The Saint in New York (film)

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The Saint in New York
The Saint in New York FilmPoster.jpeg
theatrical release poster
Directed by Ben Holmes
Screenplay by
Story by
Based on The Saint in New York
1935 novel
Leslie Charteris
Produced by William Sistrom
Starring Louis Hayward
Kay Sutton
Sig Ruman
Jonathan Hale
Cinematography Joseph H. August
Frank Redman
Edited by Harry Marker
Music by Roy Webb
Production
company
Distributed byRKO Radio Pictures
Release date
  • June 3, 1938 (1938-06-03) [2]
Running time
71-72 minutes [1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$128,000 [3]
Box office$460,000 [3]

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.

Contents

Released by RKO Pictures, The Saint in New York marks the first screen appearance of Templar, also known as "The Saint". Louis Hayward stars as the title character, with Kay Sutton as his love interest. Alfred Hitchcock was initially discussed as a possible director for the film. This was the first of eight films in RKO's film series about The Saint. After being replaced in the series by George Sanders, Hayward would not play The Saint again until 1953 in Hammer Films production of The Saint's Return . There had not been a Saint film made in twelve years.

Plot

Police Lieutenant Martin, an officer leading the fight against New York gangsters, is killed. Jake Irbell is arrested and charged with his murder, but has to be released when prosecution witnesses are either coerced into changing their testimony or simply disappear. A civilian crime commission demands action of the police commissioner, but he has no fresh ideas. William Valcross (Frederick Burton), a respected leading citizen and member of the commission, suggests they resort to drastic measures and recruit Simon Templar (Louis Hayward), the "Saint", a British amateur detective with a reputation for dealing with criminals outside the law. The commissioner reluctantly agrees to give the Saint free rein to do what he must.

Valcross spends months tracking the Saint down, following a trail of dead (criminal) bodies across Europe and South America. Templar is intrigued by the challenge and is given a list of six gangsters whose removal would hopefully bring peace to the city.

Disguised as a nun, the Saint kills Irbell just as he is about to shoot his most determined enemy, Inspector Henry Fernack (Jonathan Hale). (This differs from the original novel in which the Saint shoots an accused cop-killer in cold blood after the man walks free from court). As he works his way through the list, Templar learns that the mysterious "Big Fellow" is the mastermind who hides his identity by communicating with his underlings solely through Fay Edwards (Kay Sutton). Templar meets Fay, and they are attracted to each other. She saves his life twice when his recklessness gets him in trouble. The Saint disposes of the last of the six original targets, Hutch Rellin (Sig Ruman), leaving only their leader.

Fay has given her word not to divulge the Big Fellow's name, but agrees to point him out when she meets him the next morning at the bank where the profits of three years worth of crime have been kept. When Valcross happens by, Templar tells him why he is waiting there. Valcross starts to leave, but when Fay shows up, she recognizes him. He fatally shoots her before Templar guns down the Big Fellow. Valcross wanted Templar to kill his men so he would not have to share the loot.

Cast

Production

Hayward is generally praised for his portrayal of the Saint; his performance has been described as "a poor man’s... Orson Welles", [4] considered "rakish" while staying faithful to Charteris' vision. [4] [5] [6] However he was unable to repeat the role because he was signed to a multi-picture deal by Edward Small who wanted to make Hayward a star. [7] After being replaced in the series by George Sanders (Sanders later being replaced by Hugh Sinclair), Hayward would return to the role 15 years later in 1953's The Saint's Return (known as The Saint's Girl Friday in the US). [4]

In the RKO films, Templar's New York Police Department contact, Inspector Fernack, as played by Jonathan Hale, appeared four times, even in films not specifically set in New York; Templar's British law enforcement foil, Inspector Teal of Scotland Yard, would appear in films set in Britain, played by different actors.

In 1937, Alfred Hitchcock met with Lillie Messinger of RKO. Hitchcock showed interest in coming to America and making The Saint in New York. [4] [8] Ultimately, the film was made a year later with Ben Holmes directing.

Reception

The film was extremely popular, making a profit of $195,000. [3]

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".

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

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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>She Was a Lady</i> 1931 novel by Leslie Charteris

She Was a Lady is the title of a mystery novel by Leslie Charteris featuring his creation, Simon Templar, alias The Saint. The novel was first published in serialized form in the magazine Thriller in February and March 1930, and after being rewritten by Charteris, was first published in complete form in the United Kingdom by Hodder and Stoughton in November 1931. This was the seventh book chronicling Templar's adventures, and the fourth full novel.

<i>The Happy Highwayman</i>

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<i>The Saint Goes West</i> Collection of novellas by Leslie Charteris

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<i>The Saints Vacation</i> 1941 British film

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<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.

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<i>The Saint in Palm Springs</i> 1941 film by Jack Hively

The Saint in Palm Springs is a 1941 American mystery crime film directed by Jack Hively and starring George Sanders, Wendy Barrie and Jonathan Hale. It was produced and released by Hollywood studio RKO Pictures. The film continued the screen adventures of the Robin Hood-inspired anti-hero, Simon Templar, alias "The Saint", created by Leslie Charteris. This sequel was based upon a story by Charteris; however, many changes to his concept were made. Charteris later novelised his version of the film story as the novella "Palm Springs", contained within the 1942 collection The Saint Goes West. This was the sixth of eight in RKO's film series about The Saint.

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<i>The Gay Falcon</i> 1941 film by Irving Reis

The Gay Falcon is a 1941 American mystery thriller film directed by Irving Reis and starring George Sanders, Wendy Barrie and Allen Jenkins. A B film produced and distributed by RKO Pictures, it the first in a series of sixteen films about a suave detective nicknamed The Falcon. Intended to replace the earlier The Saint detective series, the first film took its title from the lead character, Gay Laurence. Sanders was cast in the title role; he had played The Saint in the prior RKO series. He was teamed again with Wendy Barrie who had been with him in three previous Saint films. The first four films starred Sanders as Gay Lawrence and the rest featured Tom Conway, Sanders' real-life brother, as Tom Lawrence, brother of Gay.

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<i>The Saint</i> (2017 film) 2017 film by Simon West

The Saint is a 2017 American action film directed by Ernie Barbarash 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.

References

  1. 1 2 The Saint in New York at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
  2. "The Saint in New York: Detail View". American Film Institute. Retrieved April 11, 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 Jewel, Richard (1994) "RKO Film Grosses: 1931-1951" in Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, vol 14, no 1, p.55
  4. 1 2 3 4 The Saint in New York at Turner Classic Movies
  5. "The Saint in New York" Time Out
  6. "The Saint in New York" The New York Times
  7. Staff (November 1, 1938) "Louis Hayward to Play Lead in 'Man in the Iron Mask' for United Artists; Opening at Continental: 'The Singing Blacksmith,' New Yiddish Picture, Will Begin Engagement Today; Casting for 'Hotel Imperial'; Coast Scripts Of Local Origin" The New York Times p.27
  8. Spoto, Donald (1999). The Dark Side of Genius: The Life of Alfred Hitchcock . Da Capo. pp.  171–172. ISBN   0-306-80932-X.