Cash On Demand
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- Release Date: December 20, 1961
- Directed by: Quentin Lawrence
- Written by: David T. Chantler and Lewis Greifer
- Runtime: 1 hour 20 minutes
This is a movie that came in the Hammer Films: The Ultimate Collection box set, and it was one of many that I had never heard of before. When I was watching through my Hammer collection a couple of years ago, I decided to put this one on as a blind viewing. At the time, I hadn't seen too many of Hammer's black-and-white thriller movies, so I wasn't sure what to expect in comparison to their well-known horror work. As I would soon find out, Hammer's lower-budget "B" films could pack more of a punch than some of their big-budget color counterparts. This one's a treat!
The movie follows a stern and cold bank manager who finds himself caught in the middle of a robbery when the thief poses as an insurance officer. It's based on a teleplay, so most of the movie takes place in one room inside of the bank. Despite its lower-budget "B" production values, its suspense still holds strong over fifty years after its release. Most of it comes from Andre Morell's chilling performance as the villain. He has this evil smile that, combined with his dead and uncaring eyes, never fails to chill you. He's constantly one step ahead of our lead, played by Peter Cushing, and he toys with him like a cat with a mouse that is already caught in a trap. There are moments where you only see Morell walking in the background, out of focus, and his gaze hits the viewer about as hard as it hits the characters in the story. When he threatens Cushing, you're never quite sure if he means what he's saying, or if he's just lying to drive him crazy with distress. I also find it kind of funny how menacing he is in this movie, considering how just a couple of years beforehand, he portrayed faithful Doctor Watson alongside Peter Cushing as Sherlock Holmes' in Hammer's The Hound of the Baskervilles film.
Peter Cushing as Fordyce starts out as a super unlikeable snob, but by the end of the movie, not only are you feeling really empathetic towards him, but you want to see him make it out of this ok. His family is being held hostage by Morell's men, so he has no choice but to go along with the plan. It's interesting watching Cushing portray a man who is trying to look like a put-together boss, while at the same time shaking and fearing that his family won't make it. You can see him adding nervous ticks all the time, from constantly adjusting his tie to the pursing and trembling of his lips. He brings a lot of humanity and feeling to this part, and even has some great scenes that require him to cry and plead for help. It's one of my favorite traits about Cushing: no matter how big or small the film was, he never half-assed a performance.
Cash On Demand is an example of how Hammer could do so much with so little in their heyday. Everyone loves their bloody horror films, but these thrillers deserve to be talked about just as much. They achieve just as many, if not more scares with tight writing and talented actors to pull it off. It may be a "B" movie, but it's a great one!