The Saint in London (1939) User Reviews

No one played Charteris's Saint better than Sanders

[ADAM-53 · 7/10 · 15 December 1998]

Forget Val Kilmer -- to find out what the Saint is all about, watch this entry, or 1938's Saint in New York or 1941's The Saint's Vacation. These three are closer to Charteris's literary creation (with Ian Ogilvy's TV series, Return of The Saint, in the late Seventies) than anything else. As Simon Templar, George Sanders is ruthless, cool, clinical and just on the right side of legality by a cat's whisker. Directed by John Paddy Carstairs (whom Leslie Charteris dedicated a book of short stories to 'for all the nice things he's (sic) done for the Saint)), the only director to work on both the films and the Roger Moore TV series, this hits the spot in a way most other entires don't. While Moore made the character his own, no one played Charteris's Saint better than Sanders on screen and Vincent Price on radio. Do youself a favour and watch this film to find out why.

George Sanders as the Saint

[blanche-2 · 7/10 · 31 December 2006]

George Sanders is "The Saint in London," having just returned from New York. This time he's involved in stopping a gang's attempt to steal one million pounds in foreign currency and take it out of the country. Along the way, the consulate from that country is forced to authorize the currency production. He gets away from his captors and is picked up by the Saint, but eventually dies.

The Saint has an entanglement with Inspector Claud Teal, who nevertheless works with him. And there's a lovely woman in the picture, played by Sally Gray, who insists on being part of the caper.

George Sanders was a wonderful actor and gives The Saint a lightness and smoothness, so the movie flows beautifully. It's not much of a story, but the characterizations and Sanders' performance carry it. Recommended for a fun, breezy watch.

George Sanders was the best "Saint" in the series, but he needs a better script.

[Art-22 · 5/10 · 29 October 1998]

This film is more of an adventure than a mystery, since The Saint is tipped off at the start that Henry Oscar is up to no good, and he quickly learns he's involved in a plot to print £1,000,000 in counterfeit banknotes. The baddies are pointed out early and there are no twists that would have made it more interesting. Even when a murder is committed, you know one of the baddies did it, so it doesn't matter much who it was. George Sanders is excellent in the title role and has a good rapport with his leading lady, Sally Gray, a socialite who helps him for the thrill of it. He also gets considerable help from a pickpocket, David Burns, who is hired by Sanders when he promises to go straight, and of all people, his nemesis from Scotland Yard, Gordon McLeod. I guess I prefer a true mystery, one where clues are given and you can deduce "who done it" if you're clever enough. But even a crime drama such as this, where you simply watch it unfold, could be enjoyable if it were scripted better.

Best Saint film

[Barney Bat · 11 November 2005]

Or my favorite, at least. I like the other Sanders entries, Hugh Sinclair's two shots at the role, and Louis Hayward's SAINT IN NEW YORK, but this one just seems to completely capture the lighthearted and eccentric but adventurous feel of the classic British "thriller" to a tee. The slightly giddy but very beautiful Sally Gray is a wonderful leading lady, and David Burns (a versatile and talented Broadway performer) is easily the Saint's best sidekick; he's tough and smart and not a buffoon in the least. Henry Oscar is also a classic villainous "Mr. Big." The dialog is sharp and witty throughout. Highly recommended.

Great Sanders Classic Film

[whpratt1 · 7/10 · 22 March 2007]

Enjoyed this great Classic 1939 film in black and white and enjoying the very young George Sanders as Simon Templar/The Saint who is investigating a counterfeit ring of crooks in London and is working with Scotland Yard without the local London police knowing just what he is doing. Sally Grey, (Penelope,'Penny' Baker) is a sweet sexy looking blonde who never seems to want to leave Simon Templar and follows him everywhere he goes no matter where it is and how dangerous it might turn out to be. Simon Templar hires a pickpocket goon to become his Valet named Dugan who sure has a definite New York accent with all his strong "R's" being pronounced through out the picture. If you are a big fan of George Sanders, this film you will definitely enjoy viewing.

Fast paced mystery with nice camaraderie among characters

[csteidler · 7/10 · 5 July 2012]

Society girl Penny Parker (Sally Gray) describes what she has heard about the Saint: "He's supposed to be tall and handsome, and he's supposed to have a cross-shaped scar...." She pauses as Simon Templar, with whom she has been dancing, reaches over to light her cigarette, baring his right wrist. She takes a glance and coolly resumes: "A cross-shaped scar on his right wrist."

