Simon Templar (aka “The Saint”)

Created by Lesley Charteris
Pseudonym of Leslie Charles Bowyer-Yin
(1907-1993)

“Pardon me. In the excitement of the moment, and all that sort of thing, I forgot to introduce myself. I’m afraid I’ve had you at a disadvantage. My name is Templar–Simon Templar,” he caught the flash of stark hypnotic fear that blanched the big man’s lips, and grinned even more gently. “You may have heard of me. I am the Saint.”
— from The Saint in New York

Adventurer? Con artist? Thief? Spy? Amateur sleuth? Rogue? International playboy? Private eye?

In his long and varied career, Lesley Charteris’ rogue SIMON TEMPLAR (aka “The Saint”) seems to have been all of them, by design or happenstance, at one time or another. He’s been hired to steal, to kill, to spy, to follow and yes, to “look into” things. And sometimes he does all those things just because he wants to.

As Charteris once said of Templar, he “seldom went anywhere with the intention of getting into trouble. But trouble had that disastrous propensity for getting into him.”

But he (almost) always does it with wit and style; a certain bemused joie de vire and humour that often drew comparisons again and again to Robin Hood. But this was a Robin Hood who stole from the rich and was just as likely to keep it for himself, thankyouverymuch. And don’t be mislead by the movies or the TV shows — in his original incarnation he was not some happy-go-lucky chucklehead or a wink, wink charmer. While his antecedents might have been such swashbuckling British adventurers like Bulldog Drummond, he also displayed a steely pragmatism and at times a cold-blooded ruthlessness that wouldn’t be unfamiliar to fans of The Continental Op or James Bond. He was no gentleman sleuth — he wasn’t even a gentleman. He could be a nasty and violent son of a bitch. As originally envisioned, he was a badass.

Hell, several of the short stories and novellas (and there were a ton of them), were published in such iconic American hard-boiled outlets as Black Mask, Detective Fiction Weekly and Manhunt.

But you didn’t have to read the pulps to be aware of The Saint. There were novels, short stories all over the place (and countless collections of same), films, radio shows, comics, a comic strip, and television shows. From the 1930s to the seventies he was pretty much everywhere, and there seemed to be a Saint for everyone, from the hard-boiled Saint of the original novels and short stories to the suave debonair Saint of the early films starring Louis Hayward and George Sanders and on to the sun-shiny, roguish charm of Roger Moore on TV that my Mom loved. (Me? I was too young to follow most of the plots, but I loved the little cartoon halo and the cars).

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Leslie Charteris was born Leslie Charles Bowyer-Yin in Singapore on May 12th, 1907, but moved with his mother and brother at the age of twelve to England. In his early years, he rambled, shipping out on a freighter, working as a bartender in a country inn, prospecting for gold, diving for pearls, mining for tin, working on a rubber plantation, touring England with a carnival, and driving a bus, before deciding to study the law.

But his legal career was put on hold when his first novel was published. His third book, Meet the Tiger! (which introduced Simon Templar) was written when he was twenty years old. The books, which have been translated into over thirty languages, number nearly a hundred and have sold over forty million copies around the world, and have inspired feature films, TV and radio series, and a comic strip (originally written by Charteris). A wanderer, much like the Saint himself, Charteris lived in Florida and Hollywood (where his half-Chinese, half-English heritage initially excluded him from permanent residency in the U.S. due to the Chinese Exclusion Act) and finally, in his later years, settling once again in England. He was awarded the Cartier Diamond Dagger by the Crime Writers’ Association in 1992, in recognition of a lifetime of achievement.

He died the following year, but he’d stopped writing Saint novels way back in the 1940s, focussing instead on short stories and novellas after that, and he stopped writing completely following the 1964 publication of The Saint in the Sun collection, although he kept a hand in (and his name on) everything. The next Saint book,Vendetta for the Saint (1964), was ghostwritten by Harry Harrison, who’d worked with Charteris on the Saint comic strip. For the next twenty years all the Saint books, mostly collections of short stories, novellas and adaptations by of scripts from the 1962-69 TV show), would be written by others, although almost always credited to Charteris.

Charteris, however, was very open about it. In his intro to The Saint on TV (1968), he called the books a “team effort,” with him overseeing the selection of the stories, initially adaptations by Fleming Lee of scripts written for TV series starring Roger Moore, and revising when necessary. The “team” writers were usually credited on the title page, but not the cover. Later collections also adapted scripts from the 1970s series Return of the Saint, starring Ian Olgivy.

