The Saint Meets the Tiger

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The Saint Meets the Tiger
Sttigpos.jpg
Original film poster
Directed by Paul L. Stein
Written by Leslie Arliss
Wolfgang Wilhelm
James Seymour
Based on Meet - The Tiger!
1928 novel
by Leslie Charteris
Produced by William Sistrom
Starring Hugh Sinclair
Jean Gillie
Gordon McLeod
Cinematography Robert Krasker
Edited by Ralph Kemplen
Production
company
RKO Radio British Productions
Distributed by RKO Radio Pictures (UK)
Republic Pictures (US)
Release dates
  • 8 December 1941 (1941-12-08)(UK)
  • 29 July 1943 (1943-07-29)(US)
Running time
70 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

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. [1] [2] 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 .

Contents

Plot

Simon "The Saint" Templar finds a dead man on his doorstep. Soon the ace investigator finds himself mired in more murder, smuggling and a South American mine.

Cast

Release

After The Saint's Vacation (1941), Hugh Sinclair makes his second (and final) appearance as Templar in this adventure, which sees Templar investigating a dead body left on his doorstep. This leads him to a quiet seaside village in Cornwall where he pursues a mysterious villain known as The Tiger. Co-starring in the film is Jean Gillie as Templar's love interest, Patricia Holm. Although this character made many appearances in the book series, this is to date the only film in which she appears. The character next appears on screen portrayed by Eliza Dushku in an unaired pilot for a Saint TV series produced in the 2010s.

Because of a dispute between RKO and the Saint's creator, Leslie Charteris, the film was put on hold after shooting finished in June 1941. The reason for the dispute was that RKO was about to release The Gay Falcon in October 1941, the first film in their new Falcon series, and Leslie Charteris felt that the Falcon was nothing but a copy of his character, enhanced by the fact that George Sanders played the Falcon. He was the most established face of the Saint, after having played the character in five of the previous films, the last being released earlier the same year. RKO eventually sold the US distribution rights to Republic Pictures, while its British arm handled the UK distribution as planned, and the film was released in both countries in 1943. [3]

The Saint Meets the Tiger is an adaptation of Charteris' first Saint novel, Meet - The Tiger! , and was the last Saint novel adapted by the RKO series. In a sense, it was also the last film in the RKO series, as the final film, The Saint's Return did not come until ten years later and was produced and distributed in the UK by British Hammer Films, while RKO only handled the US distribution.

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

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<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.

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<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 Vacation</i> 1941 British film

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Claud Eustace Teal</span> Fictional character

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jean Gillie</span>

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<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. "The Saint in Movies and Films". saint.org Retrieved 2024-01-10.
  2. p. 34 Views & Reviews, Volumes 3-5 Views & Reviews Productions, 1971
  3. 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, p. 69