George Sanders is back as Simon Templar in this easygoing mystery. Sally Gray and David Burns are his two loyal sidekicks: the three leads together make up a fun trio—as different as can be, and yet enjoying each other's company immensely.

Gray is the girl who begins tagging along after Templar pretty much as soon as she realizes his identity, offering assistance, getting in the way, and saving his life once or twice. Burns is fun as Dugan, the American ex-convict (from Leavenworth, not Sing Sing!) who hires on as Templar's valet and performs various duties. Part comic relief, part right hand man, Dugan has a clear philosophy: "Me? I figure to do just like I'm told, and then maybe muscle in on the fireworks later on."

The mystery plot itself is nothing spectacular; it follows a high class gang's scheme to print off a large stack of foreign money, and the Saint's efforts to ferret out and capture their leader, Bruno Lang (played with suave nastiness by Henry Oscar).

My favorite line: Penny Parker explaining to Dugan that the Saint isn't really a criminal…. "He's more like a sort of Robin Hood." "Yeah?" Dugan snaps suspiciously. "Who's this guy Hood?"

Overall, it's simple but lots of fun, with Sanders excellent as always as the irresistible Simon Templar.

The death of Claude Teal is announced in this one

[Spondonman · 7/10 · 10 January 2006]

"In London" had a British cast and had as its British director in John Paddy Carstairs someone who would carry the Golden Age adventure tradition on into the '60's with a couple of eps of the TV Saint. George Sanders gave a riveting performance, with what passed for short hair painted on his head, spunky girl Sally Gray falling hoh for him and his reformed ex-San Quentin American valet Dave Burns wise-cracking along the way.

Refined gang of baddies try to steal £1 million of foreign currency (in 2 attaché cases), commit a murder in passing but worse still cause ST a few moments perturbation. The Boss kept disdainfully calling his employees fools, but when the tough got going he was the biggest fool around. ST and friends can hardly keep still for a minute - they're always driving off somewhere to see someone about something.

There's a few shots inside a tobacconists - like in "Blackmail", "Dick Barton" and other films from the period I experience a serious case of Repetitive Video Pause, trying to scan the shelves for magazines and papers I collect now. There was a Rover, Radio Fun and Hotspur in here! A nice entry in the series, one of Sanders best in the role.

Very predictable but fun for B-movie detective fans

[planktonrules · 6/10 · 31 December 2006]

Of all the B-movie detective series made in the 30s and 40s, The Saint ranks around the middle for quality. While not nearly as fun as the Charlie Chan or Sherlock Holmes films of the time, they still are well-polished and fun--mostly thanks to the excellent screen presence of George Sanders as the title character. He's just so witty, debonair and cool that it's a pleasure to watch him gracefully walk though this pedestrian film. The actual plot involving an attempt on the life of a foreign national in order to facilitate a counterfeiting scheme is only okay--not bad, but not all that interesting. And the supporting characters aren't all that compelling, either. However, considering the modest pretensions of this RKO serial, I think overall it did a good job of delivering the goods.

"Your modesty overwhelms me, Mr. Lang."

[utgard14 · 6/10 · 26 June 2017]

The third in RKO's series about Simon Templar, aka The Saint, wonderfully played by the charming George Sanders. This one has The Saint battling counterfeiters while dealing with a rich girl who wants in on the action. David Burns plays an American pickpocket who acts as the Saint's sidekick. Presumably someone thought the contrast between Burns' "dem mugs" Dugan and Sanders' eloquent and sophisticated Simon Templar would be funny. It is amusing for a minute then Burns wears out his welcome. Ralph Truman and Henry Oscar are formidable foes for our hero. Presumably because of the London setting, Jonathan Hale's Inspector Fernack is absent in this one. He's missed. Inspector Teal is the English equivalent, played by Gordon McLeod. He would return in the later Saint films starring Hugh Sinclair. Anything with Sanders is worth watching but this is one of my least favorite Saint films. It's slow-going and not terribly compelling.

An improvement over the previous film

[TheLittleSongbird · 7/10 · 3 November 2016]

'The Saint Strikes Back' was a decent start for the Saint films starring George Sanders debuting in the role. It was a flawed film however and gave the impression that the series had not yet hit its stride.