NOVELS

Meet–The Tiger! (1928)
Knight Templar (1930; aka “The Avenging Saint”) | Buy the book | Kindle it
The Last Hero (1930; aka “The Saint Closes the Case”) | Buy the book | Kindle it
She Was a Lady (1931)
Getaway (1932)
The Saint in New York (1935)
Saint Overboard (1936)
Thieves’ Picnic (1937)
Prelude for War (1938)
The Saint in Miami (1941)
The Saint Steps In (1944)
The Saint Sees It Through (1947)
BY OTHER WRITERS
Vendetta for the Saint (1965; written by Harry Harrison)
The Saint and the Fiction-Makers (1969; written by John Cruse, Fleming Lee & Leslie Charteris) | Buy the book | Kindle it
This cash-in novelization of the theatrical film The Fiction-Makers (cobbled together from two episodes of the TV show) was itself cobbled together by John Cruse (who wrote the original script), Fleming Lee (who went on to write seven or so of the later Saint novels) and , although as usual only the latter was credited.
The Saint in Pursuit (1970; written by Fleming Lee)
Based on the comic strip by Leslie Charteris
The Saint and the People Importers (1971; written with Fleming Lee)
Adaptation of a teleplay by Donald James, based on a story by Fleming Lee
The Saint in Pursuit (1971; written with Fleming Lee)
The Saint and the Hapsburg Necklace (1976; written by Fleming Lee)
The Saint in Trouble (1978; by John Kruse)
The Saint and the Templar Treasure (1979; written by Fleming Lee)
Salvage for the Saint (1983; written by Peter Bloxsom) | Buy the book | Kindle it
Adaptation of teleplay by John Kruse
Capture the Saint (1997; written by Burl Barer)
The Saint (1997; written by Burl Barer)
Novelization of the film

