The Saint Takes Over (1940)

Inspector Fernack is framed by a cartel of five gangsters and Simon does his best to prove it before all the conspirators are murdered by a mysterious killer.

Director:

Jack Hively

Writers:

Leslie Charteris (featuring "The Saint" created by), Lynn Root (screen play),

Stars:

George Sanders, Wendy Barrie, Jonathan Hale

Cast

Complete credited cast:
George Sanders	...	Simon Templar / The Saint
Wendy Barrie	...	Ruth Summers
Jonathan Hale	...	Inspector Henry Fernack
Paul Guilfoyle	...	Clarence 'Pearly' Gates
Morgan Conway	...	Sam Reese
Robert Emmett Keane	...	Leo Sloan
Cy Kendall	...	Max Bremer (as Cyrus W. Kendall)
James Burke	...	Patrolman Mike
Robert Middlemass	...	Captain Wade
Roland Drew	...	Albert 'Rocky' Weldon
Nella Walker	...	Mrs. Lucy Fernack
Pierre Watkin	...	Ben Eagan

Storyline

The Saint plays a "modern-day Robin Hood" in order to clear his friend, Henry Fernack, who was framed by mobsters. They run into a series of murders.

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Plot Keywords:

the saint | safecracker | murder | gangster | safe | 

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Genres:

Crime | Mystery

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 June 1940 (USA)

Also Known As:

El regreso del Santo

Company Credits

Production Co:

RKO Radio Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

69 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Recording System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Professional wrestler and football player Sammy Stein, who plays a hoodlum in this film, played a uniformed policeman in the previous entry in the series, "THe Saint's Double Troubl."

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Goofs

Nella Walker reprises her role from The Saint Strikes Back as John Henry Fernack's wife. In that film her forename is Betty, whilst here it is Lucy.

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Quotes

Ruth Summers: What are you going to do?
Simon Templar: That, darling, is the big problem of the moment.

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Connections

Followed by The Saint Meets the Tiger (1943)

User Reviews

Crossing The Pond To Aid A Friend

One of the few friends that Simon Templar has in law enforcement is Inspector Fernack of the NYPD. Jonathan Hale as Fernack in the series has learned long ago to go with the flow where Templar is concerned. So when Fernack is found with $50,000.00 in mob money in his house he can't explain and he loses his badge, George Sanders as Simon Templar crosses the Atlantic to aid a friend.

While on the ocean voyage Sanders also aids beautiful Wendy Barrie who is being cheated by card sharps working the boat. Her story will interconnect with what Sanders is in New York for, but you'll have to see the film to find out how.

The mob which has six crime family bosses start getting systematically eliminated once Sanders arrives and this is bad because he needs some live perpetrators to clear the inspector. The police also think Hale might be doing this in revenge. Along the way Sanders and Hale manage to get Paul Guilfoyle who the 'bodyguard' to one of the late crime bosses to help in their quest. Guilfoyle provides a few laughs along the way.

It's a B film so I'm not expecting all that much from it. But it all ties too neatly and conveniently at the end. Still Sanders is his charming self as Templar and he's been in worse films.