WAIT UNTIL DARK
To see it, that is. Rent it now, though.
I remember seeing this for the first time in grade nine English class; just why, I can't remember, in my late-90's cynicism I suppose it was to spare the teacher from about 108 minutes of actually teaching. Something about a unit we took on "violent conflict" or something, and the class was rather disappointed that we got this unknown (to us) 1967 film instead of one of the movies we'd heard rumors of other classes getting to see (like The Hitcher). As it turns out, every kid in the class was thrilled. And the rumors were just rumors.
It's not technically a horror movie, but it's close enough and as I reach the end of my collection, I'm really running out of movies to review, putting off the daunting task of writing about In The Mouth Of Madness as long as I possibly can. Being more of a scary-thriller than an exciting-thriller (particularly at the conclusion), I'd say it qualifies.
Based on the play by Frederick Knott, Wait Until Dark stars Audery Hepburn as the recently-blinded Suzy, who accidentally comes into possession of a doll that, as luck would have it, contains a couple of pounds of McGuffin, I mean, heroin. Alan Arkin plays Roat, the thug who'll go to any length to get it back, and Richard Crenna plays Mike, a crook in Roat's employ and the only thing keeping Roat in check. So, Roat, Mike and Carlino (another crook, played by Jack Weston) devise an elaborate con through which to retrieve the doll, which Suzy may not even know she has.
It's a tense tale, and it's easy to see how it would have made a successful play. I've never seen a suspense or mystery stage play before; this is one I'd go out of my way to see.
An Oscar-nominated Hepburn demonstrates much of the appeal that made her a star, and is more relaxed and natural here than in more famous roles. (I lent this tape to a friend of mine who's a big fan of hers. It was a year before I got it back, and even then I could only get her to divulge its location when she was drunk.) Given the situation (and the fact that her character's blindness is a recent development in her life), maybe "relaxed" isn't the right word, but it's as good as any that comes to mind. Suzy is smart, and seems smart even when she comes to the wrong conclusions because she gets there in observant ways.
Arkin is just wonderful here, putting in a performance that somehow manages to be at once hammy and laid back. He talks almost like a beatnik, with hair dangerously close to resembling Sonny Bono's and ever-present little round sunglasses. I know, it doesn't sound like a particularly menacing combination, but he's like a coiled serpent, never offering the slightest clue as to if or when he might strike. (if there are any ophidiophiles out there who can tell when a coiled serpent is about to strike, please don't bother correcting me) I can't think of anything his son's ever done that ever came close to this.
Crenna is slick and charming, and that's all he has to be. C'mon, this is a guy who stuck with all three Rambo movies; we're not expecting a whole lot of nuance. Weston doesn't have a whole lot of range to show here either, but he similarly does his job.
Almost all filmed on one set (it is, after all, based on a play), a lot of atmosphere builds up over the course of the film, with lighting remaining at a fairly constant level until the wicked conclusion. Wait Until Dark was directed by Terence Young, who directed the first few James Bond movies. The last twenty minutes or so are frightening, nail-biting tense, and enjoyably intelligent, consisting of the two remaining adversaries continually outsmarting each other, instead of just taking turns beating the crap out of each other. That alone makes the movie worth noting.
The only real problem I have here is that it's pretty unclear just what happens to one of those adversaries at the end - it's like this person just disappears, conveniently bringing to a conclusion this battle of wits. That's too bad.
Still, it's a great little thriller; highly recommended.