SHORT STORIES

“The Story of a Dead Man” (March 2, 1929, The Thriller)
“The Five Kings” (May 4, 1929, The Thriller; aka “The Man Who Was Clever”)
“The Man Who Was Clever” (May 4, 1929)
“Crook’s Cargo” (October 19, 1929, The Thriller; aka “The Lawless Lady”)
“The Logical Adventure” (May 24 1930, The Thriller; aka “Without Warning”)
“The Man Who Could Not Die” (October 11, 1930, The Thriller; aka “Treachery”)
“The Policeman with Wings” (1930, Enter the Saint; revised from “The House on the Moors” August 24, 1929, The Thriller)
“Bumped Off” (March 7, 1931, The Thriller; aka “The Impossible Crime”)
“Inland Revenue” (April 25, 1931, The Thriller; aka “The Masked Menace”)
“Black Face” (June 6, 1931, The Thriller; aka “The Million Pound Day”)
“The Kidnapped Killer” (August 8, 1931, The Thriller; aka “The Melancholy Journey of Mr. Teal”)
“The Wonderful War” (1931; revised from “The Judgement of the Joker,” June 1, 1929, The Thriller)
“The Brain Workers” (Aug 21 1932, Empire News; aka “To the Call of Beauty in Distress”)
“Diamond Cut Diamond” (August 28, 1932, Empire News; aka “The Export Trade”)
“Shanghaied!” (September 4, 1932, Empire News; aka “The Unblemished Bootlegger”)
“The Owners’ Handicap” (September 11, 1932, Empire News; aka “Won by a Neck”)
“Double-Cross” (September 18 1932; , Empire News; aka “The Tough Egg”)
“The Bad Baron” (Sep 25 1932, Empire News)
“The Brass Buddha” (October 2, 1932, Empire News)
“The Perfect Crime” (October 9, 1932, Empire News; aka “The Perfect Touch)
“The Gold Flood” (October 15, 1932, The Thriller; aka “The Gold Standard”)
“The Appalling Politician” (October 16, 1932, Empire News; aka “Third Degree Fires”)
“The Mail Swindle” (October 20, 1932, Empire News; aka “The New Swindle”)
“The Bullying Major” (October 23, 1932, Empire News; aka “The Unpopular Landlord”)
“The Five Thousand Pound Kiss” (November 6, 1932, Empire News; aka “The 5000 Pound Kiss” and “The Star of Mandalay”)
“The Blind Spot” (November 13, 1932, Empire News; aka “The Stolen Formulas”)
“The Man from St. Louis” (November 19, 1932, The Thriller; aka “The Saint — Hi-Jacker”)
“The Green Goods Man” (November 21, 1932, Empire News; aka “The Very Green Goods Man”)
“Case of the Lady Informer” (November 27, 1932, Empire News; aka “The Unusual Ending”)
“The Man Who Liked Toys” (September 1933, The American Magazine)
“The Death Penalty” (Fall 1933, Star Novels Magazine)
“The Ingenuous Colonel” (October 1, 1933, Empire News; aka “Keep an Eye on the Clock”)
“The Unfortunate Financier” (October 8, 1933; Empire News; aka “The Whipping of Uncle Oates”)
“The Inventions of Oscar Newdick” (October 15, 1933, Empire News; aka “The Newdick Helicopter”)
“The Prince of Cherkessia” (October 22, Empire News; aka “The Vanishing of Prince Schomy”)
“The Treasure of Turk’s Lane” (October 29, Empire News)
“The Slave Driver Sees the Red Light” (November 5, 1933, Empire News; aka “The Sleepless Knight”)
“The Smashing of Another Racket” (November 12, 1933, Empire News; aka “The Uncritical Publisher”)
“The Damsel in Distress” (November 19, 1933, Empire News; aka “The Kidnapping of the Fickle Financier”)
“Green Eyes of the Greedy Brothers” (November 26, 1933, Empire News; aka “The Loving Brother”)
“The Moustache and the Tea-Cup” (December 3, 1933, Empire News; aka “The Tall Timber”)
“The Book of Fate” (February 10, 1934, The Thriller; aka “The Simon Templar Foundation”)
“The Higher Finance” (February 24, 1934, The Thriller; aka “On the Night of the 13th”)
“After the Murder” (March 24, 1934, The Thriller; aka “The Art of Alibi”)
“The High Fence” (June 16, 1934, The Thriller; aka “The Man Who Knew”)
“The Elusive Ellshaw” (July 28, 1934, The Thriller; aka “The Race Train Crime”)
“The Golden Journey” (September 1934, Harper’s Bazaar; revised from Nash’s Magazine, 1934)
“The Art Photographer” (1934, Boodle)
“The Mixture As Before” (1934, Boodle)
“The Noble Sportsman” (1934, Boodle)
“Date in the Dark” (December 1935, The American Magazine; aka “The Man Who Was Lucky”)
“All Aboard for Shanghai” (February 1936, The American Magazine; aka “The Rhine Maiden”)
“The Saint and the Siren” (June 1936, The American Magazine; aka “The Smart Detective”)
“The Spanish Cow” (July 1936, Pearson’s Magazine)
“Don’t Shoot the Mayor” (August 1936, The American Magazine; aka “The Well-Meaning Mayor”)
“The Saint in Hollywood” (October 1936, The American Magazine; aka “The Wicked Cousin”)
“The Return of the Saint” (February 13, 1937, The Thriller; aka “The Spanish War”)
“The Beauty Specialist” (March 27, 1937, The Thriller; aka “The Z Man”)
“Lucia” (November 1937, Double Detective; aka “The Saint Sits In”)
“The Man Who Liked Ants” (December 1937, Double Detective)
“The Unlicensed Victuallers” (1937)
“The Miracle Tea Party” (January 29, 1938, The Thriller; aka “The T.N.Tea Party”)
“The Invisible Millionaire” (June 1938, Black Mask)
“The Affair of Hogsbotham” (August 6, 1938, Detective Fiction Weekly; aka “The Saint at Bay”)
“The Charitable Countess” (March 4, 1938, Detective Fiction Weekly)
“The Star Producers” (March 18, 1939, Detective Fiction Weekly)
“The Mug’s Game” (1939)
“Palm Springs” (May 19, 1941, Life Magazine)
Presented as a photoplay
“Palm Springs” (1942, The Saint Goes West)
“The Saint in Trouble” (November 1943, Flynn’s Detective Fiction; aka “The Sizzling Saboteur”)
“The Black Market” (March 1944, Black Mask; aka “Murder Goes to Market”)
“Luella” (October 1946, Rex Stout Mystery Magazine; aka “Operation Luella”)
“The King of Beggars” (May 1947, The American Magazine)
“Lida” (August 1947, EQMM; aka “The Quarterdeck Club”)
“The Darker Drink” (October 1947, Thrilling Wonder Stories; aka “Dawn”)
“The Masked Angel” (Winter 1947, Mystery Book Magazine)
“Teresa” (1947, New York News; aka “The Uncertain Widow”)
“Jeannine” (February 1948, Argosy; aka “The Saint and the Lovely Sinner”)
“Emily” (November 1948, EQMM; aka “Salt on His Tail”)
“Iris” (Winter 1948, Mystery Book Magazine; aka “The Man Who Murdered Shakespeare”)
“The Arrow of God” (September 1949, EQMM)
“The Loaded Tourist” (March 1953, Manhunt)
“The Covetous Headsman” (Spring 1953, The Saint Detective Magazine)
“The Angel’s Eye” (June-July 1953, The Saint Detective Magazine)
“The Latin Touch” (August-September 1953, The Saint Detective Magazine)
“The Revolution Racket” (January 1954, The Saint Mystery Magazine)
“The Pearls of Peace” (March 1954, The Saint Mystery Magazine)
“The Unkind Philanthropist” (May 1954, The Saint Mystery Magazine)
“The Talented Husband” (July 1954, The Saint Mystery Magazine)
“The Black Commissar” (September 1954, The Saint Mystery Magazine)
“The Man from Moscow” (September 1954, The Saint Mystery Magazine; aka “The Black Commissar”)
“The Old Treasure Hunt” (October 1954, The Saint Mystery Magazine; aka “The Old Treasure Story”)
“The Questing Tycoon” (December 1954, The Saint Mystery Magazine)
“The Effete Angler” (February 1955, The Saint Mystery Magazine)
“The Sporting Chance” (April 1955, The Saint Mystery Magazine)
“The Romantic Matron” (June 1955, The Saint Mystery Magazine)
“The Golden Frog” (August 1955, The Saint Mystery Magazine)
“The Pluperfect Lady” (November 1955, The Saint Mystery Magazine)
“The Reluctant Nudist” (January 1956, The Saint Mystery Magazine)
“The Patient Playboy” (March 1956, The Saint Mystery Magazine)
“The Lovelorn Sheikh” (June 1956, The Saint Mystery Magazine; aka “The Lovelorn Sheik”)
“The Unescapable Word” (August 1956, The Saint Mystery Magazine)
“The Careful Terrorist” (October 1956, The Saint Mystery Magazine)
“The Bunco Artists” (December 1956, The Saint Mystery Magazine)
“The Gentle Ladies” (February 1957, The Saint Mystery Magazine)
“The Perfect Sucker” (April 1957, The Saint Mystery Magazine)
“The Happy Suicide” (June 1957, The Saint Mystery Magazine)
“The Good Medicine” (September 1957, The Saint Mystery Magazine)
“The Fruitful Land” (December 1957, The Saint Mystery Magazine)
“The Better Mousetrap” (March 1958, The Saint Mystery Magazine)
“The Fast Women” (June 1958, The Saint Mystery Magazine)
“The Percentage Player” (September 1958, The Saint Mystery Magazine)
“The Element of Doubt” (December 1958, The Saint)
“The Convenient Monster” (March 1959, The Saint)
“The Water Merchant” (June 1959, The Saint)
“The Ever-Loving Spouse” (September 1959, The Saint)
“The Cleaner Cure” (December 1959, The Saint)
“The Saint and the Cleaner Cure” (December 1959, The Saint; aka “The Cleaner Cure”)
“The Uncured Ham” (September 1961, The Saint Mystery Magazine)
“The Bigger Game” (December 1961, The Saint Mystery Magazine)
“The Intemperate Reformer” (February 1962, The Saint Mystery Magazine)
“The Helpful Pirate” (May 1962, The Saint Mystery Magazine)
“The Ugly Impresario” (August 1962, The Saint Mystery Magazine)
“The Jolly Undertaker” (November 1962, The Saint Mystery Magazine)
“The Prodigal Miser” (April 1963, The Saint Mystery Magazine)
“The Hopeless Heiress” (July 1963, The Saint Mystery Magazine)
“The Russian Prisoner” (October 1963, The Saint Mystery Magazine)
DATE UNKNOWN
“The Adoring Socialite”
“Arizona”
“The Art Collectors”
“The Benevolent Burglary”
“The Case of the Frightened Innkeeper”
“The Death Game”
“The Dizzy Daughter” (from an original story by D. R. Motton and teleplay by Leigh Vance)
“The Gadget Lovers” (from a teleplay by John Kruse)
“The Imprudent Professor”
“Judith” (revised version of “Paris Adventure,” January 1934, American Magazine)
“The Masterpiece Merchant”
“The Midas Double” (by Peter Bloxsom; from a teleplay by John Kruse)
“The National Debt” (rewritten from “The Secret of Beacon Inn”, April 6, 1929, The Thriller)
“The Pastor’s Problem”
“The Pawn Gambit” (by Peter Bloxsom; from a teleplay by Donald James)
“The Persistent Patriots”
“The Power Artist”
“The Red Sabbath”
“The Unsaintly Santa”

