George Sanders play Leslie Charteris' Simon Templar, as he is accused of skullduggery in San Francisco. Jonathan Hale, as the expert on the fellow, is deputed thither, and runs into Sanders on the flight there. Eventually, they wind up in the city by the bay, where Wendy Barrie plays the daughter of a disgraced cop, reputed to be the head of her own criminal gang.
The mystery of who is behind all the bad stuff is soluble by the structure of the movie, but that's not important. This is now a B series movie, albeit one with a carefully chosen cast and crew, including John Farrow as the director and Frank Redman as the DP. Now there's a definitely humorous undertone, which is why all the shootings take place off screen, and Sanders saunters through the role with a light touch. In many ways, it's his trademark performance, one that he played with for several years. His Saint is not a man of action, so much as someone who is in the right place at the right time. The closest he comes to action is to step onto a trellis and then a balcony, unlike the previous year's effort, in which Louis Hayward' Saint cuts acrobatics and shoots several people.... although only when they deserve it.
Lots of interesting performers fill out the ranks. Wendie Barrie makes her first of three appearances in the series, although she would play different characters in each of them. There's also Jerome Cowan, Barry Fitzgerald, and Neil Hamilton on view.
The mystery of who is behind all the bad stuff is soluble by the structure of the movie, but that's not important. This is now a B series movie, albeit one with a carefully chosen cast and crew, including John Farrow as the director and Frank Redman as the DP. Now there's a definitely humorous undertone, which is why all the shootings take place off screen, and Sanders saunters through the role with a light touch. In many ways, it's his trademark performance, one that he played with for several years. His Saint is not a man of action, so much as someone who is in the right place at the right time. The closest he comes to action is to step onto a trellis and then a balcony, unlike the previous year's effort, in which Louis Hayward' Saint cuts acrobatics and shoots several people.... although only when they deserve it.
Lots of interesting performers fill out the ranks. Wendie Barrie makes her first of three appearances in the series, although she would play different characters in each of them. There's also Jerome Cowan, Barry Fitzgerald, and Neil Hamilton on view.