Cash on Demand (1961)

Quentin Lawrence directed this good crime thriller that stars Peter Cushing as Harry Fordyce, a bank manager who is introduced to an insurance investigator named Hepburn(played by Andre Morel) on the 23 of December. Ostensibly there to check security, he is really a ruthless and cunning thief who has an elaborate plan to rob the bank, and needs Fordyce's cooperation to pull it off, so convinces him that he holds his family hostage, and will have them murdered by his associates if he doesn't signal to them his agreeing to help. Fordyce decides to cooperate, all the while trying to find a way out... Fine film with two stellar performances, especially Cushing, who proves that he can act quite well outside the horror genre he was best known for.

Cash On Demand is a neat little thriller set entirely inside a very small bank with a very small cast. Peter Cushing plays a nit-picking bank manager who finds he loses his dry demeanour when he is at the mercy of a bank robber who has taken his family hostage.The film charts the robber's fiendish plan to calmly loot the bank's safe of all it's money and walk out as though nothing is wrong, while all the time putting the terrified manager through the wringer. Cushing really excels in the role of the bank manager, and Andre Morell makes an excellent slimy criminal who you just want to punch the entire time.As I said, the whole movie takes place in the one setting, and almost in real time too. It's enjoyable while it lasts, and you'll be wondering what will happen, but despite some attempts at dramatic moments(fumbled locks, an unexpected window cleaner, etc), the final payoff is very disappointing, as the film ends in a really weak, almost feel-good way,which negates the realistically tense 60 minutes that preceded it and gave me very little satisfaction for justice being done. In this way it's almost like William Castle film - he also bungles his endings in a similar way.Cash On Demand is not very well known, but is worthy of a look if you like Peter Cushing as he definitely makes the film.

I was going to give this film an 8, but when I thought about how inexpensively and expertly the movie was made, I really think it deserves a 9. This is a great case of a relatively simple plot made a whole lot better by wonderful acting and direction. In particular, André Morell plays a deliciously evil yet complex villain and Peter Cushing gives what is probably his best performance in his long career. As a result, it's well worth seeing--and a great example for film makers, as it proves you don't need a huge budget and complex sets to make a good film.The film is set in a bank. The manager (Cushing) is a humorless and exacting boss--very efficient but not one to inspire his employees' love or devotion. However you dislike the guy, though, you can't help but feel for him with what happens next. A guy who purports to be from the underwriter for the bank arrives and asks to meet with Cushing alone. The man (Morell) then announces that he is, in fact, a bank robber and that if Cushing does not cooperate, Cushing's wife and son will be tortured or killed. And, he provides a phone message with the scared wife to prove that he means business. What will happen next? Cushing IS a very efficient man, but he loves his family and can't let them be hurt.Throughout the film, I marveled at Cushing. The actor was known mostly for his horror films, but he appeared in gobs of movies--but never one that allowed him such an opportunity to emote like this. Cushing is very, very convincing as a scared and lonely man who feels trapped. It's too bad that many of his other roles were a bit one-dimensional and didn't let him demonstrate he was a heck of an actor. Morell is also quite good--but his smooth criminal doesn't provide him quite the same depth and opportunity as Cushing's. This is Cushing's film.An exciting plot, wonderfully written characters and great acting--what more could you ask for in a crime film?! See this one.

Two days before Christmas and all is not well in the bank. Austure, fastidious, and domineering bank manager Fordyce (the always superb Peter Cushing in top form) finds himself at the mercy of urbane and wily criminal Hepburn (marvelously played to the smooth and smug hilt by Andre Morell), who forces Fordyce to assist him with robbing his bank or else Fordyce's abducted wife and son will be severely hurt. Director Quentin Lawrence, working from a sharp and witty script by David T. Chantler and Lewis Greifer, ably milks the gripping story for maximum suspense and maintains a steady pace throughout. Lawrence downplays action in favor of focusing instead on tension and the shrewd bristling verbal sparring between the two principal characters. Moreover, this movie is essentially a clever thriller version of "A Christmas Carol," with the initially unlikable Fordyce becoming more and more sympathetic as he learns a much-needed albeit harrowing lesson in humility and thus regains his humanity while doing his best to stay calm and collected under intense pressure. Cushing and Morell do outstanding work in their roles. Richard Vernon likewise does well as kindly chief clerk Pearson. Both Arthur Grant's crisp black and white cinematography and Wilfred Josephs' shivery score are up to par. A real dandy sleeper.