The Saint's Return

Not to be confused with the Leslie Charteris novella collection The Saint Returns.

The Saint's Return
US film poster with the US title
Directed bySeymour Friedman
Written byAllan MacKinnon (screenplay)
Based on characters created by Leslie Charteris[1]
Produced byAnthony Hinds
Julian Lesser
StarringLouis Hayward
Naomi Chance
Sydney Tafler
Diana Dors
Ian Fleming
CinematographyWalter J. Harvey
Edited byJames Needs
Music byIvor Slaney
Production
company
Distributed byExclusive Films (UK
RKO Pictures (US)
Release date
  • 12 October 1953 (1953-10-12) (UK)[2]
Running time
73 minutes (UK)
68 minutes (US)[3]
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

The Saint's Return (released in the US as The Saint's Girl Friday[4]) is a 1953 British crime thriller film directed by Seymour Friedman and starring Louis Hayward, Naomi Chance, Diana Dors and Sydney Tafler. Ian Fleming appeared in a very small role. It was produced by Hammer Film Productions in London and released later in the United States as The Saint's Girl Friday.[5]

It premiered in London under the original title on 12 October 1953,[6] distributed in the UK by Hammer Films' own distribution company, Exclusive Films. It was released in the US by RKO under the US title in March, 1954.[6] Louis Hayward, who had been the first actor to play Simon Templar in The Saint in New York (1938) returned here to the role one last time. Diana Dors was only added to the cast a week after shooting began, to add a little spice to the picture. Jimmy Sangster was assistant director, Phil Leakey did Makeup, and J. Elder Wills was the art director. Tully Montgomery was originally signed to direct this picture, but Louis Hayward requested to work with Seymour Friedman instead, and got his wish.Filming ran from Feb. 2, 1953 until March 6, 1953, and the film was trade shown at the Rialto on Sept. 1, 1953. It was released in the UK on Oct. 12, 1953. [7]

Plot

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A female friend Judy Fenton asks the Saint for help and tells him that her fiance Keith Merton is being blackmailed by gangsters. She soon after ends up dead in a suspicious car accident. The Saint sets about investigating and discovers the involvement of the River Mob, a gangster organisation involved with a floating casino barge. The Saint is helped by a beautiful woman named Carol Denby and his faithful valet Hoppy Uniatz. Later Keith Merton winds up murdered. The Saint discovers the leader of the gangsters is a man named Irish Cassidy, and finds out who was responsible for the murders.

Cast

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Production

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Although based upon Charteris' character, the film was an original work by British screenwriter Allan MacKinnon and not based directly on any of Charteris' stories. Charteris, however, had a percentage interest in the film.[8] It is the first filmed Saint production to feature the character of Hoppy Uniatz, Templar's assistant in the 1940s-era Saint books. Percy Herbert later played the character in at least one episode of the 1960s TV series.

Hayward's casting was announced in January 1953. He was originally going to England to make No Escape but that film was actually made in Hollywood.[9] It was Hayward's first film in England since The Lady and the Bandit.[10]

In March 1953 as filming was being completed the title was changed from The Saint's Queen to The Saint's Return.[11]

It was the second film Dors made for Hammer after The Last Page.[12] In September 1953 producer Julian Lesser had signed Dors to make two more movies.[13]

Reception

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Critical reception

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The Los Angeles Times said it had "unusually good suspense elements with Hayward competently leading the way".[14]

Derek Winnert called it "a very watchable British stab at reviving the series", adding that "with its neat plot and decent sly sense of humour, it is entirely entertaining, if only mildly". Of the actors, he wrote: "An ideal Hayward is aloofly smooth and suitably chilly in a role he created in the original film", concluding that "there’s a really good true Brit cast to support him".[15]

Box office

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This was the first Saint film to be released in ten years, following RKO's The Saint series 1938-1943, and Hammer Films had hopes to revive the series, but this did not occur. In 1960, a French-Italian film entitled Le Saint mène la danse, with Felix Marten playing The Saint, was released with very limited success. It was not until 1962 and the TV series The Saint, starring Roger Moore, that the character achieved lasting success beyond the literary world. The next English-language cinema film featuring the character wouldn't be released until 1997, with Val Kilmer playing the character in The Saint.

References

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  1. ^ Johnson, Tom (1996). Hammer Films: An Exhaustive Filmography. North Carolina: McFarland. p. 84. ISBN 0-7864-0034-X.
  2. ^ Johnson, Tom (1996). Hammer Films: An Exhaustive Filmography. North Carolina: McFarland. p. 83. ISBN 0-7864-0034-X.
  3. ^ Johnson, Tom (1996). Hammer Films: An Exhaustive Filmography. North Carolina: McFarland. p. 83. ISBN 0-7864-0034-X.
  4. ^ Johnson, Tom (1996). Hammer Films: An Exhaustive Filmography. North Carolina: McFarland. p. 83. ISBN 0-7864-0034-X.
  5. ^ Johnson, Tom (1996). Hammer Films: An Exhaustive Filmography. North Carolina: McFarland. p. 83. ISBN 0-7864-0034-X.
  6. ^ a b www.saint.org: The Saint in Movies and Films Retrieved 2012-07-25
  7. ^ Johnson, Tom (1996). Hammer Films: An Exhaustive Filmography. North Carolina: McFarland. p.84. ISBN 0-7864-0034-X.
  8. ^ p. 105 Barer, Burl The Saint: A Complete History in Print, Radio, Film and Television of Leslie Charteris' Robin Hood of Modern Crime, Simon Templar 1928-1992 McFarland, 2003
  9. ^ Rita Hayworth to Enact Magdalen; Hayward Will Do 'Saint;' Nolan Pilot Schallert, Edwin. Los Angeles Times (1923-1995); Los Angeles, Calif. [Los Angeles, Calif]21 Jan 1953: B9.
  10. ^ Laurel to Premier 'Passion for Life' Los Angeles Times 25 Jan 1953: D3.
  11. ^ Vittorio Gassman Will Costar With Stanwyck; LeRoy May Guide Lanza Schallert, Edwin. Los Angeles Times 2 Mar 1953: B9.
  12. ^ Vagg, Stephen (7 September 2020). "A Tale of Two Blondes: Diana Dors and Belinda Lee". Filmink.
  13. ^ Warners, Metro Slate African Subjects; Jimmy Wakely Back in Cinema Schallert, Edwin. Los Angeles Times (1923-1995); Los Angeles, Calif. [Los Angeles, Calif]16 Sep 1953: B9.
  14. ^ 'Carnival Story' Top Mob Teaser Schallert, Edwin. Los Angeles Times 22 Apr 1954: B8.
  15. ^ "The Saint's Return [The Saint's Girl Friday] *** (1953, Louis Hayward, Naomi Chance, Sydney Tafler, Charles Victor, Harold Lang, Diana Dors, Jane Carr) – Classic Movie Review 3228 - Derek Winnert".
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