COLLECTIONS

Enter the Saint (1930) | Buy the book | Kindle it
Alias the Saint (1931)
Featuring the Saint (1931) | Buy the book | Kindle it
Wanted for Murder (1931)
Once More the Saint (1933)
The Brighter Buccaneer (1933; aka “The Saint and Mr. Teal”)
Boodle (1934)
The Misfortunes of Mr. Teal (1934)
The Saint Goes On ( 1934)
The Ace of Knaves (1937)
Follow the Saint (1939)
The Happy Highwayman (1939)
The Saint Goes West (1942)
The Saint at Large (1943)
Paging the Saint (1945)
The Saint on Guard (1945)
Call for the Saint (1948)
Saint Errant (1949)
Arrest the Saint! (1951)
The Second Saint Omnibus (1952)
The Saint in Europe (1954)
Arrest the Saint (1956)
The Saint on the Spanish Main 1956)
The Saint Around the World (1957)
Concerning the Saint (1958)
Thanks to the Saint (1958)
The Saint Cleans Up (1959)
Senor Saint (1959)
The Saint to the Rescue (1961)
Trust the Saint (1962)
The Saint in the Sun (1964)
The Saint on TV (1968; written by Fleming Lee)
Adaptations of teleplays by John Kruse.
The Saint Returns (1969)
Adaptations of teleplays by D.R.Motton, Leigh Vance and John Kruse
The Saint Abroad (1970; written by Fleming Lee)
Based on teleplays by Michael Pertwee
Catch the Saint (1975)
Based on stories by Norman Worker
The Saint in Trouble (1978)
The Saint: Good As Gold (1978)
Count on the Saint (1980)
The Fantastic Saint (1983)

