin.  Audrey Hepburn has been in some pretty popular movies, like Breakfast at Tiffany's and My Fair Lady.  I can only remember Alan Arkin being in recent films, such as Little Miss Sunshine and Get Smart.  Wait Until Dark sounds very Alfred Hitchcock-like.  Since I don't know much about this movie, I don't have too high of expectations for it.

Initial Review:  In Wait Until Dark, Audrey Hepburn plays Susy Hendrix, a blind housewife.  Her husband, Sam, is given a doll filled with drugs at the airport.  Sam has no idea the drugs are in the doll.  Soon these three guys, Mike, Roat and Carlino come to Susy's house looking for the doll. Roat, played by Alan Arkin, is the leader and convinces Mike and Carlino that they must fool Susy into telling them where the doll is.  Mike pretends to be an old friend of Sam and Carlino pretends to be a cop.  

Since Susy is blind, the interaction between her and the three thugs is pretty interesting.  They came up with some pretty creative ways to try and get Susy to spill the beans on where the doll is located.  Roat, pretended to be a father and son.  Roat acted like the father's wife was seeing Sam and had suddenly gone missing.  Sam was then the prime suspect and Carlino's character was in charge of investigating.  Mike tried to calm Susy down through this ordeal and was able to gain a lot of trust.

Susy, with the help of a neighbor girl, Gloria, soon finds out what is going on.  Once she realizes whats happening she panics and tries to not show the thugs that she knows.  This causes one climactic and intense scene.

Audrey Hepburn was absolutely stunning as Susy.  She did an amazing job of making you feel like she was helpless, but very likeable.  Mike, played by Richard Crenna, was very trusting and it was easy to see how Susy could fall into his trap.  Having only seen Alan Arkin in comedies, his role in Wait Until Dark, was surprising and scary.  He was unbelievably insane and ruthless.

Wait Until Dark is a great thriller and if you are a fan of Hitchcock you will really enjoy this film.  The final scene alone is intense and will have you on the edge of your seat.  Audrey Hepburn was nominated for an Academy Award for her role in this film and I can see why.  She is a joy to watch.  Wait Until Dark is a classic thriller and a must see.  I am definitely glad I was able to see this film.