Although the friend who'd raved about 'Cash On Demand' has - to maintain the Dickens analogy - provided me with at least as many 'worst of times' for his thumbs-up verdicts, as he has 'best of times', so effusively did he praise this one that I really had to check it out; and, anyway, I'd already bought the DVD box-set.
But he really should have warned me about the 'Christmas Carol' connection because, once I'd made the seasonal connection - not so subtle, given the early calendar shot - and spotted the Bob Cratchitt character, and then his Scrooge, and - somewhat less certainly, as I don't recall the nuances of his character - the Jacob Marley character, it really didn't matter how close or otherwise the script and plot would follow its Dickens inspiration, as I was always expecting it to, and watching through to the end credits was more a case of: "well, I've started, so I'll finish".
Peter Cushing's character was different to his usual, and I suppose in that he was relatively convincing, but André Morell's part was always going to be the most winning, and he revelled in it.
A massive disappointment: Bah, humbug!
But he really should have warned me about the 'Christmas Carol' connection because, once I'd made the seasonal connection - not so subtle, given the early calendar shot - and spotted the Bob Cratchitt character, and then his Scrooge, and - somewhat less certainly, as I don't recall the nuances of his character - the Jacob Marley character, it really didn't matter how close or otherwise the script and plot would follow its Dickens inspiration, as I was always expecting it to, and watching through to the end credits was more a case of: "well, I've started, so I'll finish".
Peter Cushing's character was different to his usual, and I suppose in that he was relatively convincing, but André Morell's part was always going to be the most winning, and he revelled in it.
A massive disappointment: Bah, humbug!