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GUEST COLUMN: If "Wait Until Dark" Were Set in Modern Times

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If "Wait Until Dark" Were Set in Modern Times

by Lewis Robinson

The 1967 film Wait Until Dark is an action-filled movie that centers around a doll filled with bags of heroin and the things that people are willing to do to get a hold of that doll. However, if Wait Until Dark were to be released today with the same plot, it would never be believable without a few serious tweaks, if not a complete rewrite. Keep reading to see what would happen if Wait Until Dark were set in modern times.

Doggy Drug Bust

One of the first things that would need to be rewritten is the part where Lisa is able to get on board the flight with an old-fashioned doll that is stuffed with bags of heroin. While it was believable in 1967, it would never fly today. While dogs were first taught to sniff out bombs in 1974, dogs were not brought in to sniff out the presence of drugs in airports until 2008. If someone tried to smuggle a doll stuffed with heroin onto a flight, they would immediately be caught.

There have been instances, however, where dogs have mistakenly given signs that there were drugs in someone's luggage, a fact that the movie writers could use to their advantage, if they did not mind putting a bit of comedy in there. Lisa could take the doll and put it in her carry-on bag, along with some form of meat. That way, if the dog smelled heroin and Lisa had to open her bag, the dog's handler would see the meat and think it was a false alarm. Because of that, the worst that would happen to Lisa is that she might have to get rid of the meat. The only other thing she would need might be relays to block or warp the x-ray machines.

The Official Would Pay More Attention

In the original film, Lisa had to hand the doll off to a man when she saw someone watching her after she reached her destination. If that movie were made in modern times, the man she handed the doll off to would not have just been able to slip away if Lisa was really being watched that closely. The man would have been taken away as well, and the writers would have to come up with another way to get the doll out of that airport.

The Blind Woman Would Still Win

The movie ended with a blind woman killing one of the men who wanted the heroin-filled doll by making the power go out so he could meet his fate via a toppled shelf. Depending on how long the woman was meant to have been living there, this is entirely feasible. A blind person can live on their own as long as the proper adjustments are made. If she had lived there long enough to remember the layout of her house, she could easily defeat the intruder in the same manner. She could also win by the addition of a seeing-eye dog, and instead of her having to battle the intruder, the dog could handle him instead. Also, she would not have to wait as long for the police to arrive if she had technology that allows a blind person to make calls and send texts, as that technology is accessible today. Literally the only way the intruder might win is if he was able to turn on a smartphone flashlight in the nick of time.

While Wait Until Dark is a brilliant movie and grips the audience with engaging storytelling and a wonderful cast of characters. However, if it is going to be remade for modern audiences, the story will have to be turned on its head.