FILMS

THE SAINT IN NEW YORK
(1938, RKO)
69 minutes
Premiere: June 3, 1938
Based on The Saint in New York by Leslie Charteris
Directed by Ben Holme
Produced by William Sistrom
Starring Louis Hayward as THE SAINT
Also starring Kay Sutton, Sig Rumann, Jonathan Hale, Jack Carson
THE SAINT STRIKES BACK | Buy it on DVD
(1939, RKO)
64 minutes
Premiere: March 10, 1939
Based on The Saint Meets His Match by Leslie Charteris
Screenplay by John Twist
Directed by John Farrow
Produced by Robert Sisk
Starring George Sanders as THE SAINT
Also starring Wendy Barrie, Jonathan Hale
THE SAINT IN LONDON | Buy it on DVD
(1939, RKO)
73 minutes
Premiere: June 30, 1939
Based on the Leslie Charteris short story “The Million Pound Day” by Leslie Charteris
Screenplay by Lynn Root and Frank Fenton
Directed by John Paddy Carstairs
Produced by William Sistrom
Starring George Sanders as THE SAINT
Also starring Sally Gray, David BurnsGordon McLeod
THE SAINT’S DOUBLE TROUBLE | Buy it on DVD
(1940, RKO)
67 minutes
Premiere: January 26, 1940
Based on characters created by Leslie Charteris
Screenplay by Leslie Charteris and Ben Holmes
Directed by Jack Hiveley
Produced by Cliff Reid
Starring George Sanders as THE SAINT
Also starring Helene Whitney, Jonathan Hale, Bela Lugosi
Based on original story by Charteris and Ben Holmes, but Charteris ended up being dissatisfied with the film.
THE SAINT TAKES OVER | Buy it on DVD
(1940, RKO)
69 minutes
Premiere: June 7, 1940
Based on characters created by Leslie Charteris
Screenplay by Lynn Root and Frank Fenton
Directed by Jack Hiveley
Produced by Howard Benedict
Starring George Sanders as THE SAINT
Also starring Wendy Barrie, Jonathan Hale, Paul Guilfoyle
THE SAINT IN PALM SPRINGS | Buy it on DVD
(1941, RKO )
66 minutes
Premiere: January 24, 1941
Based on an original story by Leslie Charteris
Screenplay by Leslie Charteris and Jerry Cady
Directed by Jack Hiveley
Produced by Howard Benedict
Starring George Sanders as THE SAINT
Also starring Wendy Barrie, Paul Guilfoyle, Jonathan Hale
Although based on an orginal story by Charteris, the finished product bears little resemblance to it. The photoplay versionthat appeared in the May 19, 1941 issue of Life (purportedly to promote the film), and the subsequent short story, “Palm Springs,” that showed up in the 1942 collection, The Saint Goes West, were written afterward, and are completely different than the movie or the original plot outline.
THE SAINT’S VACATION | Buy it on DVD
(1943, RKO)
78 minutes
Premiere: May 9, 1941
Based on The Saint’s Getaway by Leslie Charteris
Screenplay by Leslie Charteris and Jeffry Dell
Directed by Leslie Fenton
Produced by William Sistrom
Starring Hugh Sinclair as THE SAINT
Also starring Sally Gray, Arthur MacRae, Gordon McLeod
THE SAINT MEETS THE TIGER | Buy it on DVD
(1943, RKO)
Premiere: July 29, 1943
Based on The Saint Meets The Tiger by Leslie Charteris
Directed by Paul Stein
Produced by William Sistrom
Starring Hugh Sinclair as THE SAINT
Also starring Clifford Evans, Jean Gillie, Gordon McLeod
THE SAINT’S RETURN
(aka “The Saint’s Girl Friday”)
(1953, RKO)
73 minutes
Premiere (U.K.): October 12, 1953
Based on characters created by Leslie Charteris
Story and screenplay by Allan MacKinnon
Directed by Seymour Friedmann
Produced by Julian Lesser and Anthony Hinds
Starring Louis Hayward as THE SAINT
Also starring Naomi Chance, Sidney Taffler, Diana Dors, Russell Enoch, Charles Victor
When it was released by RKO in the States on April 15, 1954, the film was re-christened The Saint’s Girl Friday and was shortened to 68 minutes.
LE SAINT MÈNE LA DANSE
(aka “The Dance of Death”)
(1960, Films Du Cyclope/Lux Films [France])
In French
Based (loosely) on “Palm Springs” by Leslie Charteris
Screenplay by Albert Simonin and Jacques Nahum
Directed by Jacques Nahum
Starring Felix Marten as SIMON TEMPLAR
Also starring Jean Desailly
Released in English in the US by Paramount Pictures. Although the main character’s name was Simon Templar, the “Saint” was never mentioned, except in the original French title.
LE SAINT PREND L’AFFUT
(aka “The Saint Against Agent 001”)
(1960, Intermondie Prods. [France])
90 minutes
Based on characters created by Leslie Charteris
Directed by Christian Jaque
Starring Jean Marais as SIMON TEMPLAR
Also starring Jess Hahn
This film was apparently distributed in Italy and several other European markets, but not in any English-speaking country.
THE FICTION-MAKERS
(1968, ITC Television)
105 minutes
Based on characters created by Leslie Charteris
Screenplay by John Kruse and Harry W. Junkin
Produced by Robert S. Baker.
Starring Roger Moore as THE SAINT
Also starring Sylvia Syms, Justine Lord, Kenneth J. Warren
Cobbled together from two episodes of the popular TV show, and released to theatres, this hilarious send-up of the James Bond films and the art of writing works on so many levels of irony, not the least of which is that Moore later would be playing Bond himself. A cash-in novelization of the film, The Saint and the Fiction-Makers , was published in 1968, and was written by John Kruse (who wrote the original script), Fleming Lee and Leslie Charteris, although only the latter was credited.
VENDETTA FOR THE SAINT | Buy it on DVD | Watch it now!
(1969, ITC Television)
90 minutes
Based on Vendetta for The Saint by Leslie Charteris
Screenplay by Harry W. Junkin
Directed by Jim O’Connolly
Produced by Robert S. Baker
Starring Roger Moore as THE SAINT
Also starring Ian Hendry, Rosemary Dexter, Aimi Macdonald as Lilly
An actual feature film boasting an original screenplay and starring Roger Moore as the Saint, that ISN’T a couple of TV episodes stitched together?
THE SAINT AND THE BRAVE GOOSE
(aka “Vanishing Point”)
(1980, ITC Television)
90 minutes
Based on characters created by Leslie Charteris
Screenplay by John Kruse
Directed by Cyril Frankel
Produced by Robert S. BakerStarring Ian Olgivy as THE SAINT
Also starring Gayle Hunnicutt, Stratford Johns, Derren Nesbitt
Another “feature film” cobbled together from two television episodes, this time from Return of the Saint, starring Ian Olgivy. It also aired as a TV movie in many countries.
THE SAINT | Buy it on DVD | Watch it now!
(1997, Paramount)
116 minutes
Based on characters created by Leslie Charteris
Written by Jonathan Hensleigh and Wesley Strick
Directed by Phillip Noyce
Produced by Robert Evans, William Macdonald, Mace Neufeld, and David Brown
Executive Producers are Robert S. Baker and Paul Hitchcock
Starring Val Kilmer as THE SAINT
Also starring Elisabeth Shue, Valery Nikolaev, Rade Serbedzija, Evgueni Lazarev.

