Wait Until Dark

 Wait Until Dark is a 1967 psychological thriller film starring Audrey Hepburn (in a much different role than what I wrote about last month), Alan Arkin, Richard Crenna and Jack Weston.  It was produced by Mel Ferrer, Hepburn's husband.

Hepburn was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress (but lost to Katherine Hepburn in Guess Who's Coming to Dinner).  Wait Until Dark grossed over $17 million dollars on a budget of only $3 million.

In the film, a woman arrives at a New York airport with a doll stuffed with illegal drugs.  She persuades a fellow passenger to take the doll without telling him what is inside it.

The fellow passenger is the husband of a blind lady (Hepburn) and they live in a small apartment in the city.  The husband goes away on business.

Two criminals (Crenna and Weston) arrive at the apartment, posing as policemen, and try to persuade the blind lady to give them the doll.  But, she doesn't know where it is.  An adolescent neighbor girl took the doll not realizing drugs were inside.

The two criminals try to act tough with the blind lady, using intimidation to get what they want.  Realizing they are not police and acting very brave, the blind lady continues to resist.

A third criminal (Arkin) kills the first two and will kill the blind lady, too if he doesn't get what he wants.  As day turns to night (Wait Until Dark), the blind lady breaks all the lights in the apartment in order to equal the playing field.  Neither she nor the criminal can see the other.  She spills broken glass on the floor so she can hear him.  

The blind lady stabs the criminal with a kitchen knife and the audience believes her to be free from danger.  However, he suddenly leaps across the room and grabs her leg.  

This cinematic trick (the villain reappearing suddenly when you believe he/she has been mortally wounded) has been repeated often, such as in 1987 with Fatal Attraction and in 1990 with Misery.  But, I believe Wait Until Dark was the first.