Pretty much all the Sanders Saint outings are worth watching at least once, they're not great films, and 'The Saint in New York' with Louis Hayward in the role had more of the mystery feel and a tougher edge that the Sanders Saint films lack a little, but they do entertain and Sanders rarely disappointed in any film he starred or featured in. 'The Saint in London' is an improvement over 'The Saint Strikes Back', with things feeling much more comfortable, with only the production values really being a step down.

Was mixed on the execution of the story, it's light-hearted, fun and much easier to follow than that of 'The Saint Strikes Back'. But some of it is a bit thin, with it running out of gas especially at the end, and there is not much mystery. Instead the banter between Sanders and Sally Gray was more prominent and while some of it was sweet and fun others were childish. The only other let-down really are the production values, the sets are atmospheric but there is the sense that the film was made quickly and on a tight budget.

Sanders himself is super-suave, sophisticated and wonderfully caddish, while also giving a charming and humorous edge and delivering some cutting lines with aplomb. Would also say that he is even more relaxed here now that the series in general is more settled. There is a much better supporting cast in 'The Saint in London', Sally Gray is a much more engaging and charming leading lady, speaking as somebody who had a low opinion of Wendy Barrie in 'The Saint Strikes Back'.

David Burns bringing a surprising range of emotions to a character that could have been a typical stereotypical sidekick role and Henry Oscar makes for a suitably ruthless villain.

All in all, a solid and fun film that improves on the previous film if having a few flaws of its own. 7/10 Bethany Cox

Templar takes on London

[Prismark10 · 4/10 · 13 April 2014]

This is more the persona of the Saint with George Sanders stepping in the role and bringing just the right amount of dapper and debonair with an element of streetwise knowledge of low life and the underworld.

The Saint steps in to foil a currency racket and bumps in to someone escaping from some ruthless gangsters. Along the way he helps a down on his luck Yank and meets a damsel who wants to help him out but ends up needing to be rescued by Templar.

The Saint also jousting with Inspector Teal of Scotland Yard so there is a lot of plot going on but although Sanders looks the part this is still a B picture potboiler and nothing more.

The Simon Templar Template

[alasdair7 · 10/10 · 26 January 2010]

For its historical value alone this film is worth watching. The Saint always manages to outwit his criminal nemeses. What must have appealed to the generation of cinema goers at the time was The Saint's roguish way of making his villains look extremely foolish.

I have only read one of the Leslie Charteris Saint novels and found the literary version to be even more intriguing than Sanders portrayal. Sanders however gave Saint afficionados enough to enjoy as their hero once again completely destroys the sinister agenda of the sophisticated crooks.

I'm sure many of the older generations pine for the days of heroes such as Sanders where violence was much more left to the imagination than seen.

Seventy years have passed since this gem and it is fascinating to observe the lifespans and careers of the actors.

Sounds German to me

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 20 January 2017]

George Sanders is in London for The Saint In London and for real. RKO actually splurged and filmed this on the other side of the pond. While in London he gets involved with a gang of counterfeiters operating out of an fictitious Eastern European country. Of course the villains sound very Germanic to me.

As his man Friday David Burns made one of his few films of the time, he was more on stage this early in his career. Also along for the thrill of a little adventure is Sally Gray who makes an unsuccessful play for Sanders. Personally I think I'd rather not be involved with someone known as The Saint.

As usual Sanders is urbane, witty, and charming and seems never at a loss when it comes to outsmarting both sides of the law. Gordon McLeod is the Scotland Yard Inspector who hasn't quite learned to go with the flow the way his opposite number in New York Inspector Fernack has done.

The unflappable George Sanders is always fun either as a Saint or a Falcon.

Strictly a B-movie that 's barely worth watching...

[Doylenf · 4/10 · 30 December 2006]

No wonder GEORGE SANDERS got tired of being cast as Simon Templar, here in "The Saint in London". Although filmed in London, it has almost no flavor of a bustling city in its screenplay which has him on the trail of a bunch of counterfeiters and looks as if it was filmed on the quick on some strictly low-budget sets. He has David BURNS as his valet and SALLY GRAY as his blonde love interest. Whenever the scene shifts to a car chase outdoors, the process photography is obvious.

