The Saint's Girl Friday (1953)
"The Saint's Return" (original title)

A private detective goes after the people who murdered his girlfriend.

Director:

Seymour Friedman

Writers:

Leslie Charteris (story), Allan MacKinnon (screenplay),

Stars:

Louis Hayward, Naomi Chance, Sydney Tafler

Cast

Cast overview:
Louis Hayward	...	Simon Templar aka The Saint
Naomi Chance	...	Carol Denby
Sydney Tafler	...	Max Lennar
Charles Victor	...	Chief Insp. Claud Teal
Jane Carr	...	Kate Finch
Harold Lang	...	Jarvis
William Russell	...	Keith Merton (as Russell Enoch)
Diana Dors	...	The Blonde in Lennar's Apartment
Fred Johnson	...	Irish Cassidy
Thomas Gallagher	...	Hoppy, his valet
Russell Napier	...	Col. Stafford
Sam Kydd	...	Barkley (Joe Podd)
John Wynn
George Margo
Ian Fleming

Storyline

A private detective goes after the people who murdered his girlfriend.

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Plot Keywords:

private detective | sequel | murder | the saint

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Taglines:

It's LONDON vs. THE SAINT! (Original USA print ad for "The Saint's Girl Friday")

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Genres:

Mystery

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 April 1954 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Saint's Girl Friday

Filming Locations:

Belgravia, London, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hammer Film Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

73 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The ninth of nine classic RKO movies featuring Simon Templar, The Saint. Louis Hayward returns in the role after starring in the first Saint movie.

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Connections

Follows The Saint Takes Over (1940)

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Soundtracks

"Cuyaba"
(uncredited)
Music by Da Paula Bana (pseudonym of Winifred Palmer)
Paxton Music Ltd

User Reviews

Louis Hayward returns as hard-nosed Simon Templar

This final picture in the Saint series is connected to the early 1940s RKO entries only by the presence of Louis Hayward, the original Simon Templar in 1938's The Saint in New York.

This time around, the Saint seeks information about a girlfriend who cabled him for help—and then crashed her car into the river before his arrival on the scene. The police call it an accident, but….

Hayward is a smooth-talking Saint whose smirk is alternately insolent and charming; caught red-handed snooping through an apartment, he merely removes the cigar from his mouth and asks politely, "Pardon me…do you have a match?" He can play rough, however, as well—he does not hesitate to slap around a crook who has sneaked into his own room and doesn't want to tell who sent him.

The Saint is assisted by right-hand man Hoppy (Thomas Gallagher), a reformed pickpocket (of course) who doubles as valet and bodyguard. The "girl Friday" of the title is a woman named Carol (Naomi Chance), whose help Templar enlists in tracking the mob that killed his girlfriend and is threatening and manipulating Carol over gambling debts.

The plot is okay but nothing extraordinary, although the identity of the secret mob "chief" did surprise me at the end. The mood is rather darker than that of the fairly breezy comedy-mysteries of a decade earlier; however, Louis Hayward's confident performance, a fair amount of droll humor, and some atmospheric London underworld settings combine for an entertaining and still essentially light-hearted adventure.