tadpole-596-918256 Review of The Saint in Palm Springs

The Saint in Palm Springs (1940)

One of my favorite Scripture verses is, "You cannot make a saint . . . "

[6/10 · 23 December 2018]

" . . . without scrambling a few eggs." Most people appreciate having Old King Herod to kick around as the Bad Guy in their X-Mas Pageants, since his slaughter of all but one of the Star-struck babes adds a zesty bittersweet poignant touch to the Nativity Tale. Similarly, THE SAINT movie franchise from the mid-1900s exalts in racking up scads of collateral damage. "Simon Templar" may not be toting a military-style assault rifle, but he might as well be randomly spraying bullets around from such a firearm, if THE SAINT IN PALM SPRINGS is a valid sample of his cinematic handiwork. Simon brushes shoulders with an uncle on an important errand for the niece, a local cop, and a blonde equestrian chick. They ALL drop dead at his feet. I think that there's an old hymn that starts out, "For all the Saints, who from their Templars rest . . . " and THE SAINT IN PALM SPRINGS helps me to understand this previously obscure lyric. However, YOU can rest assured that when Simon comes to YOUR neighborhood, all is NOT well!