Wait Until Dark, 1967
Ah, the things that people will do for a little booze, or, in this case, a bit of drugs (heroine). This 1967 psychological-thriller (what sounds better than those duo-combos, other than "weird," "avant-garde," "experimental" to name a few?) stars one of my favorite actors, Allan Arkin, along with the nimble and oft distraught (and rightfully-so!) Audrey Hepburn "about a blind housewife, Susy Hendrix (played by Hepburn). Independent and resourceful, Susy is learning to cope with her blindness, which resulted from a recent accident. She is aided by her difficult, slightly unreliable young neighbor Gloria (played by Julie Herrod) with whom she has an exasperated but lovingly maternal relationship. Susy's life is changed as she is terrorized by a group of criminals who believe she has hidden a baby doll used by them to smuggle heroin into the country. Unknown to Susy, her photographer husband Sam (played by Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) took the doll as a favor for a woman he met on an international plane flight and unwittingly brought the doll to the couple's New York apartment when the woman became afraid of the customs officials.
Allan Arkin as "Roat" -- a flamboyantly "coolster" Psycho
[continue]: ...Alone in her apartment and cut-off from the outside world, Susy must fight for her life against a gang of ruthless criminals, led by the violent, psychotic Roat (played by Arkin). The tension builds as Roat, aided by his gang, impersonates police officers and friends of her husband in order to win Susy's confidence, gaining access to her apartment to look for the doll. The climax of the film, a violent physical confrontation between Susie and Roat in her dark kitchen, is one of the most memorable and frightening scenes in screen history. All performances are outstanding, particularly those of Hepburn who plays a vulnerable, but self-reliant woman, and Arkin, in perhaps his best role, as the ruthless, manipulative Roat."
from Wait Until Dark
Allan Arkin as "Roat" -- a flamboyantly "coolster" Psycho
[continue]: ...Alone in her apartment and cut-off from the outside world, Susy must fight for her life against a gang of ruthless criminals, led by the violent, psychotic Roat (played by Arkin). The tension builds as Roat, aided by his gang, impersonates police officers and friends of her husband in order to win Susy's confidence, gaining access to her apartment to look for the doll. The climax of the film, a violent physical confrontation between Susie and Roat in her dark kitchen, is one of the most memorable and frightening scenes in screen history. All performances are outstanding, particularly those of Hepburn who plays a vulnerable, but self-reliant woman, and Arkin, in perhaps his best role, as the ruthless, manipulative Roat."
There is a very good reason why the conclusive scenes of this film ranked #10 on Bravo's 100 Scariest Movie Moments.
from Wait Until Dark
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