50 replies to this topic

[DLibrasnow]

I would love to see the "Return of Tha Saint" DVD set.

[Simon]

I've only read a novelization of several television scripts from the 1960's television series titled The Saint in the Sun written by Leslie Charteris. Unfortunately, this book was lost in a move and I haven't been able to locate it.

Leslie Charteris wrote over 100 novels featuring The Saint.

From 1947 to 1951, Vincent Price portrayed the character in a radio series.

Sir,

A couple of minor corrections.

The Saint in the Sun was some original work by Charteris, or at the very least, ghost written and then polished by Charteris, (as was wont to happen in his latter books) and some of those short stories were made into TV episodes, to wit, The Better Mousetrap.

Charteris wrote (had ghost written etc) 50 books, some comprising several novellas or many short stories.

If you ever get a chance to listen to some of the Price radio plays, you will see he manages to perfectly capture the essence of the books' character. Some of these same episodes, along with comic strips published in the States, later became the basis for several French only Saint novels, sometimes canabalising and merging several stories into one written publication.

And as you say, the less said about the Kilmer flick and to my mind the Dutton films, the better.

[Simon]

However there are I guess another 25 saintbooks in the French language which have not been translated in English. They were translated in Dutch, lucky me. They are mostly novelisations of French radioplays, most of them are also polished by Charteris and are missing his touch and are rather bland. But for a Saint fan they are good fun.

Indeed there are a total of 40 original French pastiches making a total series of roughly 73 books.

Not all the Charteris English language books were translated for some reason hence the anomoly of 50 UK books plus 40 French books not making the supposed total of 90. Also, some of the French translations incorporated short stories from a number of different UK books so tracking the order became a bit difficult. And again also, they weren't printed in any sequential order so Meet the Tiger, the first novel, could pop up half way through the French series giving rise to questions over an obviously more youthful Saint.

As a point of reference, while the Kilmer Saint movie was supposed to have been an original script, it is in fact based on the French book, Le Saint a Paris. I didn't see this catalogued anywhere but having read it, the whole premise of the female scientist and alternative power sources is spot on the same.

[Triton]

As a point of reference, while the Kilmer Saint movie was supposed to have been an original script, it is in fact based on the French book, Le Saint a Paris. I didn't see this catalogued anywhere but having read it, the whole premise of the female scientist and alternative power sources is spot on the same.

Did the book also have Templar growing up in a Far East orphanage, Templar's talent with multiple disguises, and his use of the names of saints as aliases? Did any book ever reveal that Templar was originally a thief, or were his origins always a mystery and the police presumed that he got his wealth from thievery?

[DLibrasnow]

I have never heard of this reference book -- is it worth seeking out?

[DLibrasnow]

Thanks....I will have to hunt it out

[Simon]

Did the book also have Templar growing up in a Far East orphanage, Templar's talent with multiple disguises, and his use of the names of saints as aliases? Did any book ever reveal that Templar was originally a thief, or were his origins always a mystery and the police presumed that he got his wealth from thievery?

None of the books, either the Charteris or French books ever alluded to the crap that was the Far East orphanage or saint name aliases or over use of disguises. Charteris had him use an occasional disguise but his premise was that Templar was so cock sure of his own talents that disguises were not necessary.

Templar was always the Robin Hood type character, stealing from the criminals and giving a %-age of the proceeds to charity etc. He never underwent this ridiculous morality play or character arc that had him starting out primarily as just a thief out for his own ends.

If you're looking for a couple of books to give you a flavour, try Saint in New York or Saint Overboard or Saint Bids Diamonds. These are all full length novels as opposed to collections and really serve an introductory purpose. Dare I say it but I feel the writing of Charteris beats that of Fleming.

[DLibrasnow]

Dare I say it but I feel the writing of Charteris beats that of Fleming.

That's close to blasphemy on these boards Simon

[Triton]

Thank you Simon for the information. I presumed that the Far East orphanage and the origin story that he was originally a thief using the names of saints was the creation of screenwriter Jonathan Hensleigh and not based on any story material written by Charteris.

Thank you also for the book recommendations as well.

[Simon]

That's close to blasphemy on these boards Simon

I write at my peril...

[DLibrasnow]

I am a big fan of Clive Cussler...but I don't think he writes as good as Ian Fleming.

[TheSaint]

As pointed out by Chimera, Umbrella Video in Australia has released a 6 DVD set of the first 24 b/w Saint episodes starring Roger Moore. The discs are chock full of bells & whistles, including an audio commentary from Roger on the first episode, "The Talented Husband". I picked up the set because I figured that, if & when A&E releases the episodes here, in the states, their set would not include the same bells & whistles, especially the Roger commentary. As I still have to purchase a region-free DVD player, I haven't watched them yet(why couldn't DVDs be region-free the way laserdiscs were). I just heard that the French company TF1 will be releasing
the whole b/w run in May of this year on DVD, and that A&E has finally stopped dragging their feet and will begin releasing the b/w episodes in March of this year. According to Ian Dickerson who was involved in the Umbrella release, the French & US releases will not include the goodies from the Aussie set but, there will be some extras on the A&E sets, no idea what yet. Dlibra, as you have a region free player, I suggest you purchase the Aussie set because Dickerson assures me that it is/will be superior to the French & US sets.

As for word on re-releases of the novels, I haven't heard anything but can guess that there are no plans in the works. The Saint, unfortunately, is not as popular as Bond and, as there is no current version of the Saint out there at the moment(no tv show or movie series), I can't see any book company making the effort with nothing to tie a re-release to. If you want to read the books, get out there and search. They are worth tracking down.

The less said about the abysmal Kilmer film, the better.

The Simon Dutton Saint tv-movies are quite good. D.L.Taffner, the company that produced them, recently released the Dick Francis Mysteries that aired alongside their Saint productions, here at least, on DVD so, hope springs eternal.

[DLibrasnow]

Now why can't we get that DVD set over here? Thank goodness for region free DVD players.

[Turn]

I hope we do get it over here. Since getting the Saint color set at Christmas, I haven't been able to stop watching them. Good stuff. Also looking forward to The Persuaders Vol. 2.

[TheSaint]

I'm sure there's sites online you can order the set from. Umbrella has a website-you could order it from them.

[Turn]

I just found out from DVD Talk that Deep Discount is now taking preorders for The Saint 62 set. No details were available as far as extras or anything, but the price is $42.53 and it is set to release March 30.

[Triton]

Thanks for the information Turn. Looks like A&E is going to release the first season of The Saint in glorious Black & White on DVD in March.

[DLibrasnow]

That is really excellent news.

[TheSaint]

Thanks for repeating what I said, Triton.

[DLibrasnow]

LOL.....I think Triton probably didn't check the other posts.

[DLibrasnow]

I would definatelky pick up THE RETURN OF THE SAINT! I remember watching that show when I was a youngster!