The Saint in New York

Plot synopsis:
During a visit to Europe, Simon Templar (alias "The Saint") befriends a rich American whose son was recently murdered in New York City; the culprit went free due to police and courtroom corruption. Templar is given an offer he can't refuse: $1 million if he goes to New York and deals out his unique brand of justice to evildoers in that city.
The book begins with the New York Police Department receiving a letter of warning from Scotland Yard Chief Inspector Claud Eustace Teal, indicating that Templar, after being inactive for six months (presumably since the events of The Saint Goes On), has relocated to the United States. The letter is accompanied by a dossier on Templar's career thus far (Charteris proceeds to give new readers a brief summary of past adventures dating back to the first Saint novel, 1928's Meet - The Tiger!).
When an accused cop-killer is found shot to death, the NYPD knows the Saint has arrived in New York. After Templar rescues a child who has been kidnapped by a mob boss (assassinating the gangster in the process), the whole city learns that the Saint is on the job. Templar's ultimate goal is to discover the identity of the city's main kingpin who is known only as "The Big Fellow".
Templar is abducted by one of the remaining crime lords and two corrupt, high-ranking New York City officials offer him $200,000 to reveal who is backing him. Templar claims to be working on his own, and the crime lord orders Templar to be taken for the proverbial "ride". Templar is taken to a remote location in New Jersey but manages to escape his fate thanks to the intervention of Fay Edwards, a beautiful young woman who happens to be a cold-blooded killer, and who claims to be working for The Big Fellow. Simon Templar and Fay Edwards fall in love with each other, in a completely Platonic way (they exchange only two kisses and exchange only a few words) which seems nevertheless very deep and poignantly emotional. (On his return to London, in the last page of the book, Templar would refuse to tell Patricia Holm about his American experiences.)
The Saint eventually learns that he is being manipulated into killing off certain crime bosses in order that The Big Fellow will not have to split a $17 million cache of blood money that was going to be shared among the gangsters. In effect, rather than being a daring and idealistic vigilante, as he thought of himself, Templar finds that he had been made into a gangland hit man – and very much dislikes to see himself in such a role.
And when the Big Fellow's identity is finally revealed, he ends up being the last person Templar would suspect.

Tags: murder

Review:
A dark and enjoyable start to the Saint films with a really good presence in Hayward.
With crime rife in New York due to gangs and a small group of men in particular, Inspector Fernack makes the decision to bring in Simon Templar aka "The Saint" to help.
Dispatching one of the men with a clinical kill very early on, Templar quickly uncovers the existence of a character known as the "Big Fellow"  clearly a top man behind the gangs.
Moving steadily into more and more danger he tries to reach and remove the Big Fellow to cut the head off the snake.I'm not sure why this film was apparently banned in Sweden on its release but I would hazard a guess that it had something to do with the marvellous anti-hero qualities that Templar is given in this film.
The plot could have been straight out of any crime b-movie as it essentially involves bringing "justice" to New York by taking down a major crime syndicate; however in many other films from the 1930's the hero would have been a cop trying to get a conviction and, if he killed anyone it would have been by necessity rather than choice.
This dark edge makes the film more interesting than the standard plot suggests it should be and I was quite taken in by it even if the quest for the "Big Fellow" wasn't really delivered with any tension or mystery (which was a bit of a shame, although it did enough to keep me guessing and watching).The real feather in the cap is Louis Hayward who plays it with the perfect mix of the suave and the psychotic.
Outside of his though the performances are either just OK or wooden but nothing better; they more or less do the job but I could help feel that Hayward deserved more than the very basic caricatures of cops and criminals.Overall though this is a tough and enjoyable b-movie that features an enjoyably dark anti-hero.
Later films in the series (well, the next one in fact) would quickly lose touch with this dark, cruel character and tone it down to be nonexistent but here it is in full effect and it makes a standard (if engaging) plot much better than it deserved to be..
This by my lights is a splendid and very good story about Leslie Charteris's enigmatic character, Simon Templar, "the Saint"; it was the first of a series of films which starred several actors inn the role.
