SAINT FILMS COLLECTION

 5 DVD-R - 9 MOVIES - 1938-1954

 The famous logo of The Saint; it has an almost magical nostalgia about it, bringing different emotions and responses from anyone who sees it. Most remember watching Roger Moore playing Simon Templar in the 1960s, as he drove his white Volvo P1800 across our television sets, while others recall George Sanders in a dusty 1940s theater catering to the RKO "B" crowd. Old-time radio fans can still hear the famous voice of Vincent Price broadcasting the adventures of The Saint over the airwaves on CBS and NBC, and yet a younger generation might see a vision of Ian Ogilvy wearing those 1970s fashions we love to hate, starring in The Return of the Saint. A few hearty fans might even conjure up Simon Dutton in his role as the famous Simon Templar in the 1980s. The 1990's featured a big budget Paramount film starring Val Kilmer in many disguises driving around a new Volvo C70 sports coupe. The more literary minded of us recall a series of books written by Leslie Charteris, dating back to the 1920s that was still being added to in the 1980s. Readers of pulp magazines have pleasant memories of The Saint Mystery Magazine, as well as other stories appearing in such magazines as Black Mask, Double Detective and Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine. The Saint also ventured into the comics section of our newspapers, battling alongside Dick Tracy and the other Sunday heroes. Simon Templar even had his own series of bubblegum cards, and with a TV series currently under option in the new millennium, one thing remains unchanged: Watch for the sign of The Saint, he will be back.

MOVIES LIST:

1938 The Saint in New York
RKO Radio Pictures-USA, 69 minutes. Released in the USA on June 3, 1938.
Adapted from the Leslie Charteris novel The Saint in New York (1935). Directed by Ben Holme. Produced by William Sistrom. Screenplay by Charles Kaufman and Mortimer Offner.
Starring Louis Hayward as Simon Templar, Kay Sutton as Fay Edwards, Sig Rumann as Hutch Rellin, Jonathan Hale as Inspector Fernack, and Jack Carson as Red Jenks.

1939 The Saint Strikes Back
RKO Radio Pictures-USA, 64 minutes. Released in the USA on March 10, 1939.
Adapted from the Leslie Charteris novel The Saint Meets His Match (1931). Directed by John Farrow. Produced by Robert Sisk. Screenplay by John Twist.
Starring George Sanders as Simon Templar, Wendy Barrie as Val Travers, and Jonathan Hale as Inspector Fernack.

1939 The Saint in London
RKO Radio Pictures-USA, Elstree-UK, 73 minutes. Released in the USA on June 30, 1939.
Adapted from the Leslie Charteris short story The Million Pound Day from The Saint versus Scotland Yard (1932). Directed by John Paddy Carstairs. Produced by William Sistrom. Screenplay by Lynn Root and Frank Fenton.
Starring George Sanders as Simon Templar, Sally Gray as Penny Parker, David Burns as Dugan, and Gordon McLeod as Inspector Teal.

1940 The Saint's Double Trouble
RKO Radio Pictures-USA, 67 minutes. Released in the USA on January 26, 1940.
An original story not used in any book, Charteris didn't particularly like the film. Directed by Jack Hiveley. Produced by Cliff Reid. Screenplay by Leslie Charteris and Ben Holmes.
Starring George Sanders as Simon Templar, Helene Whitney as Anne Bitts, Jonathan Hale as Inspector Fernack, and Bela Lugosi as Partner.

1940 The Saint Takes Over
RKO Radio Pictures-USA, 69 minutes. Released in the USA on June 7, 1940.
Leslie Charteris had nothing to do with the storyline for this film. Directed by Jack Hiveley. Produced by Howard Benedict. Screenplay by Lynn Root and Frank Fenton.
Starring George Sanders as Simon Templar, Wendy Barrie as Ruth, Jonathan Hale as Inspector Fernack, and Paul Guilfoyle as Pearly Gates.

1941 The Saint in Palm Springs
RKO Radio Pictures-USA, 66 minutes. Released in the USA on January 24, 1941.
Palm Springs is based on an orginal story by Leslie Charteris, but the plot was so changed that the final version of the movie hasn't any of Charteris' plot intact. The photoplay that appeared in the May 19, 1941 issue of Life magazine, and the subsequent short story were written afterward, and are completely different than the movie or the orginal plot outline. Later adapted into a short story by Leslie Charteris as Palm Springs from The Saint Goes West (1942). Directed by Jack Hiveley. Produced by Howard Benedict. Screenplay by Leslie Charteris and Jerry Cady.
Starring George Sanders as Simon Templar, Wendy Barrie as Elna Johnson, Paul Guilfoyle as Pearly Gates, and Jonathan Hale as Inspector Fernack.

1941 The Saint's Vacation
RKO Radio Pictures-UK, 78 minutes. Released in the USA on May 9, 1941
Adapted from the Leslie Charteris novel The Saint's Getaway (1932). Directed by Leslie Fenton. Produced by William Sistrom. Screenplay by Leslie Charteris and Jeffry Dell.
Starring Hugh Sinclair as Simon Templar, Sally Gray as Mary Langdon, Arthur MacRae as Monty Hayward, and Gordon McLeod as Inspector Teal.

1943 The Saint Meets The Tiger
Republic Pictures-USA, RKO Radio Pictures-UK, 79 minutes. Released in the USA on July 29, 1943.
This movie was produced in 1941 by RKO Radio British Productions, but turned over to Republic for distribution. Adapted from the Leslie Charteris novel The Saint Meets The Tiger (1928). Directed by Paul Stein. Produced by William Sistrom. Screenplay by Leslie Arliss and Wolfgang Wilhelm.
Starring Hugh Sinclair as Simon Templar, Clifford Evans as Sidmarsh, Jean Gillie as Patrica Holmes, and Gordon McLeod as Inspector Teal.

1954 The Saint's Girl Friday
Distributed by RKO Radio Pictures in the USA as The Saint's Girl Friday; 68 minutes. Released in the USA on April 15, 1954.
Directed by Seymour Friedmann. Produced by Julian Lesser and Anthony Hinds. Screenplay by Allan MacKennon.
Starring Louis Hayward as Simon Templar, Naomi Chance as Carol Denby, Sidney Taffler as Max Lennar, Diana Dors as Margie, Russell Enoch as Keith Merton, and Charles Victor as Chief Inspector Teal.

THE QUALITY OF THESE MOVIES IS VERY GOOD, FOR THE EXCEPTION OF "THE SAINT'S GIRL FRIDAY" JUST ACCEPTABLE

These films were originally produced long before the advent of High Definition TV, therefore they are best viewed on a small screen. HD TVs tend to stretch and skew the picture. Set your HD TV on 4:3 aspect ratio. (That was the old TV format). Please do not expect DVD or Commercial level DVDs from these films. Email us for any additional info.