Simon Templar, alias "The Saint", was a gentlemanly adventurer and private detective created by the half-British, half-Chinese writer Leslie Charteris. Between 1938 and 1941 RKO Pictures made a series of eight B-movies based upon his adventures, in five of which he was played by George Sanders. In 1941 Sanders was cast by RKO in the first of several films he made about "The Falcon", a very similar figure. Charteris objected that The Falcon was a blatant plagiarism of his own character, and the ensuing lawsuit put an end to the series.
"The Saint in Palm Springs" is the sixth entry in the series and Sanders' last performance in the role. The plot revolves around The Saint's attempts to transport three valuable postage stamps to their rightful owner, a young woman named Elna Johnson who works as a tennis instructor at a Palm Springs holiday resort, and the efforts of a gang of criminals to steal them. The gang are ruthless, and quite prepared to commit murder in pursuit of the stamps, but in spite of this the mood of the film is reasonably light. There is an entertaining comic turn from Paul Guilfoyle as The Saint's associate Clarence "Pearly" Gates, a former petty criminal now trying to go straight, but who finds that his skills as a pickpocket can still be put to use in the service of Templar's investigations.
This is the only one of Sanders' "Saint" films I have seen. I have also only seen one of his "Falcon" films, "The Falcon Takes Over". (Was that title deliberately chosen to aggravate Charteris? One of the "Saint" films is called "The Saint Takes Over"). That film has a number of weaknesses. The plot (lifted from Raymond Chandler's novel "Farewell, My Lovely") is excessively complicated for a short B-movie, and Sanders seemed far too relaxed and laid-back, given that his life, and the lives of several other people, were in danger.
Given that he had entries as good as "Rebecca" and "All about Eve" on his CV, "The Saint in Palm Springs" is never going to count as Sanders' greatest film. It is, however, considerably better than "The Falcon Takes Over". The plot, although it has its twists and turns, never becomes too complex to follow, and Sanders here strikes the right balance between lightness and seriousness in his portrayal of the hero. The Saint may be dashing and debonaire, with a weakness for pretty women, but there is a more serious side to his character, especially a hatred of injustice. (Charteris seems to have conceived him as a modern-day version of Robin Hood). This is not a classic of the cinema, but at least it is a watchable melodrama. 6/10.
"The Saint in Palm Springs" is the sixth entry in the series and Sanders' last performance in the role. The plot revolves around The Saint's attempts to transport three valuable postage stamps to their rightful owner, a young woman named Elna Johnson who works as a tennis instructor at a Palm Springs holiday resort, and the efforts of a gang of criminals to steal them. The gang are ruthless, and quite prepared to commit murder in pursuit of the stamps, but in spite of this the mood of the film is reasonably light. There is an entertaining comic turn from Paul Guilfoyle as The Saint's associate Clarence "Pearly" Gates, a former petty criminal now trying to go straight, but who finds that his skills as a pickpocket can still be put to use in the service of Templar's investigations.
This is the only one of Sanders' "Saint" films I have seen. I have also only seen one of his "Falcon" films, "The Falcon Takes Over". (Was that title deliberately chosen to aggravate Charteris? One of the "Saint" films is called "The Saint Takes Over"). That film has a number of weaknesses. The plot (lifted from Raymond Chandler's novel "Farewell, My Lovely") is excessively complicated for a short B-movie, and Sanders seemed far too relaxed and laid-back, given that his life, and the lives of several other people, were in danger.
Given that he had entries as good as "Rebecca" and "All about Eve" on his CV, "The Saint in Palm Springs" is never going to count as Sanders' greatest film. It is, however, considerably better than "The Falcon Takes Over". The plot, although it has its twists and turns, never becomes too complex to follow, and Sanders here strikes the right balance between lightness and seriousness in his portrayal of the hero. The Saint may be dashing and debonaire, with a weakness for pretty women, but there is a more serious side to his character, especially a hatred of injustice. (Charteris seems to have conceived him as a modern-day version of Robin Hood). This is not a classic of the cinema, but at least it is a watchable melodrama. 6/10.