| The Saint in New York | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Ben Holmes |
| Produced by | William Sistrom |
| Written by | Charles Kaufman Mortimer Offner based on the Leslie Charteris novel |
| Starring | Louis Hayward Kay Sutton Jonathan Hale |
| Music by | Roy Webb |
| Cinematography | Joseph H. August Frank Redman |
| Editing by | Harry Marker |
| Distributed by | RKO Radio Pictures |
| Release date(s) | May 25, 1938 |
| Running time | 69 min. |
| Language | English |
The Saint in New York is a 1938 crime film, based on Leslie Charteris's novel of the same name. Released by RKO Pictures, The Saint in New York marks the first screen appearance of Simon Templar - "the Saint". Louis Hayward stars as the titular character, with Kay Sutton as his love interest.
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Police Lieutenant Martin, an officer leading the fight against New York gangsters, is killed. Jake Irbell is arrested and charged with his murder, but has to be released when prosecution witnesses are either coerced into changing their testimony or simply disappear. A civilian crime commission demands action of the police commissioner, but he has no fresh ideas. William Valcross (Frederick Burton), a respected leading citizen and member of the commission, suggests they resort to drastic measures and recruit Simon Templar (Louis Hayward), the "Saint", a man with a reputation for dealing with criminals outside the law. The commissioner reluctantly agrees to give the Saint free rein to do what he must.
Valcross spends months tracking the Saint down, following a trail of dead (criminal) bodies across Europe and South America. Templar is intrigued by the challenge and is given a list of six gangsters whose removal would hopefully bring peace to the city.
Disguised as a nun, the Saint kills Irbell just as he is about to shoot his most determined enemy, Inspector Henry Fernack (Jonathan Hale). (This differs from the original novel in which the Saint shoots an accused cop-killer in cold blood after the man walks free from court.) As he works his way through the list, Templar learns that the mysterious "Big Fellow" is the mastermind behind them all, though he hides his identity by communicating with his underlings solely through Fay Edwards (Kay Sutton). Templar meets Fay, and they are attracted to each other. She saves his life twice when his recklessness gets him in trouble. The Saint disposes of the last of the six original targets, Hutch Rellin (Sig Ruman), leaving only their leader.
Fay has given her word not to divulge the Big Fellow's name, but agrees to point him out when she meets him the next morning at the bank where the profits of three years worth of crime have been kept. When Valcross happens by, Templar tells him why he is waiting there. Valcross starts to leave, but when Fay shows up, she recognizes him. He fatally shoots her before Templar guns down the Big Fellow. Valcross wanted Templar to kill his men so he would not have to share the loot.
Hayward is generally praised for his portrayal of the Saint; his performance has been described as "a poor man’s... Orson Welles"[1], considered "rakish" while staying faithful to Charteris' vision.[1][2][3] After being replaced in the series by George Sanders (Sanders later being replaced by Hugh Sinclair), Hayward would return to the role 15 years later in 1953's The Saint's Girl Friday (a.k.a. The Saint's Return).[1]
In the books, Templar's nemesis on the side of law and order is Inspector Claud Eustace Teal; for the film series it was decided to replace that character with Inspector Henry Fernack, who would become a regular in the RKO film series.
In 1937, Alfred Hitchcock met with Lillie Messinger of RKO Pictures. Hitchcock showed interest in coming to America and making The Saint in New York.[1][4] Ultimately, the film was made a year later with Ben Holmes directing.