Megamind To all those who have watched it: I hope you enjoyed it as much as I do.

Bergorks If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

Bea Swanson This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

Verity Robins Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

AaronCapenBanner Quentin Lawrence directed this good crime thriller that stars Peter Cushing as Harry Fordyce, a bank manager who is introduced to an insurance investigator named Hepburn(played by Andre Morel) on the 23 of December. Ostensibly there to check security, he is really a ruthless and cunning thief who has an elaborate plan to rob the bank, and needs Fordyce's cooperation to pull it off, so convinces him that he holds his family hostage, and will have them murdered by his associates if he doesn't signal to them his agreeing to help. Fordyce decides to cooperate, all the while trying to find a way out... Fine film with two stellar performances, especially Cushing, who proves that he can act quite well outside the horror genre he was best known for.

kidboots It takes the British to make something memorable and gripping out of an ordinary bank heist movie, helped by two tremendous performances. Astonishing that Hammer invested only 37,000 pounds (by 2009 standards) into this film!! Peter Cushing is perfection as the martinet Mr. Fordyce, a bank manager who runs the bank (and his life) like clockwork!! His nit picking and constant carping don't make for a happy work place and he is constantly tried by Pearson (can't remember the actor's name but he was terrific as the old Major in "The Duchess of Duke Street"). Pearson is constantly stressed but hard hearted Fordyce will not recommend the transfer Pearson so desperately craves, in fact he is contemplating dismissing the luckless teller!!Into this oppressive atmosphere breezes "Captain" Hepburn, passing himself off as head of a security firm employed by the bank's head office to tour the branches to see their security is up to snuff. He is really the head of a slick band of bank robbers, although you only see him, but he succeeds in ingratiating himself with the staff, something Fordyce has never been able to do, by donating a fiver to their office party. The put upon staff have been too frightened to bring up the subject of a Christmas party with the manager for fear of being shot down in flames.Pearson proves a bit of a red herring, he is just about to witness his whole life go up in smoke, could he be up to doing something not "above board"? - but in reality it is his suspicion that saves the day. He has already got in touch with the head office security and realises there is every reason to worry - when Fordyce is still trying to butter up to Hepburn who can see at a glance what the staff really think of their manager!! Hepburn has made it his duty to research each bank worker - he knows Pearson has his worries, that another staff member has just won a chess club tournament and that Fordyce's wife has more fear of him than love. Andre Morrel, a staple of British movies and TV from the 40s, 50s and 60s, is just superb as the villain with the human touch, a very uncommon thief!!Highly Recommended.

WNYer A by-the-books bank manager is forced to rob his own bank by a charming thief who holds his family hostage.Peter Cushing and Andre Morrell repeat the solid on screen chemistry they displayed three years earlier when they teamed up as Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson in Hammer's version of The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959). This time they are antagonists with Morrell playing the suave robber and Cushing - in a change of pace role - as the ultra priggish banker. Morrell is deliciously nasty but Cushing really deserves some acting kudos for creating a "jerk" of a character that you actually start to sympathize with as Morrell turns the screws.Quentin Lawrence, a veteran of British TV, skillfully directs a tight script in a confined setting and keeps the tension high and story moving - almost like it's unfolding in real time. Once the normal routines and relationships are quickly established, he ratchets up the tension with Morrell's arrival and never lets up. The psychological duel begins and it's a treat to watch.My only nitpick about the film is the ending which I thought was a little too neat and tidy for my taste.

MartinHafer I was going to give this film an 8, but when I thought about how inexpensively and expertly the movie was made, I really think it deserves a 9. This is a great case of a relatively simple plot made a whole lot better by wonderful acting and direction. In particular, André Morell plays a deliciously evil yet complex villain and Peter Cushing gives what is probably his best performance in his long career. As a result, it's well worth seeing--and a great example for film makers, as it proves you don't need a huge budget and complex sets to make a good film.The film is set in a bank. The manager (Cushing) is a humorless and exacting boss--very efficient but not one to inspire his employees' love or devotion. However you dislike the guy, though, you can't help but feel for him with what happens next. A guy who purports to be from the underwriter for the bank arrives and asks to meet with Cushing alone. The man (Morell) then announces that he is, in fact, a bank robber and that if Cushing does not cooperate, Cushing's wife and son will be tortured or killed. And, he provides a phone message with the scared wife to prove that he means business. What will happen next? Cushing IS a very efficient man, but he loves his family and can't let them be hurt.Throughout the film, I marveled at Cushing. The actor was known mostly for his horror films, but he appeared in gobs of movies--but never one that allowed him such an opportunity to emote like this. Cushing is very, very convincing as a scared and lonely man who feels trapped. It's too bad that many of his other roles were a bit one-dimensional and didn't let him demonstrate he was a heck of an actor. Morell is also quite good--but his smooth criminal doesn't provide him quite the same depth and opportunity as Cushing's. This is Cushing's film.An exciting plot, wonderfully written characters and great acting--what more could you ask for in a crime film?! See this one.