User Reviews

Another very good episode in an eighth series that has bounced back significantly, High Finance is focused more on the bank than the Home Guard, as Mainwaring tries to get to the bottom of Jones's borderline insolvency. Beginning with a wonderful scene in the bank in which a meeting with Jones inspires a beautifully written and performed discussion about duty and sentimentalism between Wilson and Mainwaring, High Finance finds room for some excellent physical comedy involving Pike, a tray of sand, a bowl of sugar, a cleaver and a bowler hat. As the rest of the platoon begins to pitch in to help Jones, there's that sweet comradeship that is at the heart of all the best Dad's Army episodes. Ultimately, the episode ends with an Agatha Christie style assembling of all the suspects in order for Mainwaring to reveal the horrifying truth... and it is horrifying! In a moment that is a sign of Dad's Army's era, it turns out Hodges has been overcharging Mrs. Pike for rent and has been attempting to blackmail her into having sex with him. This isn't depicted as acceptable by any means but it is also telling that a good smack from Wilson is deemed to be enough punishment for Hodges to be back in the role of comedy antagonist next week. Still, this issue makes High Finance an interesting document of its time and it's good to see the behaviour is disapproved of by all, even if not to the extent it would be today.