- Directed by Terence Young
- Written by Frederick Knott, Robert Carrington, Jane-Howard Hammerstein
- Stars Audrey Hepburn, Alan Arkin, Richard Crenna, Efrem Zombalist Jr.
- Run Time: 1 Hour, 48 Minutes
- Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKeTME_tRUI
Spoiler-free Judgment Zone
The suspense in this one builds nicely once it gets going. The cast was excellent and all played off each other well. It’s a classic worth checking out.
Spoilery Synopsis
We begin in Canada. A man stuffs little heroin bags into a doll and sews it up. He gives the doll to Lisa, who goes out to catch a taxi to the international airport. The old man calls someone about the doll. Credits roll. When the plane lands, she gives the doll over to Sam Hendrix and leaves with someone who meets her there.
Two guys, Talman and Carlino, go looking for Lisa, but she’s not home. A man in shades also comes to the door. He’s Harry Roat Junior, and he says he’s come to buy them. He wants to hire them to get the doll. He says that Lisa will pay $2000 each to find that doll. Roat tells them that Hendrix is a photographer and that he has the doll. Turns out, they’re in Hendrix’s apartment right now.
Talman starts searching the apartment for the doll and quickly comes across Lisa’s body in the closet. The two guys decide to leave, but Roat reminds them that they’ve left fingerprints all over the place. They are both ex-cons who met in prison. One of them is a former cop. It’s one more reason they should do what Roat wants.
Suddenly, a woman comes into the apartment. She calls for Sam and comes in. For some reason, she doesn’t see any of the three men– she’s completely blind! She’s Susy Hendrix, Sam’s wife, and she doesn’t stay long. She gets in the closet for a scarf, but doesn’t even notice the body. Once she’s gone, the men get rid of the body.
Susan and Sam talk about the woman they heard was murdered nearby. Susy complains that Gloria is in love with Sam, but Sam laughs that she’s just a kid; she’s moved things around in the apartment while she was out. Susy’s only recently been blinded, and she’s going to school to learn the ropes, but she’s still not happy about any of it.
Susy’s home alone, and Talman comes over to work on her. He puts out a fire in the ashtray, which endears him to her. He claims that he’s an old friend of Sam’s from the Marines, using information he can see on the wall. Susy says she lost her sight in a car crash. He doesn’t stay long. Gloria comes in, and she’s an annoying little brat who throws a tantrum. The two soon make up.
A loud old man comes into the apartment and makes a scene about something. It’s Roat in disguise. As he leaves, Talman returns, and she looks to him as a hero when he volunteers to stay with her. Carlino comes in as a detective and Talman tells him everything. The two of them manage to subtly bring up the idea of the doll and the missing dead woman.
Roat comes to the door again, and she recognizes the squeaky shoes that the old man wore. He asks if his father was here; the old man from before. Roat’s “Father” thinks a photographer is fooling around with his wife, but it’s the wrong photographer. He also brings up the doll, which was supposedly made for his wife. The two men give each other hand signals, and they signal Carlino outside by flashing the window blinds. Carlino calls and tells Roat that his wife is dead, so he leaves.
Susy says Sam brought a doll like they were talking about from his recent Canadian trip. Susy starts to wonder if Sam really is involved with murders. She doesn’t’ want to call the police as she tries to cover up for Sam. The two of them both thoroughly search the apartment for the doll. Susy realizes all her visitors keep playing with the window blinds, and she puts two and two together about Roat and Carlino. Talman wants to see what’s in her safe, but she won’t open it. Finally, he gives up and leaves.
We see that little Gloria has taken the doll. She sneaks in and puts it under the couch to make it look like Susy simply dropped it. Susy finds the doll and insists that they hide it. She gives Gloria instructions to go and watch the crooks’ van outside.
Carlino comes to the door, and Gloria sneaks out. He thinks she’s been looking for the doll and puts pressure on her about Mrs. Roat’s murder. He suggests that the doll is in the safe and he might have to get a search warrant. There are more telephone shenanigans, and Gloria watches them all playing phone booth outside.
When he leaves, Susy calls Talman and says she’s found the doll. Gloria signals to Susy that Talman is on it as well. Before she can call the real police, Talman returns with Roat and Carlino behind him. Susy says the doll is in Sam’s studio. She’s very calm and fools him. After they leave to search the studio, Susy tells Gloria to go to the bus station and catch Sam when he returns. She tries again to call the police, but the line has been cut.
Susy knows that they’ll be coming back for her, so she breaks all the light bulbs, except for one over the table.
Talman returns, and from the darkness, he knows that she knows, so they talk honestly. He demands the doll, but she refuses. Roat kills Carlino outside, and then he comes in and stands Talman in the back before chaining the door shut.
Roat pours gasoline all over the floor. He takes his shoes off so she can’t hear him walking. She gets scared and offers to get him the doll. Roat torments her, but she’s not willing to tell him where the doll Is. She destroys the one remaining light. She comes after him with the gasoline; he won’t be lighting any more matches.
It’s pitch black, and we don’t see anything of what’s going on– until he opens the refrigerator door – she forgot one light. She gives him the doll at last, but she also grabs a kitchen knife. He cuts open the doll and removes the heroin. She stabs him, and he dies.
She screams at the door, but she can’t get the chain open. Nope– he’s not dead. She finally manages to turn the power on the fridge out, and things go black again. There’s commotion in the dark. Did he get her?
Sam and Gloria arrive with the police, who break down the door. They find Talman and Roat, but Susy is hiding behind the fridge. She’s fine.
Commentary
This was originally a stage play, and it’s obvious, as there’s really only one set. It’s very Hitchcockian, but Alfred had nothing to do with this one. How much could a little doll’s worth of heroin be worth, anyway? The two hired goons were $8000 plus there had to be plenty left over for Roat.
It starts out a little contrived and is a bit of a slow-burn, but the tension ratchets up in the final half hour. By the time she figured out that Talman was a baddie, why didn’t she just give him the doll– she knew by then that there was no real murder plot involving Sam. Also, Roat walked all over that apartment barefoot and never once stepped on a broken lightbulb.
The performances are all good, the plot develops interestingly, and it’s all very good.