Its claustrophobic tension relies almost entirely on first-rate performances, highlighted by Peter Cushing in the lead.ĭon’t expect the usual twists and turns found in so many in modern-day heist films “Cash” aims instead at plain old-fashioned suspense and morality-both of which it hits with bull’s-eye precision. Made on a modest budget by Hammer studio (best known for horror), this real-time drama confines itself to a single set. And then one busy business day right before Christmas, the usually cool Fordyce suddenly finds himself sweaty and unsure-victim of a carefully orchestrated plot to snatch nearly 100,000 pounds from his vaults. In this case, the cinematic Scrooge is a British bank manager who’s every bit as cold and hum-buggy as old Ebenezer himself. 23 setting, this Christmas chestnut hardly comes across as a holiday film-unless you notice the way it loosely modernizes Charles Dickens’s classic “A Christmas Carol.” Stewart is excellent but the film’s best work comes from Richard Conte as the dignified Wiecek-and Kasia Orzazewski as Wiecek’s mother, who saved every penny scrubbing floors for years so she could offer a $5000 reward for Frank’s exoneration.Įxcept for the snow and the Dec. Except for a couple of fiery speeches by Stewart, there are no histrionics yet the film is consistently gripping, enhanced by the use of actual locations wherever possible.

Though some details in the complex case were understandably simplified here, this is a true story-and it sure feels that way. (He’s accused of having gunned down a cop in 1932.) James Stewart plays a newspaper reporter digging into the case of Frank Wiecek, who’s done 11 years of a life sentence on what increasingly appear to be false charges. Yet somehow, as guests keep dying, it gets harder and harder to figure out who’s behind it-and why.įeaturing a bevy of accomplished British actors, this handsome version manages to inject a little humor into the grim proceedings-then boldly alters the ending so it isn’t quite so downbeat. Her fiendishly clever plot has 10 unrelated people invited to a remote island, where they start dying one by one-each in a manner that reflects the lyrics in the famous nursery rhyme “Ten Little Indians” (it was one of the novel’s alternate titles).

Agatha Christie’s novel is surely the greatest whodunit ever written-and, at roughly 100 million copies, the world’s best-selling mystery.

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