Audrey Hepburn's Terrifying Oscar-Nominated Thriller Will Give You Nightmares

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The whims of the Academy Awards are difficult to predict, but it's often the case that brilliant young actors are forced to wait to get their Oscar. Al Pacino didn't get his Best Actor trophy until 1993, when he hoo-ah'ed his way to a win with "Scent of a Woman." Jessica Lange was nominated five times before she finally won for "Blue Sky." Glenn Close has been nominated eight times, and is still waiting to hear her name read from the stage of the Dolby Theatre.

And yet sometimes a performer is so ineffably talented — and cast in the perfect role — that Oscar voters have no choice but to let them jump the line. This was certainly the case with Audrey Hepburn, who charmed the whole damn world with her perkily innocent portrayal of Princess Ann in William Wyler's romantic comedy classic "Roman Holiday." She was still a newcomer to the industry, but her preternatural elegance and uncommon beauty in that film (in which she shot off sparks with the often-stiff Gregory Peck) were undeniable. She was hands-down the only choice for Best Actress of 1954 (though it should be noted that her only real competition that year was Deborah Kerr in "From Here to Eternity"). It was her first nomination and win, but while she would be nominated four more times, this proved to be her only win.

I think this is a minor Oscar travesty because in 1967, she gave possibly her finest performance as an apartment-dwelling blind woman tormented by ruthless criminals in Terence Young's adaptation of Frederick Knott's stage play "Wait Until Dark." The film aspires to be an armrest-shredding thriller, and it succeeds magnificently on that count thanks in large part to Hepburn's transformation from prey to defiant predator.

Hepburn was the only member of the "Wait Until Dark" cast and crew to receive a nomination, and that's a shame. It's a skillfully staged suspense flick that deftly tightens the screws up to its terrifying climax. It was certainly worthier of a Best Picture nomination than the platitudinous problem picture "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?" or the bloated movie musical "Doctor Dolittle." (If you'd like to know about this pivotal year in movies, I highly recommend reading Mark Harris' "Pictures at a Revolution.")

Hepburn was up against still competition in 1968. Faye Dunaway in "Bonnie and Clyde" and Anne Bancroft in "The Graduate" were equally deserving. Sadly, the Oscar went to Katharine Hepburn in "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?" for a thoroughly unexceptional performance.

Audrey, on the other hand, played against her glamorous, glowing persona as a vulnerable woman whose lack of sight is exploited by lowlife Harry Roat (Alan Arkin), who's in search of a heroin-stuffed doll. Initially, she has no idea why these men want the doll (it was taken home by her husband, and subsequently stolen by a neighbor girl), but it eventually becomes apparent to her that Roat isn't leaving without it. And even if he does get it, there's no guarantee the switchblade-wielding dirtbag will allow her to survive.

The narrative gets a bit convoluted, but Hepburn, Arkin, and the other men seeking the doll (played by Richard Crenna and Jack Weston) are superb throughout, while Young, best known for his James Bond films "Dr. No," "From Russia with Love," and "Thunderball," turns in the best directorial work of his career. It's no masterpiece, but "Wait Until Dark" is a sensationally entertaining thriller with a corker of a finale.