SpuffyWeb Sadly Over-hyped

Protraph Lack of good storyline.

Asad Almond A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

Sanjeev Waters A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

jamesraeburn2003 A young blind girl called Jane Pringle (Patricia Dainton) is the police's only witness to the murder of her elderly friend and neignbour, Mrs Temple (Enid Lorimer), who was killed for her emerald broach worth £2000. But, when he ransacked the house, the killer (Nigel Green) was unsuccessful in finding the hiding place where she kept it. Later Jane's nosy neighbour, Mrs Finch (Madge Ryan), lets it slip in the local pub that Mrs Temple had left her the broach - yes, you've guessed it! - the killer overheard placing Jane's life in grave peril since he is determined to get it...Viewers will undoubtedly make some comparisons with the classic Audrey Hepburn thriller Wait Until Dark, but this low budget British 'B' does not succeed in being as terrifying and suspenseful as that film. Nigel Green, although a fine actor whom I admired greatly when he played Nayland Smith in The Face Of Fu Manchu, to my mind seems uncomfortably cast as the murderer and cannot quite convey the sense of evil, menace and mystery about his role to be convincing. Patricia Dainton, however, steals the film with her strong performance as the blind woman who battles with her blindness with great courage in order to help Inspector Coates (Conrad Philips) bring her friend's murderer to justice. The chemistry between her and the latter is a highlight in the picture because, to begin with, he is not quite sure how to deal with her and makes her angry when she feels he is pitying her and viewing her as a nuisance. Later, however, he comes to admire her "guts" and how she comes to terms with having been right in front of a murderer on a dark staircase and feeling guilty about not being able to see him due to her blindness. At the climax, the inspector presents her with a security chain for her front door as a gift, and as the end credits role, she bins it - not out of ingratitude, but because she has overcome her fears. Madge Ryan also deserves a mention for her performance as the interfering and nosy neighbour, Mrs Finch, who inadvertently brought about the tragic events through her gossiping in the pub about the valuable broach.Overall, while the film never succeeds in racking up the suspense and tension to very high levels, it is made worthwhile by some good characterisation and Patricia Dainton's strong performance and director Wolf Rilla manages one or two mildly spooky moments too.This film is regularly shown on Talking Pictures TV and has been available on DVD paired with Terence Fisher's excellent support feature The Flaw.

kidboots Patricia Dainton, a very dependable B actress, gives a tremendous performance as a young independent blind woman who finds herself caught up in this very thought provoking Wolf Rilla directed programmer. She plays Jane Pringle, a switchboard operator who also coaches a young lad in Braille after work and it is this small scene that shows the film tries hard to give some dimension to a story that has been told often before. She is stoical about her blindness but Dan played by a young Richard O'Sullivan) is angry - he dreamed of joining the Airforce but now finds it difficult to go on. Her calm matter of factness and caring brings him around to a better frame of mind.As well as all this, she also keeps old Mrs. Temple company but doesn't approve of her conversations with landlady Mrs. Finch, a compulsive gossip who has already broadcast down at the local pub that Mrs. Temple, for all her meagre living, is sitting on a treasure trove of riches. When the elderly lady is murdered, Jane comes face to face with the killer (a very imposing Nigel Green) and she also meets Inspector Coates (Conrad Phillips, a B stalwart who found fame as TV's "William Tell"), who recognises in her intelligence and sense. The twist in the tale is the brooch - the killer doesn't find it at first but when it is willed to Jane and the landlady again stupidly tells whoever will listen about Jane's good fortune, the stage is set up for a thrilling cat and mouse finale!!Even though the film (at 62 minutes) was a second feature, in 1961 it was aired on American TV as part of the Kraft Mystery Theatre and won an Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Television episode.Highly Recommended.

howardmorley It's not the length of the film but how effective it is to the viewer."Witness in the Dark" is no exception and is a classic Briish cast "B" feature such as one saw in the 1950s along with Pathe News, a Cartoon and of course the big feature film.I am 70 years old and can well remember going to the cinema then to see the aforementioned full programme.Nigel Green who played "The Intruder" in this film, I remember playing a patient recovering from a broken arm in the 1956 film "Reach for the Sky" who accompanied Douglas Bader (Kenneth More) to a cafeteria with another recovering R.A.F. pilot (Jack Watling) in a 20s Bentley.The subject film is a cracking thriller, well written, well cast and well directed which held my attention.There is a hint at the end that the police inspector may have had amatory intentions on Patricia Dainton's character.We want her to have a happy life after losing her fiancé and her sight in a car accident in France 5 years before.A Good production with minimal cost, I rated it 7/10.

Leofwine_draca WITNESS IN THE DARK is a brisk and efficiently-staged 'blind person in peril' type thriller boasting a fine leading performance from the rather lovely Patricia Dainton, who was to pack in her career shortly afterwards in favour of a sedate family life. I think cinema suffered from the loss because Dainton enlivened and lifted many a B-movie out of the doldrums by her presence and charisma alone, and WITNESS IN THE DARK is no exception.Given that this is a cheap British B-movie with a short running time, the story is straightforward. A thief is driven to murder and the only witness to stand against him is a blind woman. I was delighted to find out that Nigel Green plays a crucial role in the film, cast against type and very good and tense with it. Conrad Phillips is the likable detective on the case. The direction is provided by the hardworking Wolf Rilla, a year before he made the classic VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED. Thrills, twists, humour, and cold-blooded murder; it's all here, and I like to think that Hitchcock himself would have been proud of it.