The film was directed by Ben Holmes, and also stars Kay Sutton as an enigmatic bad girl, Sig Ruman, Jonathan Hale, Jack Carson and many others in small but effective parts.
Templar is tracked down in foreign parts by an honest man representing a group in New York who want to bring down the mysterious crime boss who is poisoning the city with his influence.
But what drives it is the script, written from Charteris's novel,; it is the best of an interesting series because it is fast-paced, original, clever in dialogue and clear in its contexted ethical purposiveness; the group who hired him and the viewers finally come to know that they picked the right man, whatever doubts they may originally have had about the famous and notorious Simon Templar.
The first Saint movie was a very good effort, true to the spirit of the book albeit made on the cheap by RKO.
I grew up thinking that Roger Moore was the Saint and no-one could top him, but have to admit that Louis Haywood was just right in the title role with the right amount of debonair, imperturbable devil-may-care attitude.
This is Snow White for adults!A real pity Haywood only played the Saint this glorious once in Hollywood - I don't count his 50's British attempt - although Sanders was very funny in his 5 films didn't really hit the right note.
He also falls in love.The cast features Louis Haywood as the Saint, Kay Sutton and Jonathan Hale.The Saint In New York is worth watching if you get the chance.
The first film in RKO's series (continued, successfully, with George Sanders, and unsuccessfully, with Hugh Sinclair), this features tiny, white-suited Louis Hayward, as the dangerous psychotic Simon Templar, law-enforcer of a kind (mainly by shooting people), on a mission to find the 'big fellow', head of a crime gang.
Hayward is excellent in this, having just the right amount of repartee and daring (without making the role comedic as Sanders did or boring as Sinclair did), as is his love interest, Kay Sutton, who seemed to do very little in films despite her good looks and strong voice.
The first film adaption of Leslie Charteris's hero Simon Templar, aka The Saint finds The Saint In New York taking on the job of cleaning out organized crime in the big apple.
What they get is little more than a contract killer, albeit a charming one.Louis Hayward plays The Saint and then left the role to return to it for one more go in the Fifties.
I wish he had done a few more episodes in this film series.What The Saint's been hired to do is eliminate one way or another a gang of six that control all the crime in New York City worth controlling.
Still this Saint film gets by on the considerable charm of Louis Hayward and it's easy to take..
Although many may argue that the later portrayers of the Saint (Roger Moore, Ian Ogilvy)  are better, one has to admit that, for a start, this film is a good start.
Louis Hayward makes an interesting "Saint"....
Before George Sanders took over the role, it went to LOUIS HAYWARD for THE SAINT IN NEW YORK.
Hayward was an interesting actor who should have had a better career than he did in Hollywood, proving that when he got a chance to play an interesting scoundrel ("Ladies in Retirement"), he was fearless in letting his bad side show.Too bad he didn't play "The Saint" more often in the string of films RKO came up with in the '40s.
He's good, better than his material here which is strictly a by-the-numbers sort of thing."You should have a question mark after your name," he tells his romantic interest, KAY SUTTON, a dark beauty who looks somewhat like a softer version of Gail Patrick.
She's an enigmatic woman and remains so since her character is never developed.Hayward joins the search for "The Big Fellow", head of a crime gang wanted by the NYPD and along the way encounters several misadventures with mob members being disposed of in his unorthodox way.Interesting to see JACK Carson, JONATHAN HALE and SIG RUMAN in the supporting cast.Modestly entertaining but nothing special in this series..
Too bad this kind of character complexity didn't survive the many sequels.The story itself is pretty routine: cleaning up the city by getting the mysterious Big Fellow.
Simon Templar's roguish audacity is very well conveyed by Hayward and the film is a lot of fun..
So it begins, the start of the realisation of Leslie Charteris' literary creation, one Simon Templar, AKA: The Saint.
And it's a good start to be sure.Templar here is played by Louis Hayward, all smirky confidence, lithe and deadly, Templar is "hired" by some big city suits to snuff out New York's baddies who have in turn been snuffing out policemen and getting away with it.
Exciting and witty action mystery with Louis Hayward a tough Templar.
