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 character | simon templar character | four word title | the saint | safe | 

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Taglines:

Labeled for DEATH!

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Genres:

Crime | Mystery

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Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

The comic book Pearly is reading is "Dick Tracy and Scottie of Scotland Yard", no. 13 in the Dick Tracy large feature comic series, published by Dell in 1940. Cover price: 10 cents. In top condition, at auction in 2017, this comic book could fetch over $300.

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Goofs

After The Saint tussles with the two guys trying to abduct Ruth by the cab, a clear shadow of the boom microphone is visible on the sidewalk by the mailbox.

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Quotes

Simon Templar: Rocky is still at his night club.
Inspector Henry Fernack: Now, wait a minute, Simon. Why can't I go to a nightclub? I'll not be party to any rough stuff.
Simon Templar: [Dismissively] You toddle off to bed like a good boy. These denizens of iniquity are no place for a respectable married man. I'll just drift into Rocky's gin palace and see what's going on.

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Connections

Follows The Saint's Double Trouble (1940)

User Reviews

One of the best Saint movies

George Sanders is my favorite saint. But some of the movies are a bit weak, usually the plot.

In this movie, the plot is about as good as you can expect from the RKO saint movies. It mostly makes sense, unlike some of them.

Paul Guifoyle (sp?) is back in this one, and that's a good thing. I really enjoy his comedic style at times. It's hard not to smile at his funny expressions and mispronunciations (does anyone else wonder where the gangster henchman habit of butchering pronunciations came from?)

Wendy Barrie is not too bad. I wish she had better lines or something, but it's not bad.

The usual Fernack(sp?) is present, and again, that's a good thing. I feel he should be a bit brighter given that he's a police detective, but I guess the dumb cop/detective is an old stereotype. Anyway, the saint is a bit like Bugs Bunny where his superiority is contrasted to idiots - so again, a tried and true stereotype.

As I say, this is one of my favorites. It's light, it moves right along, has the comic elements and the entertaining Sanders as saint.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 June 1940 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Saint Takes Over

Filming Locations:

RKO Studios - 780 N. Gower Street, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

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