It's all very ordinary with the usual number of close escapes as The Saint leaves his calling card wherever he goes.

Sanders looks young and in good shape but seems almost bored with his role--and in this case, it's understandable. What little plot there is holds almost no surprises and it's all over in a matter of 72 minutes. It has the look and feel of a sub-standard B-film and nothing more than routine story without a spark of imagination.

A predictable but still enjoyable movie, finding the needed light touch.

[jeanthea-2 · 13 April 2001]

Though the plot of "The Saint in London" does lack the elements of a true mystery, the players find the right sense of whimsy needed for this sort of light caper movie. The interplay between Sanders as Simon Templar and Sally Gray as his new-found female helper reminds me a little of the wonderful back-and-forth between John Steed and Emma Peel in the original Avengers series. This movie won't keep you on the edge of your seat, but it might cause you to sit back in the chair and just enjoy yourself for a while.

The Saint Thwarts an International Currency Caper

[zardoz-13 · 7/10 · 10 January 2016]

George Sanders returns to his native turf in director John Paddy Carstairs "The Saint in London" with nobody reprising their roles from the two previous RKO entries in the Leslie Charteris franchise. In his subsequent outing as the halo-clad crime fighter, dashing Simon Templar (George Sanders) not only finds himself caught up in a foreign currency scam, but also a prying society girl Penny Parker (Sally Gray) who is attracted to our hero from the get-go. Lynn Root and Frank Fenton based their screenplay on the Charteris short story "The Million Pound Day," and the dialogue ripples with witty repartee. Carstairs keeps the action moving at a snappy pace with complimentary shares of both action and intrigue. Although the heroine is a desperate amateur, Sally Gray makes an ideal damsel-in-distress, and she conjures up charismatic chemistry with George Sanders. In one scene, she complains about being cold, and Simon urges her to sit closely to him for warmth. The difference between the third "Saint" escapade is the absence of mystery. "The Saint in London" qualifies as an out and out thriller.

No sooner has a jaded Simon Templar gone out to dine in London than he discovers life can be exciting again. Simon's British friend Sir Richard Blake (Ballard Berkeley of "Battle Hell") meets him at the Restaurant Maxy. Blake wants Templar to meet Bruno Lang (Henry Oscar of "Murder Ahoy") at a dinner party. When Blake catches up with Simon at his table in the Maxy, our hero is dining with an tough-talking American, formerly of San Quentin, Dugan (David Burns of "Larceny Street"), who moments before had tried to lift Simon's watch. Indeed, an efficient London policeman catches Dugan in the act. Simon picks Dugan's pocket, however, stealing the latter's watch, and then assures the patrolman that nothing is amiss. The policeman apologizes to Dugan, and Simon enters the restaurant. Dugan follows him in uninvited to his table. The watch that Simon lifted has Dugan's wife in it, so they exchange watches. Interestingly, they become fast friends, with Simon hiring him to serve as a valet of sorts. Later, at the Morgan's house party, Simon meets Lang, but he also meets Penny. They dance and Simon cannot rid himself of the lady. Eventually, Simon departs from the party and cruises out to Lang's house in the countryside. Simon breaks into Lang's house, rifles his safe, enjoys a glass of liquor, and then leaves. He trips up one of Lang's bodyguards before he escapes. Simon finds Penny waiting for him after he clears the wall surrounding Lang's estate. Penny recognized the tattoo on Simon's wrist as they were seeing Lang off.

Just as our hero and heroine have driven away from the front gates, they hear a strange noise. A bedraggled man running in his bare feet scrambles up to Simon. Simon puts him in the backseat of his car. A thug approaches moments later, and a fight ensues with Penny knocking the brute unconscious. They careen off to London, but a bicycle riding constable watches them leave and scrawls the vehicle license tag down as they are driving away. The ailing man on foot, Count Stephen Duni (John Abbott of "Gambit"), is clearly exhausted. Simon swaps blows with the thug sent to catch Duni. Resourceful Penny intervenes in the scuffle and clubs him unconscious with a car tool. Simon stashes the Count where the guy cannot be found and has his doctor attend to the fellow. After he recovers, Duni tells Simon that he is visiting England on behalf of his country to have large sums of money printed in their currency. Somebody kidnapped, tortured, and forced him to order more money printed which they planned to put into circulation. Meantime, Scotland Yard learns about the incident at Lang's estate, and Inspector Claud Teal (Gordon McLeod of "Spitfire") goes off to question Simon because the policeman jotted down Templar's license tag number. Teal states that Penny was seen with him, but he cannot find her when he searches Simon's apartment. Simon learns that Penny has shadowed a sinister looking man, Kussella (Ralph Truman of "El Cid"), to a chemist. Kussella gets the drop on the daffy dame and invites Templar to join them. Dugan surprises Kussella, clubs him unconscious, and Simon escapes with Penny.