RADIO

THE SAINT
(1940, Radio Athlone)
6 episodes
Based on characters created by Leslie Charteris
Starring Terrence DeMarney as THE SAINT
This Irish production was the first known radio adaptation of The Saint.
THE SAINT
(1945, NBC)
First broadcast: January 4, 1945
Last broadcast: March 31, 1945
Based on characters created by Leslie Charteris
Writers: Leslie Charteris
Sponsor: Bromo-Seltzer
Starring Edgar Barrier as THE SAINT
Early promos promised that “all scripting will be under the supervision of Charteris, who will oversee the adaptations of his published works. If any originals are to be done, he’ll do them.”
THE SAINT
(1945, CBS)
13 episodes
First broadcast: June 20, 1945
Last broadcast: September 12, 1945
Based on characters created by Leslie Charteris
Sponsor: Campbell’s Soup
Starring Brian Aherne as THE SAINT
Ran as a summer replacement for The Jack Carson Show
THE SAINT
(1947-48, CBS West)
First broadcast: July 9, 1947
Last broadcast: June 30, 1948
Based on characters created by Leslie Charteris
Sponsor: Lever Brothers
Starring Vincent Price as THE SAINT
Vincent Price would customarily close the program with a brief personal message aimed at one of his several pet causes; usually a plea for tolerance and acceptance, and against racial, ethnic and religious discrimination. This continued throughout the subsequent Mutual rebroadcasts and the later show on NBC, and were obviously heartfelt and sincere.
THE SAINT
(1949-50, Mutual)
First broadcast: July 10, 1949
Last broadcast: May 28, 1950
Based on characters created by Leslie Charteris
Sponsor: The Ford Motor Company
Starring Vincent Price as THE SAINT
THE SAINT
(1950-51, NBC)
First broadcast: June 11, 1950
Last broadcast: October 14, 1951
Based on characters created by Leslie Charteris
Produced by James L. Saphier
Directed by Helen West
Sponsor: The Ford Motor Company
Starring Vincent Price as THE SAINT
- “Santa Claus Is No Saint” (December 24, 1950)
THE SAINT
(1995, BBC)
3 episodes
Based on characters created by Leslie Charteris
Written by Neville Teller and Roger Danes
Starring Paul Rhys as THE SAINT
Also starring Kim Thompson

COMICS

SILVER STREAK COMICS
(1939-46, Lev Gleason Publications)
23 issues
Comic anthology, featuring a variety of recurring characters.
- “The Saint” (February 1942, #18)
  Based on characters created by Leslie Charteris
  The first appearance of The Saint in comics, scripted by Leslie Charteris. Sadly, despite being highlighted on the cover, he didn’t appear again until five years later…
THE SAINT
(1947-52, Avon Periodicals)
12 issues
Based on characters created by Leslie Charteris
Mr. Templar finally gets his own comic book, but only 12 issues in five years? The world, apparently, was not set on fire.
THE SAINT: SIZZLIN’ SABOTEUR
(2012, Moonstone Comics)
20 pages
1 issue
Based on characters created by Leslie Charteris
Written by Leslie Charteris, Mel Odom
Art by Eduardo Barreto

COMIC STRIPS

THE SAINT
(1948-61, New York Herald Tribune Syndicate)
Newspaper strip
Based on characters created by Leslie Charteris
Writers: Leslie Charteris, Harry Harrison
Artists: Mike Roy, John Spranger, Bob Lubbers, Doug Wildey, Jack Davis
For some reason, The Saint sported a beard when Spranger drew him.

