The Saint (2017 film)

Last updated
The Saint
The Saint 2017 poster.jpg
Official release poster
Written byCharacters:
Leslie Charteris
Writer:
Jesse Alexander
Tony Giglio
Directed by Ernie Barbarash [1]
Starring
Music by Neal Acree
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
Producers
Cinematography Paul M. Sommers
Editors Michael Purl
Heath Ryan
Henk Van Eeghen
Running time91 minutes
Production companies Motion Picture Corporation of America
Silver Screen Pictures
Original release
ReleaseJuly 11, 2017 (2017-07-11)

The Saint is a 2017 American action film directed by Ernie Barbarash [1] and starring Adam Rayner in the title role of Simon Templar, created by Leslie Charteris. This was Roger Moore's final film appearance and the film was dedicated to his memory as he died two months before the release; Moore portrayed Templar in a 1960s TV series of the same title. Filmed in 2013 as a television pilot for a proposed TV series, the film was not originally intended for release when the series was not picked up. It eventually saw release direct-to-video in 2017 when it was released in tribute to Moore following his death. Ian Ogilvy, who portrayed Templar in a 1970s TV series titled Return of the Saint , also appears.

Contents

Plot

Simon Templar, also known as "The Saint," foils a terrorist plot to trade gold for bombs. After seizing most of the gold, he leaves his signature calling card. Meanwhile, a mysterious figure instructs a banker, Arnie Valecross, to steal $2.5 billion in aid meant for Nigeria. Templar, aware of the theft, decides to recover the funds.

Valecross diverts the money, prompting his employer to kidnap his daughter. Templar intervenes, but Valecross is fatally wounded, revealing crucial information before dying. With Valecross out of the picture, Templar, along with his friend Patricia Holm and associate Doyle Cosentino, seeks the elusive "nomad" mentioned by Valecross.

As the FBI, led by Agent John Henry Fernack, pursues Templar, they all race against time to locate the nomad and retrieve the stolen funds. Along the way, they uncover connections between Templar's past and the mysterious employer orchestrating the chaos.

In the end, Templar successfully rescues the hostages, returns the money, and confronts the man responsible for his parents' death, ultimately opting for justice over revenge.

Cast

Production

A new television adaptation of The Saint was announced in December 2012; Roger Moore was appointed to produce a new series to star Adam Rayner as Simon Templar and Eliza Dushku as his assistant Patricia Holm. [2] [3] In a later promotion, it was also shown that Moore would star in the new series, as would his successor in Return of the Saint, Ian Ogilvy. Production of a pilot episode was completed by early 2013. As of summer 2014, it was awaiting a broadcast time in the U.S. [4] However, the piece underwent reshoots for the ending and add an extra prologue in November 2015, and the pilot episode was retooled as a TV film, The Saint, getting an online release on 12 July 2017, two months after Moore's death. [5]

The pilot was based upon the character created by Leslie Charteris in 1928, and although the plot of the film has no relation to any of Charteris' stories, the villain, Rayt Marius, was a recurring presence in the early Saint novels, and was the central villain of the 1930 novel The Last Hero .

Although the character of Patricia Holm was a regular presence in the Saint novels from the 1920s through the early 1940s, this was only the second production (after the 1943 film The Saint Meets the Tiger ) in which she has appeared.

Inspector John Henry Fernack was also a prominent recurring character in the books.

While the pilot was directed by Simon West, the new material to extend it was directed by Ernie Barbarash. He had limited windows of availability for Rayner, who was busy on his series Tyrant , and Dushku; in the new material Rayner sports a beard, as in Tyrant, and Templar's new scenes with Holm take place over Skype calls so the actors did not need to be available on the same day. Inspector Fernack does not appear in the new scenes with the bearded Templar; an equivalent role is filled by Kyle Horne as FBI agent Cooper. Ian Ogilvy's role was greatly expanded, with new flashbacks to establish his backstory, and Roger Moore recorded new dialogue to replace lines which no longer fit the reworked plot.

Related Research Articles

The Saint is the nickname of the fictional character Simon Templar, featured in a series of novels and short stories by Leslie Charteris published between 1928 and 1963. After that date other authors collaborated with Charteris on books until 1983; two additional works produced without Charteris's participation were published in 1997. The character has also been portrayed in the franchise The Saint, which includes motion pictures, radio dramas, comic strips, comic books, and three television series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leslie Charteris</span> British-Chinese author

Leslie Charteris, was a British-Chinese author of adventure fiction, as well as a screenwriter. He was best known for his many books chronicling the adventures of his hero Simon Templar, alias "The Saint".