Unfortunately, Teal finds Duni dead, apparently stabbed to death, and Simon learns about Duni's death. Simon admits that he stashed Duni in a rooming house. Teal arrests Simon but he doesn't believe that the Saint stabbed Duni. Teal lays his reputation on the line and allows Templar to escape and clear up the matter. Once again, Penny helps Simon's escape. "I'm too young and you're too beautiful to be killed," Templar tells Penny. Later, when Simon goes to an apartment, he spots Penny trying to get inside and decks her with a single blow. Bruno gets the drop on Simon. "In this business you think of everything or you don't think at all," Lang states. Simon hurls a knife at Lang and heads off to rescue Penny and Dugan. Simon attributes his coincidental luck to his success. The Saint gets the drop on the villains, and Teal arrests them. As it turns out, Blade works for intelligence. "The Saint in London" is a nifty-little thriller.

The Saint In London

[a_baron · 6/10 · 5 April 2014]

Although it stars George Sanders rather than Louis Hayward in the title role (as in the previous "The Saint In New York"), this light-hearted romp through the imaginary underworld of 1930s London is equally silly. Unfortunately, the wisecracks and cameos are no substitute for the poor script, bland plot and unbelievable characters. It appears too to have been made on a shoestring budget.

Three things should stand out for the 21st Century viewer: the obvious back projection in the car scenes, the paucity of telephones, and the ubiquity of cigarette smoke.

David Burns plays Simon Templar's unlikely sidekick, and the love interest is provided by Sally Gray as flibbertigibbet Penny Parker.

They Could Have Stayed In Hollywood

[boblipton · 6/10 · 14 January 2024]

George Sanders is in London, where he rapidly encounters pickpocketing David Burns, whom he immediately hires as his valet, Sally Gray, and on a moonlit road, injured John Abbott, running for his life. After they leave another corpse on the road, Sanders and Miss Gray hide Gray out with Norah Howard, and get involved with investigating a million pounds due the foreign government Abbott is representing.... with Scotland Yard Inspector Gordon McLeod is in easy-going pursuit of what's going on, even though he's not sure what it is.

This was actually shot in Britain -- almost certainly with an eye towards satisfying the United Kingdon's Kinematograph Law of 1927, and to do something with blocked funds. Any location shooting looks pretty anonymous. Under the direction of the reliable John Paddy Carstairs, Sanders once again ambles through his role, exerting himself only to jog briefly to a car when he is being shot at. Otherwise, he relies, as he and Miss Gray note, on his continued luck.

Carstairs would work on The Saint again. In the 1960s, he would direct two episodes of the fondly remembered TV series, after big-screen work had dried up.

slightly better

[SnoopyStyle · 7/10 · 13 January 2024]

Simon Templar aka The Saint (George Sanders) is in London. He recruits ex-con Dugan and beautiful thrill seeker Penny Parker insists on joining the team. He has been tipped off about the mysterious Bruno Lang who is involved in counterfeit printing. Old foil Inspector Claud Teal is sniffing around The Saint.

The Saint gets a team and it is a little random. Nevertheless, it's good that he has a Girl Friday for this one. It's too bad that they don't last. They make this a little bit fun. This is slightly better than the previous movie. The trio has good chemistry and each character contributes to it.

The Saint's adventures in London

[chris_gaskin123 · 6/10 · 14 February 2006]

During the New Year period at the beginning of 2006, BBC2 shown four Saint movies in the mornings and this was one of them.

In this one, the Saint is in London and is assigned to investigate a load of forged currency. People involved in this include a woman and Count Duni.

George Sanders stars as the Saint and the cast also includes Sally Gray and Henry Oscar.