GRAPHIC NOVELS

THE SAINT: THE MAN WHO WOULDN’T DIE
(2014, Moonstone Comics)
54 pages
Black & white
Based on characters created by Leslie Charteris
Written by Leslie Charteris, Mel Odom
Art by Scott J. Larson, Barbara Kaalberg

TELEVISION

THE SAINT | Buy the complete series
(1962-69, ITV)
118 episodes
Based on characters created by Leslie Charteris
Writers: John Kruse, Harry W. Junkin, Gerald Kelsey, Dick Sharples, Michael Cramoy, Richard Harris, Lewis Davidson, Brian Degas, John Roddick
Script editor: Harry W. Junkin
Directors: John Gilling, Jeremy Summers, Robert S. Baker, James Hill, Leslie Norman, Michael Truman
Original theme by Edwin Astley
Starring Roger Moore as THE SAINT
- Season One | Watch it now!
- “The Talented Husband” (October 4, 1962)
- “The Latin Touch” (October 11, 1962)
- “The Careful Terrorist” (October 18, 1962)
- “The Covetous Headsman” (October 25, 1962)
- “The Loaded Tourist” (November 1, 1962)
- “The Pearls of Peace” (November 8, 1962)
- “The Arrow of God” (November 15, 1962)
- “The Element of Doubt” (November 22, 1962)
- “The Effete Angler” (November 29, 1962)
- “The Golden Journey” (December 6, 1962)
- “The Man Who Was Lucky” (December 13, 1962)
- “The Charitable Countess” (December 20, 1962)
- Season Two | Watch it now!
- “The Fellow Traveller” (September 19, 1963)
- “Starring the Saint” (September 26, 1963)
- “Judith” (October 3, 1963)
- “Oct 63 Teresa” (October 10, 1963)
- “The Elusive Ellshaw” (October 17, 1963)
- “Marcia” (October 24, 1963)
- “The Work of Art” (October 31, 1963)
- “Iris” (November 7, 1963)
- “The King of the Beggars” (November 14, 1963)
- “The Rough Diamonds” (November 21, 1963)
- “The Saint Plays with Fire” (November 28, 1963)
- “The Well-Meaning Mayor” (December 5, 1963)
- “The Sporting Chance” (December 12, 1963)
- “The Bunco Artists” (December 19, 1963)
- “The Benevolent Burglary” (December 26, 1963)
- “The Wonderful War” (January 2, 1964)
- “The Noble Sportsman” (January 9, 1964)
- “The Romantic Matron” (January 16, 1964)
- “Luella” (January 23, 1964)
- “The Lawless Lady” (January 30, 1964)
- “The Good Medicine” (February 6, 1964)
- “The Invisible Millionaire” (February 13, 1964)
- “The High Fence” (February 20, 1964)
- “Sophia” (February 27, 1964)
- “The Gentle Ladies” (March 5, 1964)
- “The Ever-Loving Spouse” (March 12, 1964)
- “The Saint Sees It Through” (March 19, 1964)
- Season Three | Watch it now!
- “The Miracle Tea Party” (October 8, 1964)
- “Lida” (October 15, 1964)
- “Jeannine” (October 22, 1964)
- “The Scorpion” (October 29, 1964)
- “The Revolution Racket” (November 5, 1964)
- “The Saint Steps In” (November 12, 1964)
- “The Loving Brothers” (November 19, 1964)
- “The Man Who Liked Toys” (November 26, 1964)
- “The Death Penalty” (December 3, 1964)
- “The Imprudent Politician” (December 10, 1964)
- “The Hi-Jackers” (December 17, 1964)
- “The Unkind Philanthropist” (December 24, 1964)
- “The Damsel in Distress” (December 31, 1964)
- “The Contract” (January 7, 1965)
- “The Set-Up” (January 14, 1965)
- “The Rhine Maiden” (January 21, 1965)
- “The Inescapable Word” (January 28, 1965)
- “The Sign of the Claw” (February 4, 1965)
- “The Golden Frog” (February 11, 1965)
- “The Frightened Inn-Keeper” (February 18, 1965)
- “Sibao” (February 25, 1965)
- “The Crime of the Century” (March 4, 1965)
- “The Happy Suicide” (March 11, 1965)
- Season Four | Watch it now!
- “The Chequered Flag” (July 1, 1965)
- “The Abductors” (July 8, 1965)
- “The Crooked Ring” (July 15, 1965)
- “The Smart Detective” (July 22, 1965)
- “The Persistent Parasites” (July 29, 1965)
- “The Man Who Could Not Die” (August 5, 1965)
- “The Saint Bids Diamonds” (August 12, 1965)
- “The Spanish Cow” (August 19, 1965)
- “The Old Treasure Story” (August 26, 1965)
- Season Five | Watch it now!
- “The Queen’s Ransom” (September 30, 1966)
- “Interlude in Venice” (October 7, 1966)
- “The Russian Prisoner” (October 14, 1966)
- “The Reluctant Revolution” (October 21, 1966)
- “The Helpful Pirate” (October 28, 1966)
- “The Convenient Monster” (November 4, 1966)
- “The Angel’s Eye” (November 11, 1966)
- “The Man Who Liked Lions” (November 18, 1966)
- “The Better Mousetrap” (November 25, 1966)
- “Little Girl Lost” (December 2, 1966)
- “Paper Chase” (December 9, 1966)
- “Locate and Destroy” (December 16, 1966)
- “Flight Plan” (December 23, 1966)
- “Escape Route” (December 30, 1966)
- “The Persistent Patriots” (January 6, 1967)
- “The Fast Women” (January 13, 1967)
- “The Death Game” (January 20, 1967)
- “The Art Collectors” (January 27, 1967)
- “To Kill a Saint” (February 24, 1967)
- “The Counterfeit Countess” (March 3, 1967)
- “Simon and Delilah” (March 24, 1967)
- “Island of Chance” (April 7, 1967)
- “The Gadget Lovers” (April 21, 1967)
- “A Double in Diamonds” (May 5, 1967)
- “The Power Artists” (May 19, 1967)
- “When Spring Is Sprung” (June 2, 1967)
- “The Gadic Collection” (June 22, 1967)
- Season Six | Watch it now!
- “The Best Laid Schemes” (September 29, 1968)
- “Invitation to Danger” (October 6, 1968)
- “Legacy for the Saint” (October 13, 1968)
- “The Desperate Diplomat” (October 20, 1968)
- “The Organisation Man” (October 27, 1968)
- “The Double Take” (November 3, 1968)
- “The Time to Die” (November 10, 1968)
- “The Master Plan” (November 17, 1968)
- “The House on Dragon’s Rock” (November 24, 1968)
- “The Scales of Justice” (December 1, 1968)
- “The Fiction-Makers (Part One)” (December 8, 1968)
- “The Fiction-Makers (Part Two)” (December 15, 1968)
- “The People Importers” (December 22, 1968)
- “Where the Money Is” (December 29, 1968)
- “Vendetta for the Saint (Part One)” (January 5, 1969)
- “Vendetta for the Saint (Part Two” (January 12, 1969)
- “The Ex-King of Diamonds” (January 19, 1969)
- “The Man Who Gambled with Life” (January 26, 1969)
- “Portrait of Brenda” (February 2, 1969)
- “The World Beater” (February 9, 1969)

