Vendetta for the Saint
Roger Moore starred as novelist Leslie Charteris's globe-trotting, mercenary adventurer Simon Templar in a1963-67 television series, as well as the subsequent, agreeable TV featureVendetta for the Saint. Set against an appealingly sunny Sicilian backdrop,Vendettafinds Templar, an elegant thief and ethical busybody, outraged when a British banker is murdered after he recognizes an old colleague-turned-Mafia kingpin. The ruthless crime boss, Alessandro Destamio (Ian Hendry), having faked his death during a staged bank robbery, makes several attempts on Templar's life while the latter probes the villain's business and family. (Of course, being Templar, he also dates Destamio's innocent niece and shares a kiss with the bad guy's beleagured mistress.)Vendetta for the Saintis full of small pleasures, including a nice supporting role by Marco Ponti as a police detective who confides in Templar, and Aimi MacDonald as a lost soul trying to escape Destamio's reach.--Tom Keogh