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Title: Vendetta for the Saint: Part 1 (05 Jan 1969)
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| Episode cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Roger Moore | ... | Simon Templar | |
| Ian Hendry | ... | Alessandro Destamio | |
| Rosemary Dexter | ... | Gina Destamio | |
 |
Aimi MacDonald | ... | Lily |
| George Pastell | ... | Marco Ponti | |
| Marie Burke | ... | Donna Maria | |
| Fulton Mackay | ... | James Euston | |
|
|
Peter Kristof | ... | Giorgio |
| Peter Madden | ... | Lo Zio | |
| Guy Deghy | ... | Maresciallo | |
|
|
Eileen Way | ... | The Maid |
| Edward Evans | ... | The Bank Manager | |
|
|
Malya Nappi | ... | The Bank Clerk |
| Charles Houston | ... | Hotel Reception Clerk | |
| Salmaan Peerzada | ... | Airline Clerk (as Salmaan Peer) | |
Templar is having a drink at a bar in Naples when he witnesses a mêlée between two of the customers. It appears that one of them has mistaken the other for an old colleague. Templar's suspicions are raised the next morning when he reads in the newspapers that one of the men has been murdered. He begins to investigate only to find himself thrown into the world of the Sicilian Mafia, and that few people are willing to help him. Written by Sebastian Tombs <sebastian.tombs@jyanet.com>
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Given director O’Connolly’s background in B-movies, he perhaps results in being more at ease with the low-budget requirements of this one (emanating from its TV origins): nevertheless, it effectively utilizes several European locations – including passing off Malta (even my hometown puts in a prominent appearance during a scuffle 20 minutes into the film!) as Palermo; incidentally, star Roger Moore would also come over here for the WWI adventure SHOUT AT THE DEVIL (1976) – incidentally, both films were made at a time when my country was still a British colony.
Anyway, the plot finds Simon Templar facing off with the Mafia – but, at the same time, aiding their cause by uncovering an imposter in their midst (at a rather precarious time for them, since they’re being assembled to elect a new Don). The accents throughout are fairly risible, though Ian Hendry is decent as a would-be mobster…but, then, Finlay Currie plays the dying Mafia head?! As was the case with THE FICTION-MAKERS (1968), The Saint is romanced and helped by a couple of girls – one of whom is Hendry’s moll and the other (played by lovely Rosemary Dexter) his niece. Despite her English-sounding name, the latter was actually Pakistani by birth and, curiously enough, most of her career was spent in Italian exploitation fare (her facial features looked familiar enough but, frankly, I had forgotten all about her appearance in Jess Franco’s MARQUIS DE SADE’S JUSTINE [1968] myself!).
Resolving itself into a number of confrontations and chases, the narrative obviously takes an altogether different route from its caper-type predecessor – and manages to be more involving by having the hero make a personal issue out of the case (hence the title). Even so, I have to admit that his characterization isn’t very clearly defined – certainly not in the way James Bond was (or would be for Moore when he took the role himself)…and it doesn’t help, either, that I haven’t watched the 1997 big-screen incarnation of Leslie Charteris’ creation directed by Phillip Noyce and starring Val Kilmer!