Wait Until Dark

This coming Monday (July 30th) the summer Screen on the Green event in DC will be showing Wait Until Dark (1967), starring Audrey Hepburn, who was nominated for both an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for her performance.

The film is based on the play of the same name, by Frederick Knott. The story revolves around a blind housewife, Susy Hendrix, and the goons who desperately want a doll that has serendipitously ended up in her house. A battle of wits ensues between the two parties.

While the film ranked tenth on Bravo's 100 Scariest Movies, the piece is not a stock horror film. It is perhaps best described as a psycho-thriller in the literal sense that it engages the mind. When I first saw Wait Until Dark four years ago, I was very impressed by the way in which director Terence Young had managed to draw his audience into the mindset of the film's protagonist, even while seeing what she cannot see.

The film begins at sunset (around 8:25 PM) on the National Mall between 4th and 7th Streets and is 107 minutes long. I'll be there, probably having a picnic dinner, after stopping by the Sackler Gallery.