New York is being overrun by a few mob leaders: the police do their job and arrest lawbreakers, but crooked lawyers and bought juries just set them free again.
"I don't know.Maybe it's because I like to see justice for the underdog.maybe it's simply my love of anything that smells of danger or trouble." Louis Hayward is immediately arresting as the Saint, from his careless posture to his easy grin and wary eyes to his sparkling conversation.
Intrigued by the idea of aiding a city in need, he agrees to fly to New York—but only if he is allowed to work using his own methods.Jonathan Hale is strong as the police inspector whose respect for the law makes him leery of trusting an outsider like Templar; grudging respect grows into good teamwork as the two men gradually learn each other's ideals and motivations.The rest of the cast is also excellent—solid character actors in well-written roles.
An actor named Cliff Bragdon is swell as a taxi driver who can "handle a wheel better 'n any guy in this screwy town."A good script and strong RKO production values—and Hayward's charismatic touch as the Saint—add up to a top B mystery..
Louis Hayward is "The Saint in New York" in this 1938 film starring the Leslie Charteris character of Simon Templar, aka The Saint.
Here, Simon is sent to New York to deal with gangsters who have escaped punishment by the justice system, and also to identify the man behind all of them, "The Big Fellow." I have to admit that though I've seen Roger Moore, Ian Ogilvy, and George Sanders in the role and enjoyed them, my favorite Saint has always been Louis Hayward since I first saw this film years ago.
While Sanders especially, with his talent for the acerbic, mined the humor in the role, Hayward mines the elegance, the grace, the light touch.Hayward is backed up by the beautiful Kay Sutton, who reminded me of Kay Francis, Sig Ruman, Jonathan Hale, and Jack Carson in an early role.Very good.
It's a quickie B-movie, but it's a lot of fun.Simon Templar, a.k.a. The Saint, is a sophisticated thrill-seeker who hands out vigilante justice to those who deserve it.
The man plays by his own rules, but he sure gets results.THE SAINT IN NEW YORK (1938) is the first of many film outings for the Simon Templar character.
Played by Louis Hayward, Templar is a scrappy sort of globetrotter with the charm of an Orson Welles (think Harry Lime).
("It's like poetry.")This Saint adventure is action-packed, with Templar taking down a city- wide crime syndicate over the course of a few nights.
It does sag ever so slightly in the middle and, other than the entertaining Jonathan Hale and Kay Sutton (despite a relatively underwritten role) who brings the right amount of allure and mystery, the supporting cast while still solid and well suited to their roles are not hugely memorable.Louis Hayward however is simply terrific in the title role, bringing suavity, charisma, elegance and toughness to a potentially stock character that actually has shades of complexity.
The ending is one of the more satisfying ones of the series.Overall, the first Saint film is also the best one.
They enlist the help of Simon Templar, aka The Saint, a British amateur crime-fighter not afraid to break the law or take lives to stop crime.
Templar's given a list of names of six criminals and sets out to eliminate them one by one, saving a police inspector's life and rescuing a kidnapped child along the way.The first in RKO's "The Saint" series, based around Simon Templar.
After this film, Louis Hayward would be replaced by the much more debonair George Sanders.
Hayward would return to the character once more in the '50s in a movie made by Hammer, The Saint's Return.
This first Saint film is really good.
While I prefer George Sanders overall, there's certainly a gritty appeal about Hayward's Saint.
Simon Templar aka the Saint started his long and illustrious career in 1929 with the release of Meet the Tiger as written by the brilliant Leslie Charteris.
And while most people know of Roger Moore, Ian Ogylvie, Simon Dutton or George Sanders playing the Saint this first one is played by Louis Hayward (he played in the first movie and the last one of the b/w series) and he does it very well.
This is a straight "revenge" story in which the Saint takes care of the organized crime in New York, by means that are not available to the police.
The very first "Saint" made into a film, based on the novel by Leslie Charteris.
This one stars Louis Hayward as Simon Templar.
The Saint In New York.
Simon Templar, the character alluded to as The Saint, is best known through the UK TV series that ran from 1962 to 1969 with quintessential Englishman Roger Moore in the title role; Moore would of course go on to play the equally enigmatic James Bond.
