Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.0

Cash on Demand Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman December 22, 2020

Cash on Demand is currently only available in the twenty film Hammer Ultimate Collection.

Harry Fordyce (Peter Cushing) is an uptight bank manager who forbids desk personalization and is tired of being the only one to spot the various “fiddling little misdemeanors” scattered throughout the bank, like an unpresentable ink pen. Banking is one of the last respectable businesses, he says, and he’s highly suspicious of his employees. He blames one of his employees with concealment and theft but he will soon have much more on his mind than his employees’ petty miscues when a man named Gore-Hepburn (Andre Morell), posing an overseer for the home office, informs Fordyce that his wife and child are being held hostage until his demands for money are met.

The movie captivates from the outset. Many of the reasons for its excellence may be directed at Cushing who is instantly engaging as the strict banker who sees what he wants to see, finds faults where he seeks faults, and blames where he wants to place blame, the well-being of his employees be damned. He has no passion for people, no tolerance for the slightest mistake, but becomes unnerved when the tables are turned. Fordyce is an unlikeable man, but the sudden reveal of his vulnerabilities changes that. Much of the film is a two-person play in a battle of wits and wills between Fordyce and Hepburn. It’s a screen-burning duel that’s a pleasure for the tit-for-tat exchanges and intricacies but also because of the dueling performances, both of which are terrific.

Cash on Demand Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The black-and-white 1080p image is faithful to its film roots. While the image is imperfect, it's very pleasant. The picture shows no signs of noise reduction. Grain is thick and consistent in density. The picture does display a fair number of pops and speckles and scratches and random vertical lines, but the bit of wear adds to the image's authenticity, even if a cleaner image would be preferable. There are some minor compression artifacts scattered around but at normal viewing distances on a modestly sized screen (65") these are not particularly troublesome. Picture clarity is excellent and details are robust. The clarity allows the audience not only intimate access to character features but also the details around the bank and particularly inside Fordyce's office where the bulk of the movie plays out. By its end, audiences will be familiar not just with its geography but also all of the little accents and textural nuances within it. The grayscale is pleasant. Extremes are handled well from crisp white shirt collars to shadowy backdrops and dark suits and telephones. There's enough nuance and subtlety in the midrange to satisfy.

Cash on Demand Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 lossless soundtrack delivers a good listen, albeit one that is not particularly robust; the film's sound design is extremely simple. The bulk consists of good old fashioned dialogue, which images perfectly well to the center and is clear throughout. Music is sparse, as are effects that rise above the mundane dealings inside the bank. A fire engine screams by at one point, frightening Gore-Hepburn who believes it to be the authorities en route to arrest him. There's little rich detail here but the sonic signature is good enough to get the point across.

Cash on Demand Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

No supplemental content is included.

Cash on Demand Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

This is one of the best films in the Hammer Ultimate collection set. While there are no accompanying supplements the video and audio presentations are satisfactory. Recommended.