Cash on Demand

It’s Hammer Time!

Those of us who bemoan Peter Cushing never played Ebenezer Scrooge can take solace in “Cash on Demand” (1961), a first-rate suspense melodrama from the famed English film company.

Set on December 23, Cushing plays Fordyce, a most Scrooge-like bank executive and a notorious stickler for detail and order. He dresses down one of his long-time tellers Pearson (Richard Vernon) for a minor mistake and threatens him with termination. No holiday cheer at this bank in the English provinces, and certainly no time for office chit chat or small talk with the staff.

That morning an examiner for the bank’s insurance company shows up. The smartly dressed Hepburn (Andre Morell) is there to check on the bank’s security system and to make sure everything is on the up and up.

Once alone with Fordyce in his office, Hepburn springs into action. He’s not checking on security but plans to rob the bank with Fordyce’s help. An accomplice has Fordyce’s wife and child held hostage at their home and Hepburn threatens to have them killed if Fordyce doesn’t help rob the bank by a certain time frame.

“Cash on Demand” is based on a play, and it shows somewhat, but it doesn’t seem to matter when performances of this caliber are on display. Both Cushing and Morell are absolutely at the top of their game as we witness the suave and very confident Hepburn toying with the continually battered emotions of the uptight and distraught Fordyce.

The film is only 80 minutes long and there’s not a wasted scene or moment. It’s a terrific suspense movie with no big set pieces, just the mounting tension as the clock winds down.

This is one of Peter Cushing’s very best performances and it’s too bad he never got to play Scrooge. Seen here, one can easily imagine him taking the role on and doing a marvelous job with it.

The dependable Andre Morell is always a pleasure to watch (he’s one of the screen’s best Dr. Watsons) but this is also a standout performance. It’s ironic that these two Hammer mainstays gave among their best performances in a film that was very hard to see until it was released on DVD. One early Hammer book even listed “Cash on Demand” as missing. There were poor VHS dupes floating around in the bootleg market, which didn’t do the film justice.

Earlier this year, the fine folks at Sony Home Video released their latest volume of Hammer offerings in a new collection called “Icons of Suspense: Hammer Films”, six hard to see films including “Cash on Demand.” I have yet to watch the other films, but the set is worth it alone for “Cash on Demand.” I’m greatly looking forward to the other films in the set.

It’s too bad Hammer never made a version of “A Christmas Carol.” A friend of mine came up with having Peter Cushing as Scrooge, Christopher Lee as the three Christmas ghosts and Michael Ripper as Bob Cratchit.

I’ll expand on that: Peter Cushing as Scrooge; Christopher Lee as Jacob Marley; Michael Ripper as Bob Cratchit; Barbara Shelley as Mrs. Cratchit; Francis Matthews as Fred, Scrooge’s nephew; Veronica Carlson as Fred’s wife; Martita Hunt as the Ghost of Christmas Past; Andrew Kier as the Ghost of Christmas Present.

Andre Morell would have to be worked in somewhere, perhaps one of the chaps who asks Scrooge to make a charitable donation to the city’s orphanages.

Sigh. What a wonder it would have been. At least we have “Cash on Demand” to quench the demand of a Christmas movie done Hammer-style.

Seven Days to Noon

“Seven Days to Noon” (1950) is one of the best thrillers I’ve seen in a long time. Watching it, I couldn’t help but wonder if Alfred Hitchcock saw it and used elements of it for his future movies.

Directed by twin brothers Roy and John Boulton, the British-made “Seven Days to Noon” relates what happens when one of England’s leading nuclear scientists, Professor Willingdon (Barry Jones) steals a small nuclear device and threatens to blow up London in seven days if the country continues to stockpile nuclear weapons.

Andre Morell plays Scotland Yard Superintendent Folland, who is assigned to track down Willingdon. He brings in Willingdon’s assistant Steve Lane (Hugh Cross) and daughter Ann (Sheila Manahan) to help track him down. As the deadline approaches and Willingdon is still at large, orders are given to evacuate London, not only of its people, but of its national treasures, artwork, etc.

The scenes of London’s evacuation are very well done and realistic, and the many acknowledgements at the beginning thanking the people and government of London for their cooperation are well earned.

It’s interesting that the opening credits don’t include any cast members, though all technical credits are shown. It’s like the Boultons didn’t want the audience to notice the actors, but instead concentrate on the story.

Composer John Addison’s title music is very scherzo-like and somewhat reminiscent of Bernard Herrmann’s “North by Northwest” (1959) title music, and when it accompanies opening scenes of busy Londoners hurrying to and fro, you can’t help but think of the opening of “North by Northwest.”

Another Hitchcock connection. For years, it’s been reported that the first time movie audiences saw a toilet flush on-screen was in “Psycho” (1960). It could be true, though I’m always leery of any movie claiming to be the first of anything. Still I was somewhat surprised to hear an audible toilet flush during a scene where the British Army is coordinating house to house searches throughout London. One solider is seen standing in the hallway of a house until another soldier opens a door and you hear a toilet flushing in the background as he emerges. He says something like, “No one in there” and they go off to search the rest of the house. Today I wouldn’t bat an eye, but seeing it in a 1950 movie is a bit jarring.

“Seven Days to Noon” has special resonance for fans of Hammer horror films. Andre Morell was a well-loved actor in quite a few of Hammer best films, including “Plague of the Zombies” (1966), “The Mummy’s Shroud” (1967) and one of the best Dr. Watsons ever, in Hammer’s “The Hound of the Baskervilles” (1959). Here, he’s the ideal Scotland Yard superintendent, cool and calm under the most difficult of circumstances.

Composer James Bernard, who wrote so many memorable scores for many a Hammer movie, came up with the story idea with real-life companion Paul Dehn. Bernard and Dehn won an Academy Award in 1950 for Best Writing – Motion Picture Story. Dehn was a terrific screenwriter, with most of the “Planet of the Apes” sequels (either story or screenplay), the exemplary “Murder on the Orient Express” (1974) and “Goldfinger” to his credits. For the latter, I’ve always found it amusing that one of the greatest heterosexual fantasy movies of all time was co-written by a gay man.

The film runs a crisp 94 minutes and the suspense begins immediately with Willingford’s letter being delivered to 10 Downing Street and doesn’t let up from there. The black and white photography gives the movie a strong documentary-like feel and the scenes of the near empty London streets are very chilling. It’s easy to see why this movie wowed critics and audiences back in 1950. It holds up very well today.