RETURN OF THE SAINT | Buy the complete series
(1978-79, ITC)
Based on characters created by Leslie Charteris
Writers: John Kruse, John Goldsmith, Terence Feeley, Morris Farhi, Leon Griffiths, George Markstein, Tony Williamson, Michael Pertwee, Philip Broadley
Starring Ian Olgivy as THE SAINT
Also starring Gayle Hunnicutt
- “The Judas Game”
- “The Nightmare Man”
- “Duel in Venice”
- “One Black September”
- “The Village that Sold its Soul”
- “Assault Force”
- “Yesterday’s Hero”
- “The Arrangement”
- “The Poppy Chain”
- “The Armageddon Alternative”
- “The Imprudent Professor”
- “Signal Stop, screenplay”
- “The Roman Touch”
- “Tower Bridge is Falling Down”
- “The Debt Collectors”
- “Collision Course: The Brave Goose”
- “Collision Course: The Sixth Man”
- “Hot Run”
- “The Murder Cartel”
- “The Obono Affair”
- “Vicious Circle”
- “Dragonseed”
- “Appointment in Florence”
- “The Diplomat’s Daughter”
THE SAINT
(1989, Celtic Films/LWT)
6 made-for-TV movies
Based on characters created by Leslie Charteris
Writers: Anthony Horowitz, Peter Palliser
Starring Simon Dutton as THE SAINT
Guest stars: Vince Edwards, Gayle Hunnicut, John Astin, Rebecca Gilling, Ed Devereaux, Pamela Sue Martin, Morgan Brittany, Malcolm Stoddard, John astin
Short-lived series of made-for-TV movies, featuring plenty of exotic location shooting.
- “The Brazilian Connection” (1989) | Buy on DVD
- “The Blue Dulac” (1989) | Buy on DVD
- “Fun in Fear Park” (1989) | Buy on DVD
- “Wrong Number” (1989) | Buy on DVD
- “The Big Bang” (1989) | Buy on DVD
- “The Software Murders” (1989) | Buy on DVD
THE SAINT | Watch it now!
(2013, MPCA/Silver Screen)
Made for TV movie
Based on characters created by Leslie Charteris
Written by Chris Lunt, Ed Whitmore, Jesse Alexander, Tony Giglio
Directed by Ernie Barbarash (originally Simon West)
Executive producer: Roger Moore
Starring Adam Rayner as THE SAINT
Also starring Eliza Dushku, Greg Grunberg, James Remar, Sammi Hanratty, Kirsty Mitchell, Yani Gellman, Enrique Murciano, Thomas Kretschmann, Beatrice Rosen, Alec Secareanu, Sonalii Castillo, Christopher Villiers, Roger Moore, Ian Olgivy
Talk about failing upward. This dream project by Roger Moore (he served as executive producer and appears in a cameo) was originally supposed to serve as a pilot for a proposed new Saint television series in 2013. Unsatisfied with the results, the film was reimagined and rebooted, with additional scenes shot years later (TWICE!), and the whole thing was eventually released (dumped?) in 2017 as a feature film. Somewhere. Allegedly. Before, ultimately being released directly to market. Even the appearances of former TV Saints Ian Olgivy and Roger Moore (who informs Rayner that “The world needs a Saint”) couldn’t save this one.

DVD COLLECTIONS

The George Sanders Saint Collection (2011) | Buy this DVD
Contains all five of Sanders’ exploits as the Saint. Sanders was arguably the best of the film Saints, all cocksure charm and cold-blooded efficiency.
The Hugh Sinclair Collection | Buy the DVD
Rounds up The Saint’s Vacation and The Saint Meets the Tiger, both starring Hugh Sinclair.

Simon Templar (aka “The Saint”)