"Wait Until Dark" originated as a play by Frederick Knott (who also wrote "Dial M For Murder"). The play opened at the Ethel Barrymore Theater in New York City on February 2, 1966 and ran for 374 performances. Lee Remick starred as Susy Hendrix and was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play. Robert Duvall, Mitch Ryan and Julie Herrod were also in the cast. The play was directed by Arthur Penn.
Audrey Hepburn and director Terence Young attended a school for the blind to learn more about the visually impaired. Hepburn even learned to read Braille.
Audrey Hepburn tried to get this film shot in Europe, but relented when she was told not filming it in the US might have led to the closure of underused studio facilities in Hollywood.
Audrey Hepburn's film residence is at 4 St. Luke's Place in Manhattan.
Jack L. Warner first considered George C. Scott for the role of Harry Roat and Robert Redford for the role of Mike Talman before casting Alan Arkin and Richard Crenna in the parts.
Julie Andrews was considered for the role of Susy Hendrix.
Lee Remick was nominated for the 1966 Tony Award (New York City) for Actress in a Drama for "Wait Until Dark".
Julie Herrod also played Gloria in the 1966 stage version.
Wait Until Dark was actually the second movie to use the climatic sequence where the villain is presumed dead, but actually isn't. Les diaboliques was the first film to use the villain-presumed-dead sequence, to great publicity effect including a spread in 'Life' magazine featuring that film's then-considerable shock value. Films after Les diaboliques and Wait Until Dark that used this scare tactic include Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street, and Fatal Attraction.
A revival of the play, directed by Leonard Foglia, opened on April 5, 1998 at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre, where it ran for 97 performances. The cast included Marisa Tomei, Quentin Tarantino, and Stephen Lang.
Actor Robby Benson makes his first film appearance in "Wait Until Dark". At age 10, he appears uncredited as a boy tossing a football in an early airport scene.
Although Audrey Hepburn is given top-billing, she does not appear until over 21 minutes into the film.
Although she later admitted that she didn't intend to do so, Audrey Hepburn retired from films after this role, turning down all parts offered to her in order to devote time to raising her children. She would eventually return to the screen several more times, beginning with Robin and Marian.
As a way to get people to see the movie, the filmmakers made a print ad and cautionary trailer that read: 'During the last eight minutes of this picture the theatre will be darkened to the legal limit, to heighten the terror of the breathtaking climax which takes place in nearly total darkness on the screen. If there are sections where smoking is permitted, those patrons are respectfully requested not to jar the effect by lighting up during this sequence. And of course, no one will be seated at this time.' It worked and the film became a huge success because of it.
Despite getting an Oscar nomination for this movie, Hepburn would not make another film until Robin and Marian.
During an interview for the DVD of the film, Alan Arkin claimed that he was once attending a viewing of the film when he heard what he called "a scream from like a thousand people, which scared the hell of me." When he asked what it was, the interviewer replied, "it's you!" Also, Arkin mentioned that this went on at screenings of the film for months, and at the climatic moment of the film, everyone went "berserk!"
During the credits there is no credit for costumes, this is because Audrey Hepburn herself picked the clothes she wore from the stores in Paris.
During World War II, 16-year-old Audrey Hepburn was a volunteer nurse in a Dutch hospital. During the battle of Arnhem, Hepburn's hospital received many wounded Allied soldiers. One of the injured soldiers young Audrey helped nurse back to health was a young British paratrooper - and future director - named Terence Young who more than 20 years later directed Hepburn in Wait Until Dark.
Each of the products in the refrigerator (an all-important prop) were carefully angled so that no brand names were recognizable.
In "The Book of Lists: Horror", the climactic heart-stopping confrontation between Audrey Hepburn and Alan Arkin is #1 on Stephen King' list.