Litany of ‘The Saint’

Paramount unveils its new big-budget action flick “The Saint” Friday starring Val Kilmer (see interview, Page 6) as Leslie Charteris’ debonair, modern-day Robin Hood hero, Simon Templar.

But Kilmer is just the latest in a long line of actors who have worn “The Saint’s” halo.

“The Saint,” who debuted as a literary character in the 1920s, began his movie life back in 1938 with Louis Hayward in “The Saint in New York,” a low-budget but fun thriller that finds Templar hired to kill six of New York City’s most vile criminals. “The Saint in New York” was so popular, RKO bought the rights to the rest of the Saint novels.

Suave George Sanders was next in line as Templar, starring in five breezy mysteries for the studio. Wendy Barrie was on hand as his leading lady in three of the installments. Sanders departed the series, though, in 1941 to star in another RKO movie serial, “The Falcon,” as Michael Arlen’s trouble-shooter.

Stage actor Hugh Sinclair took over as Templar in 1941, but the series never recovered from the loss of Sanders. Sinclair’s stint lasted just two films. After a 12-year absence, Louis Hayward returned in the poorly received revival, “The Saint’s Girl Friday.”

Turner Home Video has released four “The Saint” videos ($20), each featuring two of these vintage RKO mysteries.

Vol. 1: “The Saint in New York” and 1939’s “The Saint Strikes Back,” which marks Sanders’ first outing as Templar.

Vol. 2: “The Saint in London” (1939) with Sanders, and 1940’s “The Saint’s Double Trouble,” also starring Sanders and featuring Bela Lugosi as a hood.

Vol. 3: “The Saint Takes Over” (1940) with Sanders, and 1941’s “The Saint’s Vacation,” starring Sinclair. The latter was co-written by Charteris.

Vol. 4: “The Saint in Palm Springs” (1941), which was Sanders’ last outing, and “The Saint Meets the Tiger” (1943), which stars Sinclair and is loosely based on Charteris’ first Saint story.

“The Saint” also was a popular radio serial. Vincent Price was one of the actors who brought Templar to life on the airwaves.

But baby boomers best remember Roger Moore as “The Saint” in the popular British-made TV series from the 1960s. Moore starred in a total of 118 episodes as the humorous, carefree, sexy hero who drove a Volvo P1800 and came to the aid of those in need all around the world. Of course, he managed to find time to romance beautiful women. Moore is so engaging and devilish as Templar, one can see why he was cast as James Bond after Sean Connery left the movie franchise.

“The Saint” played in syndication in America from 1963 to 1966 and then NBC picked it up and aired the stylish series in prime time from 1967-69.

The re-TV company is now offering “The Saint: The Collector’s Edition.” Each tape contains two uncut episodes of the series, including black-and-white installments. The first volume is $5 and subsequent tapes are $20. To order call (800) 638-2922.

Polygram Video has just released the first eight color episodes of “The Saint” ($15 each) series. Each video features two episodes, plus the original episodic trailers. These installments find Templar coming to the aid of a deposed king, investigating the underworld of antiques dealing, pursuing a former Nazi and helping a Russian professor defect. “The Saint” is still great fun.

Also jumping on the bandwagon is Live Home Video, which has just released “The Saint: The Fiction Makers” ($10). This two-part, full-length thriller culled from the series finds Templar coming to the aid of a novelist who is in peril.

In 1979, Ian Ogilvy donned the halo to play Templar in “Return of the Saint,” a series that aired late nights on CBS from 1979-80. Simon Dutton also played Templar in a series of TV movies during the 1989-90 series.