The Saint may refer to:

<i>Knight Templar</i> (The Saint) 1930 novel by Leslie Charteris

Knight Templar is the title of a mystery novel by Leslie Charteris first published in October 1930. This was the fourth book—and third full novel—featuring Charteris's Robin Hood-inspired anti-hero, Simon Templar, alias "The Saint". The title of the book is a pun on the religious organization Knights Templar. Later editions were titled The Avenging Saint and the book is also well known by this title, which was first used in a 1931 edition.

<i>Return of the Saint</i> British TV action series (1978–1979)

Return of the Saint is a British action-adventure television series that aired for one series in 1978 and 1979 in Britain on ITV, and was also broadcast on CBS in the United States. It was co-produced by ITC Entertainment and the Italian broadcaster RAI and ran for 24 episodes.

<i>The Saint in New York</i> 1935 novel by Leslie Charteris

The Saint in New York is a mystery novel by Leslie Charteris, first published in the United Kingdom by Hodder and Stoughton in 1935. It was published in the United States by Doubleday in January 1935. A shorter version of the novel had previously been published in the September 1934 issue of The American Magazine.

<i>The Saint</i> (TV series) British TV thriller series (1962–1969)

The Saint is a British crime television series that aired in the United Kingdom on ITV between 1962 and 1969. It was based on the literary character Simon Templar created by Leslie Charteris in the 1920s and featured in many novels over the years. In the television series, Templar was played by Roger Moore. Templar helps those whom conventional agencies are powerless or unwilling to protect, often using methods that skirt the law. Chief Inspector Claud Eustace Teal is his nominal nemesis who considers Templar a common criminal, but often grudgingly tolerates his actions for the greater good.

<i>The Saint</i> (1997 film) 1997 American thriller film

The Saint is a 1997 American action thriller film directed by Phillip Noyce, written by Jonathan Hensleigh and Wesley Strick, and starring Val Kilmer in the title role, with Elisabeth Shue and Rade Šerbedžija. The plot of the film revolves around the title character who is a high-tech thief and master of disguise, who becomes the anti-hero while using the moniker of various saints. He paradoxically lives in the underworld of international industrial theft and espionage. The film was a modest financial success with a worldwide box office of $169.4 million, rentals of $28.2 million, and continuous DVD sales.

<i>The Saint Meets the Tiger</i> 1943 film by Paul L. Stein

The Saint Meets the Tiger is a 1941 British mystery thriller film directed by Paul L. Stein and starring Hugh Sinclair, Jean Gillie and Clifford Evans. It was made by the British unit of RKO Pictures and released the same year, but was not distributed until 1943 in America. This was to be the last of the eight films in RKO's film series about the crimefighter the Saint. It was shot at Denham Studios outside London with sets designed by the art director Paul Sheriff. The previous entries in the series had all been made in Hollywood except The Saint's Vacation.

<i>Enter the Saint</i>

Enter the Saint is a collection of three interconnected adventure novellas by Leslie Charteris first published in the United Kingdom by Hodder and Stoughton in October 1930, followed by an American edition by The Crime Club in April 1931.

<i>The Last Hero</i> (The Saint) 1930 novel by Leslie Charteris

The Last Hero is the title of a thriller novel by Leslie Charteris that was first published in the United Kingdom in May 1930 by Hodder and Stoughton and in the United States in November 1930 by The Crime Club. The story initially appeared in The Thriller, a British magazine, in 1929. Because of this somewhat convoluted publishing history, The Last Hero is occasionally cited as the second volume of adventures featuring the crime-busting antihero Simon Templar, alias The Saint, predating Enter the Saint. In fact, according to Charteris himself, it was the third book of the series. This is supported by references to the events of Enter the Saint within the novel.

<i>The Holy Terror</i> (short story collection) 1932 collection of novellas by Leslie Charteris

The Holy Terror is a collection of three mystery novellas by Leslie Charteris, first published in the United Kingdom in May 1932 by Hodder and Stoughton. This was the eighth book to feature the adventures of Simon Templar, alias "The Saint". When published in the United States for the first time, in September 1932, the title was changed to The Saint vs. Scotland Yard.