The original Saint was a much darker character than portrayed by Roger Moore, Ian Ogilvy or (on film) by Val Kilmer; he was a murderer, for that is what we call vigilantes who execute gangsters without due process of law.In this short black and white film we see Louis Hayward as a sardonic avenger brought in by the legal authorities in New York to clean up the city's underworld any way he sees fit.
Even making allowance for 1930s gangster films, the script, the plot (including the romantic sub-plot) and most of all the escapes, are silly, but the one-liners more than compensate for that:"you're getting so crooked, you don't even trust yourself" and later after dispatching two hoods: "they've gone to join their fathers, if they had any".
Louis Hayward plays the Saint, rather less suave than Roger Moore would play him a few decades later in the television series but more of a dapper thuggish charm.This Saint is not a copper or a sleuth but more of a Robin Hood type vigilante who is not prepared to mask himself like Zorro and work incognito.This Saint is prepared to break the law and serve justice his own way as he has been hired to clean up the city and find the Big Fellow with Kay Sutton helping out and adding romantic interest.The adventure is a potboiler with plenty of fisticuffs but the mystery element is lacking as a modern audience will easily guess who the Big Fellow will turn out to be..
Saint in New York, The (1938) *** (out of 4) The first in RKO's series of The Saint films features Louis Hayward in the title role.
In this film, The Saint is tired of criminals getting away due to the judicial system so he sets out to get his own vengeance.
I've seen a lot of these early mystery series from the Crime Doctor to Boston Blackie to The Falcon and so on but this one here, at least the first film, is a big change from those series because The Saint isn't a totally friendly character.
Where those other series have the good guys trying to arrest the bad guys that's not the case here because The Saint wants them dead and will even kill in cold blood or kill an unarmed man to get his vengeance.
Hayward is very good in his role and his dry acting really adds a lot to the character.
The supporting cast really isn't that impressive and that holds the film back some as does some ill-fated humor at the hands of two of the top gangster's gunmen but outside of that this is a very good movie and one that's unlike the others of its type that was out there around the same time..
While the movie lacks the charm and sophistication of George Sanders (who most associate with the leading role), it makes up for it in a big way by being so very different.
Instead of a crime fighter who always wraps everything together neatly for the police by the end of the film, this version of the Saint just kills the bad guys or gets them to kill each other!!
I really liked this, as the typical role played by Boston Blackie, the Falcon or Charlie Chan is way too predictable--they NEVER would plug a bad guy who isn't even resisting arrest or making an attempt on the hero's life!
Simon Templer's methods are sure a lot more practical and fun to watch than other crime fighters!
Apart from the way he dispatches criminals, the film is a rather standard film about bad guys and a mystery--in this case WHO is responsible for leading a crime syndicate in New York City.
The first in a series based on Leslie Charteris' character, this B crime drama is a predictable programmer meant to pack in as many shady characters as possible, a bit of mystery and some fast-moving action.
Louis Hayward, in his only appearance as the Saint, is not as good as his successor George Sanders would be.
Kay Sutton is the gang moll he briefly gets involved with, and Jonathan Hale (who would be back in several more of the series) is the New York detective he is brought onto the case by.
For my first encounter with The Saint, I'm glad it was with the original film in the series, this one featuring Louis Hayward in the role of Simon Templar, though continued in subsequent pictures by the likes of George Sanders and Hugh Sinclair.
Which is interesting in light of the fact he went on to portray that character in 'The Lone Wolf' TV series of the mid-Fifties.I was somewhat struck by the idea that The Saint was called on to deliver a brand of vigilante justice way back in 1930's New York.
The concept of revolving door justice seems a product of more recent times, but obviously that wasn't the case at all as we see here.Clever repartee and offbeat disguise help The Saint make his rounds in New York as he gets closer and closer to the identity of The Big Fellow, one of the men on The Saint's hit list.
Louis Haywards only entry as the Saint, this movie has some interesting legends.
So, my best guess is The Saint came to New York to kill off the entire underworld here.
Totally out of character from the rest of the series even to this day, this Saint deserves a watch.