The Saint In London isn't brilliant as it tends to be a little slow moving at times but is certainly worth a look at. Not too bad.

Rating: 3 stars out of 5.

The Saint in London was the first time I've seen something involving him in its entirety

[tavm · 7/10 · 13 October 2018]

Watched this on TCM just now. It's the first time I've seen the entirety of something involving The Saint a.k.a Simon Templar though I also remember watching nearly an entire ep of the Roger Moore TV show back in the '80s. George Sanders stars in the role with Sally Gray as his leading lady and an American actor named David Burns playing his sidekick. I was enthralled throughout but I couldn't tell you what went on since I still can't make sense of it all despite mostly being able to mostly follow it while watching! So on that point, I say, go watch The Saint in London if you're a big fan of him...

Very disappointing!

[JohnHowardReid · 5/10 · 3 April 2018]

George Sanders (Simon Templar), Sally Gray (Penelope Parker), David Burns (Dugan), Gordon McLeod (Inspector Teal), Henry Oscar (Bruno Lang), Ralph Truman (Kusella), Carl Jaffe (Stengler), Ben Williams (Wilkins), Norah Howard (Mrs Morgan), Charles Carson (Morgan), Ballard Berkeley (Richard Blake), Hugh McDermott (Tim), John Abbott (Count Duni), Athene Seyler (Mrs Buckley), Charles Paton.

Director: JOHN PADDY CARSTAIRS. Screenplay: Lynn Root, Frank Fenton. Based on the 1932 novelette The Million Pound Day included in the collection The Holy Terror by Leslie Charteris. Photographed by Claude Friese-Greene. Film editor: Douglas Robertson. Art director: C. Wilfred Arnold. Music director: Harry Acres. Production executive: Lee Marcus. Sound: Cecil Thornton. Producer: William Sistrom.

Copyright 30 June 1939 by RKO Radio Pictures, Inc. New York opening at the Rialto: 18 July 1939. U.S. release: 30 June 1939. Australian release: 19 October 1939. 72 minutes.

SYNOPSIS: "The Saint in London" has Templar arriving in England and becoming entangled with the counterfeiting gang of Kusella (Ralph Truman), Stengler (Carl Jaffe), and Lang (Henry Oscar). The gang has robbed a Balkan count and stolen £1 million.

NOTES: Number 3 in the series.

COMMENT: Although actually filmed in London, this entry makes very little use of the actual locations at hand. Aside from a bit of 2nd unit work, the movie is largely studio-bound. True, this affords photographer Friese-Greene the opportunity to give his night-lighting of the many extensive sets an attractively dark sheen. It also gives British character players and attractive heroine Sally Gray a similar chance to show their mettle. Unfortunately the script lets them all down. Based on a Charteris original too. The characters are pasteboard, the dialogue's verbose, and the plot, whilst full of incident, is similarly hollow, empty, devoid of interest and ho-hum routine. Carstairs' static direction doesn't help.

The Best Saint Movie, According to Critics and Author Leslie Charteris

[springfieldrental · 8/10 · 1 March 2024]

There are a few instances where television shows adapt their premises from old movies. Such is the case in the spy thriller series 'The Saint.' Gleaned from the string of movies beginning in the late 1930s, the 1960s television 'The Saint,' starring Roger Moore, harkened back to RKO's nine Saint films, with the consensus claiming the best was May 1939's "The Saint in London."

Leslie Charteris, author of the popular novels from which the Saint films were based on, noted "The Saint in London" was his favorite movie in the series, which was adapted from his 1932 book 'The Million Pound Day.' The plot involves a secret agreement between France and England contracting British printers to produce a million pounds worth of French currency. An underground organization, however, is skimming off the top some of the legal tender. A French diplomat overseeing the process is kidnaapped by the henchmen working for Bruno Lang (Henry Oscar), who plans to abscond the money. Simon Templar, aka 'the Saint' (George Sanders), gets wind of the operation after finding the nearly dead diplomat, tortured by Lang's gang, stumbling on the side of a rural road. Thus begins Templar's investigation into what amounts to be one of the largest money hauls in history.

