JohnHowardReid Associate producer: Anthony Nelson-Keys. Executive producer: Michael Carreras. A Hammer Film Production. A Columbia Release.Copyright 1 January 1962 by Woodpecker/Hammer Productions, released in the U.K. through BLC on 15 December 1963, in the U.S.A. through Columbia in February 1962. No New York opening. Australian release: 20 July 1962. Running times: 84 minutes (U.S.A.), 66 minutes (U.K.), 90 minutes (Aust.). (An excellent Sony DVD).SYNOPSIS: Posing as an insurance company investigator, Hepburn plans to loot the provincial bank managed by Fordyce, who is something of a martinet to his staff. Hepburn persuades Fordyce that, unless he assists in the robbery and getaway, his wife and son will come to a sorry end; thoroughly cowed, Fordyce agrees to help.COMMENT: Although its TV origins are obvious, suspenseful writing, concentrated playing and well-knit direction gives this modest Hammer thriller an edge over its contemporaries. — J.H.R. (reviewing the British version).OTHER VIEWS: Unlucky us, Columbia have released the complete 90- minute version in Australia. Admittedly, a must for Andre Morell and Peter Cushing devotees, but somewhat less palatable for the ordinary, fee-paying entertainment-seeker. - George Addison reviewing the Australian version.One of those pre-arranged robberies in which all the steps are plotted and planned and all work out nicely and smoothly until that unexpected slip-up, is what you get in this neat, unpretentious little British film ... The picture provides a few engaging moments of suspense and some modest exchanges of obvious humor between Mr. Morell, who is casual and dry, and Peter Cushing, who is pinch-faced and nervous as the cornered bank manager. — Bosley Crowther, reviewing the American version in The N.Y. Times.

adriangr 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.

Spikeopath Out of Hammer Film Productions, Cash on Demand is directed by Quentin Lawrence and adapted the screenplay by David Chantler & Lewis Greifer from a play by Jacques Gillies. It stars Peter Cushing, Andre Morell, Richard Vernon, Norman Bird and Kevin Stoney. Music is by Wilfred Josephs and photography by Arthur Grant.Hammer's Xmas movie has a kick and half.In the opening section of Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction, robber in waiting Tim Roth tells his lover, Amanda Plummer, about how a guy robbed a bank with just a telephone. This principal is the core of Hammer's majestic Cash on Demand, an intense, tightly constructed thriller that also provides proof positive of the acting talents of Peter Cushing, Andre Morell & Richard Vernon. With minimal budget to work from and operating out of practically one set, director Lawrence gets the maximum suspense out of script with no blood letting or overt violence. This is very much about eloquent verbal sparring, the terror is in what might happen should Cushing's (superb shifting of the acting gears as the plot unfolds) martinet bank manager not tow the slick line being drawn by Morel's (brilliantly playing his cards close to his chest) crafty thief.A real gem and a pleasant surprise, both in technical merits and outcome of story. Highly recommended to all serious fans of Classic British Cinema. 9/10

JoeKarlosi A terrificly gripping suspense film from Hammer Studios, with a magnificent performance from Peter Cushing, easily one of the most potent of his career. Cushing plays the cold and regimented Mr. Fordyce, a fussy and demanding manager of a bank who rules over his subordinate employees like a tyrant. Just two days before Christmas, the dedicated Fordyce is placed up against the wall when a suave and smooth-talking investigator named Hepburn (Andre Morell) arrives to observe operations but reveals that he intends to rob the bank while holding Fordyce's wife and son hostage. Fordyce's iron-willed demeanor is continually pecked at under the strain of the situation, especially knowing that if he does not cooperate his family may be killed.As with the jury room setting in 12 ANGRY MEN, the strongest factor of this film lies in its simplicity (all the action takes place inside the bank), and it draws the viewer in just through the intense interplay of Cushing and Morell alone, who each excel in their parts. Also very good is Richard Vernon as a likable clerk who's always under the thumb of the unsympathetic Fordyce. Not giving up any spoilers here, I would say my only quibbles were that the outcome was fairly predictable, and that a certain explanation about the Hepburn character at the end (to be vague here) was unnecessary. *** out of ****