This Hammer production is not like any other. There's no monster to be found and Peter Cushing plays the (mostly) good guy! He's the Scrooge-like manager of a bank, visited upon by an insurance inspector (André Morell) only to find out he's been duped into assisting in a robbery. Based on a play but nevertheless suspenseful enough to be cinematic. Director Quentin Lawrence wisely keeps his camera moving...whizzing between rooms and up & down stairs. Cushing is dynamite in a role that elicits sympathy despite the fact that he's a mean-spirited company man...goading his underlings with petty complaints (the bank pens are not up to snuff) and constantly reminding them of their workplace class structure where he is, of course, on top. Morell is quite good as well, straddling between efficiency and pure evil. One flaw: what could have been quite an ironic ending is dulled by too much explication. Richard Vernon is exceptional as Cushing's nervous subordinate.
Review of Cash on Demand