"While B-budget level, The Saint films have a level of style mixed with detective mystery that is intriguing," writes film reviewer Jessica Pickens. The English actor Sanders, 33, was still finding his footing in Hollywood and was assigned the Templar role after Louis Hayward, who played the investigator in the series debut, 1938's 'The Saint in New York,' turned down the sequels. Sanders stepped in for the second movie, 'The Saint Strikes Back,' followed by "The Saint in London." Writer Charteris' protagonist is somewhat a ladies man, with Penny Parker (Sally Grey), an attractive adventurer, latching on to Templer. Grey, 23, one of the many English actors in the movie which was shot in London, gained a large fan base during her years in film. Despite receiving generous offers from RKO and other Hollywood studios, Grey elected to remain in British cinema.

There are several parallels between "The Saint in London" and the later James Bond movies, as pointed out by film critic Richard Nelson. "Within the first few minutes we have a tuxedoed Saint introduce himself as 'Templar, Simon Templar,' enters a fancy restaurant where he drinks a martini, and expertly orders a swish meal and the appropriate wine to go with it," notes Nelson. "Bruno Lang is a somewhat Bondian villain, a powerful man with a grand plan who thinks he's smarter than our hero." The ties with Bond and The Saint series becomes more striking when actor Roger Moore, later in seven Bond movies, appeared in the British TV series from 1962 to 1969. Moore's TV series was the second most watched spy thriller program in the United Kingdom during the 60s, with 'The Avengers' nudging just ahead. John Paddy Carstairs, director of "The Saint in London" also directed two of The Saints' TV shows.

After six Saint roles, Sanders shifted into another spy series called 'The Falcon," appearing in the first four Falcon movies. Charteris saw The Falcon as a blatant rip-off to his novels, knowing RKO was producing the new series so it didn't have to pay him the movie rights. He sued the studio, stating in his court documents: "RKO's promotion of The Falcon was so shamelessly liable as to allow many dull-witted audiences to think they were still getting The Saint.'" His lawsuit was settled out of court.

Confusing at the least

[rhhughes333 · 6/10 · 3 June 2018]

I have seen this movie several times and yet I still don't get the tie in at the end with the Saint and Mr Lang. The Saint "kills" Lang earlier in the movie, yet in the end Lang shows up in Inspector Teal's office with no explanation as to why. That makes this movie much ado about nothing. George Sanders, as usual, plays a great part, but it doesn't tie up nicely at the end. The writer shouldn't take pride in his work on The Saint in London. Poor, poor job of it all at the end. I do love the character of Dugan. He had a standout role in the movie.

A genre b-movie that is OK at that level but nothing more than that

[bob the moo · 13 February 2006]

Back in his native London after his American adventures, Simon Templar (aka The Saint) is drawn into a mystery on the tip-off of a friend in the British Secret Service. The Saint investigates one Bruno Lang, apparently a member of polite society but also up to his neck in a plot involving the printing and illegal distribution of millions of pounds worth of foreign currency. The Saint investigates and finds himself drawn into a complex and dangerous affair with few people to trust outside of his street-smart valet Dugan, a former guest of Sing-Sing Prison.

Having just watched the much better Saint in New York I must confess that I was only disappointed by the fact that The Saint films immediately stepped back from the dark, cruel edge of the original and became just another b-movie series with a suave character solving crimes – in fact the presence of Sanders in the title role made it even harder to tell it apart from the Falcon series (which is essentially an extension of The Saint after RKO fell out with Charteris). The plot here is so-so and is the first of the film's failings. Of course I say failings suggesting that it is a major problem which of course, as a b-movie, it isn't really. The story is run-of-the-mill but still just about does enough to hold the interest without doing much special or out of the ordinary.

Sanders may well do suave really well but I couldn't help notice how very dull he was compared to the much more interesting turn from Louis Hayward. That said he does well enough for fans of the series and he does play the smooth matinée idol pretty well, although I wish he had given the Saint at least a little bit of an edge to show his criminal roots. The support cast are mostly reasonably good, or at least up to the standard of the series. Burns is good in the reoccurring role (in this series and The Falcon) of wise-cracking sidekick; McLeod is OK as Teal while Oscar, Abbott and a few others make good bad guys. Gray is reasonably good as the love interest.

Overall a solid entry in the series that will please fans but do little to please others. Acting, plotting and directing are all squarely in b-movie territory and none of them ever threaten to break out of the genre to produce something more memorable – a shame considering the promise shown in the very first film in the series.