If you'd like a good Christmas movie that's also a fantastic thriller, look no further than Cash on Demand, a lovely B-movie gem from Hammer Film Productions in its heyday.
Peter Cushing plays a meticulous, rather ruthless manager of a small bank. He is rigid, precise, and impersonal with his employees, harping on the smallest errors or breach of workplace protocol. You really hate the guy and wonder how you'll be able to stomach a movie with such a shitwit as the protagonist-- and then Andre Morrell slithers into the picture. Posing as an insurance representative, he worms his way into Cushing's office and tells him upfront that he has his wife and kid held hostage, and they're both dead meat unless Cushing helps him rob the bank.
For all his iciness, Cushing's character genuinely loves his family. They're all he has in the world and he is desperate to save them, even if it means undermining the pride he takes in being The World's Bestest Bank Manager. Any initial hostility towards this jerk turns to sympathy as his world unravels.
Cushing is AMAZING in this role, undergoing a heartwrenching psychological journey over the film's taut 80 minutes. If you've only ever seen him in Star Wars or horror films alone, you need to see him here to understand how insane his range was.
The film itself is one of the best thrillers I have ever seen. It largely stays confined to the bank building, so there is a strong sense of claustrophobia.
Highest recommendations from me.
