John Chard

I'm such a hero I hardly recognise myself. 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. He's deadly, has a quip on the tongue and laughs in the face of danger, and of course he can charm the ladies as well. He gets into scrapes, meaning we get to enjoy his many escapes from impending death, he does indeed assassinate bad guys; and has us firmly on side in the process, and he crucially has us hankering for more of Charteris' rogue good guy! It's good old fashioned fantastical fun mixed with some rugged 1930s gangster shenanigans. Hooray! 7/10