Charity's Place

WAIT UNTIL DARK

REVIEWED BY CHARITY BISHOP

Our rating: 3 out of 5

Because of: thematic elements, violence

Rated:

This sixties thriller gave Audrey Hepburn her final Oscar nomination for her portrayal of a terrified blind woman caught up in the world of drug intrigue. When her husband is passed a doll on the way out of the airport, he unwittingly takes it home, little knowing that the sweet-faced cherub is stuffed full of illegal heroin. When the woman later calls for the doll, try as he might, neither he nor his wife Suzy can find it. Unconcerned, her husband pops out for the day on a photographic assignment, leaving Suzy alone in their basement apartment. Enter Harry Roat, a conspiring and twisted psychopath narcotics dealer whose favorite pastime is torture. Enlisting the aid of two thugs, Mike and Carlino, he sets in motion a plan to find the doll... and torment Suzy into believing her husband is entangled in a plot of murder and adultery.

First planting Mike as a friend of her husband Sam's, he then unwinds a trail of murderous deceit and lies that soon entangle the frightened woman and leave her gasping for breath. Mike soon becomes fascinated with this "champion blind lady," and shows some concern in what they're attempting to do. Try as she might, Suzy has no idea where her husband put the doll. Using cunning listening skills and a knowledge of her apartment, she begins to suspect that all of the "policemen" and "strangers" coming and going are up to something. This is dramatically portrayed at one point when she asks innocently, "Is this room dirty? The Sergeant kept dusting things."

The author's knowledge of the talents of the blind is cleverly combined with use of physiological terror on-par with Midnight Lace and Rear Window. The tension mounts as we know clearly what's going on, but must bite our nails in the hope that Suzy can figure it out. Our own frustration comes as we search our minds for where the doll could be... and pray she finds it before Roat gets tired of this game of cat and mouse. For a thriller, it's excellent... with never-ending twists, turns, and moments of terror that wind up into a heart-stopping climax that sent audiences into chaotic screams when it first premiered in the theater. There are a few cautions but nothing more than is to be expected in this gender of flick. A handful of mild profanity does not go amiss and will probably be overlooked. Roat implies that he intends to take her into the bedroom. Elements of suspense and terror make this unsuitable for emotional people and children. A woman's body is found in the apartment partially undressed, several people are stabbed and a man is hit and run over with a car several times in a close-up of the wheels and bumper. A somewhat dark picture that ends on a somber note, but if it's chills that you want and a villain notorious for cunning, cruel evil, Wait Until Dark is ideal. Especially if you turn out the lights.