Home | Movies By Year | Movies from 1954


The Saint's Return

Buy The Saint's Return now from Amazon

First, read the Wikipedia article. Then, scroll down to see what other TopShelfReviews readers thought about the movie. And once you've experienced the movie, tell everyone what you thought about it.

Wikipedia article




{{Infobox film

|name = The Saint's Return

|caption = US film poster with the US title

|image = The Saint's Girl Friday FilmPoster.jpeg

|director = Seymour Friedman

|producer = Anthony Hinds
Julian Lesser

|writer = Allan MacKinnon

|starring = Louis Hayward
Naomi Chance

|music =

|cinematography = Walter J. Harvey

|editing = James Needs

|distributor = Exclusive Films (UK
RKO Radio Pictures (US)

|released =

|runtime = 73 minutes

|language = English

| country = United Kingdom

|budget =

}}

'The Saint's Return' (released in the US as 'The Saint's Girl Friday') is a British crime thriller film from 1953, produced by Hammer Film Productions in London.

It premiered in London under the original title on 12 October 1953[http://www.saint.org/stfilms.htm www.saint.org: 'The Saint in Movies and Films'] Retrieved 2012-07-25 and was distributed in the UK by Hammer Films own distribution company, Exclusive Films. It was released in the US by RKO under the US title on 15 April 1954. 'The Saint's Return' saw Louis Hayward, who had been the first actor to play Simon Templar in 'The Saint in New York' in 1938, fifteen years earlier, return to the role one last time.

Plot



A female friend asks the Saint for help and winds up dead. The Saint sets about investigating and discovers the involvement of the River Mob, a gangster organisation involved with a gambling barge. The Saint is helped by Carol Denby, who is being used by the gangster.

Cast



* Louis Hayward - Simon Templar/The Saint

* Naomi Chance - Carol Denby

* Sydney Tafler - Max Lennar

* Charles Victor - Chief Insp. Claud Teal

* Jane Carr - Kate Finch

* Harold Lang - Jarvis

* William Russell - Keith Merton (as Russell Enoch)

* Diana Dors - The Blonde in Lennar's Apartment

* Fred Johnson - Irish Cassidy

* Thomas Gallagher - Hoppy, his valet

* Russell Napier - Col. Stafford

* Sam Kydd - Barkley (Joe Podd)

* Ian Fleming as Lord Merton

Production



Although based upon Charteris' character, the film was an original work by British screenwriter Allan MacKinnon and not based directly on any of Charteris' stories. Charteris, however, had a percentage in the film.p. 105 Barer, Burl 'The Saint: A Complete History in Print, Radio, Film and Television of Leslie Charteris' Robin Hood of Modern Crime, Simon Templar 1928-1992' McFarland, 2003 It is the first filmed 'Saint' production to feature the character of Hoppy Uniatz, Templar's assistant in the 1940s-era 'Saint' books. Percy Herbert later played the character in at least one episode of the 1960s TV series.

Hayward's casting was announced in January 1953. He was originally going to England to make 'No Escape' but that film wound up being made in Hollywood.Rita Hayworth to Enact Magdalen; Hayward Will Do 'Saint;' Nolan Pilot

Schallert, Edwin. Los Angeles Times (1923-1995); Los Angeles, Calif. [Los Angeles, Calif]21 Jan 1953: B9.
It was Hayward's first film in England since 'The Lady and the Bandit'.Laurel to Premier 'Passion for Life'

Los Angeles Times 25 Jan 1953: D3.


In March 1953 as filming was being completed the title was changed from 'The Saint's Queen' to 'The Saint's Return'.Vittorio Gassman Will Costar With Stanwyck; LeRoy May Guide Lanza

Schallert, Edwin. Los Angeles Times 2 Mar 1953: B9.


It was the second film Dors made for Hammer after 'The Last Page'. In September 1953 producer Julian Lesser had signed Dors to make two more movies.Warners, Metro Slate African Subjects; Jimmy Wakely Back in Cinema

Schallert, Edwin. Los Angeles Times (1923-1995); Los Angeles, Calif. [Los Angeles, Calif]16 Sep 1953: B9.


Reception



Critical reception

The 'Los Angeles Times' said it had "unusually good suspense elements with Hayward competently leading the way".'Carnival Story' Top Mob Teaser

Schallert, Edwin. Los Angeles Times 22 Apr 1954: B8.


Derek Winnert called it "a very watchable British stab at reviving the series", adding that "with its neat plot and decent sly sense of humour, it is entirely entertaining, if only mildly". Of the actors, he wrote: "An ideal Hayward is aloofly smooth and suitably chilly in a role he created in the original film", concluding that "theres a really good true Brit cast to support him".

Box office

This was the first 'Saint' film to be released in ten years, following RKO's 'The Saint' series 1938-1943, and Hammer Films had hopes to revive the series, but this did not occur. In 1960, a French-Italian film entitled 'Le Saint mne la danse', with Felix Marten playing The Saint, was released with very limited success. It was not until 1962 and the TV series 'The Saint', starring Roger Moore, that the character achieved lasting success beyond the literary world. The next English-language cinema film featuring the character wouldn't be released until 1997, with Val Kilmer playing the character in 'The Saint'.

References




Buy The Saint's Return now from Amazon

<-- Return to movies from 1954



This work is released under CC-BY-SA. Some or all of this content attributed to http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1108312346.