"Hondo" director John Farrow directed George Sanders' initial incarnation of British-Chinese author Leslie Charteris' suave sleuth in "The Saint Strikes Back," and "Band of Angels" scenarist John Twist adapted Charteris novel "The Saint Meets His Match" with many changes of locale. Incidentally, Sanders didn't originate the intrepid character; that distinction belonged to actor Louis Hayward. Hayward starred in the first movie, director Ben Holmes" "The Saint in New York." Interestingly enough, Hayward encored as the halo clad hero in the 1953 film "The Saint's Girl Friday," long after not only Sanders, but also Hugh Sinclair had impersonated the fictional Robin Hood character. Sanders starred in five "Saint" sagas between 1939 and 1941 for RKO Pictures. Charteris himself felt that Sanders was miscast as his debonair gentleman protagonist, but he applauded Roger Moore in the role as a better fit. Meantime, during his prestigious career, Sanders went on to play another legendary shamus "The Falcon," before he relinquished that role to his brother Tom Conway. "The Saint Strikes Back" is a rather straight-forward crime thriller with the Saint living up to his own self-proclaimed description of himself as "the man who knows everything-just the man who knows the important things." Indeed, our hero knows ahead of time that the heroine he must save is not guilty of murder.
In "The Saint Strikes Back," our adventure-prone protagonist dispatches a New York cop killer, Tommy Voss, in the Colony Club nightclub in San Francisco on New Year's Eve and sets out to save Val Travers (Wendy Barrie of "Dead End") who has suffered a lot of bad publicity since her father was framed for police corruption. After the dead man is found, some of the patrons scramble to leave, and Val is one of several. She encounters Simon Templar (Oscar winner George Sanders of "All About Eve") who is awaiting her just outside on the sidewalk. "Cabs are scarce tonight, aren't they?" is Templar's first line when he meets her. Templar prevents Val from being taken in by the police. After he pulls this stunt, Templar flies back to New York City to meet his own friend, Inspector Henry Fernack (Jonathan Hale of "Son of Pale Face"), who has been assigned to find Templar, while Simon outsmarts Fernack during a stopover in Fort Worth, Texas, on their transcontinental flight to San Francisco. The unfortunate policeman goes on a wild goose chase when cannot find Templar aboard the aircraft,and winds up missing his plane. He is left standing in the airport terminal with nothing but his pajamas and a dressing gown. Incidentally, Hale co-starred in the first "Saint" escapade and he reprised his role here.
This Saint outing is adequate, and Twist gave Sanders some good lines that he utters with aplomb. Since I've never read a Charteris novel, I cannot understand what the author objected to about Sanders' performance, but the British actor seems born to play the role, and he appears to have a grand time doing it, savoring each of his loquacious lines.
In "The Saint Strikes Back," our adventure-prone protagonist dispatches a New York cop killer, Tommy Voss, in the Colony Club nightclub in San Francisco on New Year's Eve and sets out to save Val Travers (Wendy Barrie of "Dead End") who has suffered a lot of bad publicity since her father was framed for police corruption. After the dead man is found, some of the patrons scramble to leave, and Val is one of several. She encounters Simon Templar (Oscar winner George Sanders of "All About Eve") who is awaiting her just outside on the sidewalk. "Cabs are scarce tonight, aren't they?" is Templar's first line when he meets her. Templar prevents Val from being taken in by the police. After he pulls this stunt, Templar flies back to New York City to meet his own friend, Inspector Henry Fernack (Jonathan Hale of "Son of Pale Face"), who has been assigned to find Templar, while Simon outsmarts Fernack during a stopover in Fort Worth, Texas, on their transcontinental flight to San Francisco. The unfortunate policeman goes on a wild goose chase when cannot find Templar aboard the aircraft,and winds up missing his plane. He is left standing in the airport terminal with nothing but his pajamas and a dressing gown. Incidentally, Hale co-starred in the first "Saint" escapade and he reprised his role here.
This Saint outing is adequate, and Twist gave Sanders some good lines that he utters with aplomb. Since I've never read a Charteris novel, I cannot understand what the author objected to about Sanders' performance, but the British actor seems born to play the role, and he appears to have a grand time doing it, savoring each of his loquacious lines.