<i>The Happy Highwayman</i>

The Happy Highwayman is a collection of short stories by Leslie Charteris, first published in 1939 by Hodder and Stoughton in the United Kingdom and The Crime Club in the United States. This was the 21st book to feature the adventures of Simon Templar, alias "The Saint". The 1963 Hodder and Stoughton paperback edition erroneously gives 1933 as the book's original publishing date, as does the 1958 Pan Books paperback.

<i>Meet the Tiger</i> Novel by Leslie Charteris

Meet the Tiger is an action-adventure novel written by Leslie Charteris. In England it was first published by Ward Lock in September 1928; in the United States it was first published by Doubleday's The Crime Club imprint in March 1929 with the variant title Meet – the Tiger!. It was the first novel in a long-running series of books featuring the adventures of Simon Templar, alias "The Saint". It was later reissued under a number of different titles, including the unofficial Crooked Gold by Amalgamated Press in 1929 which failed to credit the authorship of Charteris, and the best-known reissue title, The Saint Meets the Tiger. In 1940 the Sun Dial Press changed the title to Meet – the Tiger! The Saint in Danger.

<i>The Saints Double Trouble</i> 1940 American film

The Saint's Double Trouble is a 1940 action-adventure film produced by RKO Pictures. The film stars George Sanders as Simon Templar, a.k.a. "The Saint", a master criminal turned crime-fighter, and features horror film legend Bela Lugosi as "The Partner". This was the fourth of eight films in RKO's film series about the character created by Leslie Charteris, and the first film to not be directly based upon one of the original Saint books, although Charteris did contribute to developing the story for the film.

<i>The Saint Takes Over</i> 1940 American film

The Saint Takes Over, released in 1940 by RKO Pictures, was the fifth of eight films in RKO's film series about Simon Templar, also known as "The Saint", the Robin Hood-inspired crimefighter created by Leslie Charteris. George Sanders played Templar for the fourth time. Sanders made one more Saint picture the following year. Wendy Barrie played his latest romantic interest, in her second of three appearances in the Saint film series.

<i>The Saint in New York</i> (film) 1938 film by Ben Holmes

The Saint in New York is an American 1938 crime film, directed by Ben Holmes and adapted from Leslie Charteris's 1935 novel of the same name by Charles Kaufman and Mortimer Offner. After a police lieutenant is killed, the New York Police Department enlists gentleman criminal Simon Templar to fight criminal elements in the city.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patricia Holm</span> Fictional character

Patricia Holm is the name of a fictional character who appeared in the novels and short stories of Leslie Charteris between 1928 and 1948. She was the on-again, off-again girlfriend and partner of Simon Templar, alias "The Saint", and shared a number of his adventures. In addition, by the mid-1930s, Holm and Templar shared the same flat in London, although they were unmarried. Although such co-habitation between unmarried partners is commonplace today, it was rare, shocking in the 1930s. The two also appeared to have a somewhat "open" relationship, with Holm accepting Templar's occasional dalliances with other women.

Adam Chance Abbs Rayner is an English actor. He is known for television roles including: Dominic Montgomery in Mistresses, Dr. Steve Shaw in Hawthorne, Aidan Marsh in Hunted, Bassam "Barry" Al-Fayeed in Tyrant, and Tal-Rho in Superman & Lois. He has also appeared on stage in The Rivals, Romeo and Juliet and Much Ado About Nothing.

<i>The Saint</i> (franchise) Film and television franchise

The Saint franchise consists of European and American action-mystery thrillers, including film, radio, and television mediums. Based on the writings of Leslie Charteris, the plot centers around the titular vigilante investigator who operates outside the bounds of the law, under various disguises and aliases; commonly known as the moniker "the Saint".

References

  1. 1 2 BWW News Desk. "All-New Reboot of THE SAINT Arrives on Digital HD/VOD on Today".
  2. "The Saint Is Back". Bedfordshire-news.co.uk.
  3. "Eliza Dushku To Co-Star In 'The Saint' Backdoor Pilot, Roger Moore To Co-Produce". Deadline Hollywood . 10 December 2012. Retrieved 10 December 2012.
  4. "The Saint – New TV Series Being Developed". Digital Spy . 30 April 2014.
  5. "All-New Reboot of THE SAINT Arrives on Digital HD/VOD on Today". Broadway World. 11 June 2017. Retrieved 14 July 2017.