DVD Review: The Saint Seasons 1 & 2

Before he took on his most famous role as James Bond, Roger Moore was Simon Templar in the dramatic series The Saint. For six seasons he played the suave criminal turned detective. Timeless Media Group, a division of Shout! Factory, has now released a ten-disc box set containing all thirty-nine episodes of the first two seasons. These episodes feature appearances by several other actors from the James Bond series, including Honor Blackman, Shirley Eaton, Robert Brown, Joseph Furst and Bill Nagy.

It’s an excellent show, each episode like a mini-film. At the beginning of each episode, Simon Templar directly addresses the camera, taking us into his confidence, sometimes even asking our advice, as in the first episode when he asks, “What should I say?” And then someone will mention Simon’s name and a halo appears over Simon’s head, which leads to the opening credits. In the first episode, a husband seemingly accidentally knocks a heavy pot of flowers from the balcony onto his wife. She survives, but he feels guilty, and begins acting strangely, telling lies and getting to know the pretty new neighbor, who herself begins acting oddly. Soon Simon Templar arrives in town, asking about the husband. There are lots of nice little details, like the bedridden wife hiding her glasses under the covers just before her husband enters, then putting them back on again once he leaves.

The show gives us little hints of Simon’s past and his renown. In the second episode a woman recognizes him, calling him “the famous Simon Templar,” and the Italian police allude to his being arrested before, for example. Some things are dropped, like the character of Hoppy, who works for Simon Templar and is something of a nitwit, trying to steal alcohol from him. This character is introduced in the third episode, and then dropped.

“The Arrow Of God” is a particularly good episode, an interesting whodunit. At the beginning of this one, Simon speaks to us against a gossip columnist (and by extension, against all gossip columnists). At one point, Lucy tells Templar that if the columnist steps out of line, he has permission to kill him. “Me? I’m on holiday,” Simon responds. A good example of the sense of humor of the show. This episode features Honor Blackman as Pauline Stone. “The Effete Angler” features Shirley Eaton as Gloria. Both Blackman and Eaton would of course star in Goldfinger. Another example of the humor comes in “The Man Who Was Lucky,” in which a villain says to Templar, “Haven’t I seen you someplace?” and Templar responds, “Sure, I’ve been someplace.”

“The Golden Journey” is a very different type of episode, in which Simon Templar and an aunt set up a test for a woman who is about to marry one of Templar’s closest friends. Erica Rogers plays the woman. And at the beginning of “The Charitable Countess,” Simon Templar says his own name, rather than someone else saying it, before the halo appears above him. This is a delightful episode. Patricia Donahue is wonderful as the countess, and Warren Mitchell is excellent as Marco, the cab driver who helps Simon. (Warren Mitchell would later turn in an incredible performance as Shylock in the BBC’s 1980 production of The Merchant Of Venice.)

In “Starring The Saint,” a producer is planning on making a film based on Simon Templar’s life, and wants Simon to play himself. As a side note, before this television series, there actually had been a series of films about The Saint. This episode features Jackie Collins as April Quest. And Monica Stevenson is excellent as Peggy. Plus, I love this line from an inspector: “I never believe anything about Simon Templar until I’ve proved it three times, and even then I’m always willing to change my mind.”

“The Saint Plays With Fire” is one of the best episodes. It begins with a neo-Nazi rally, and Templar speaks against it directly to us. It’s an excellent episode about Nazism after the war, with some great characters, particularly Lady Valerie, played by Justine Lord. There is an intense scene involving a lighter. Joseph Furst plays Kane Luker in this episode. He also starred in the final episode of the second season, “The Saint Sees It Through,” this time as Ernst, and would later appear in Diamonds Are Forever.

Another episode worth noting is “Luella.” At the beginning, Simon Templar tells us he’s not a bad person. “It’s just that I am not troubled by my wicked thoughts. In fact, I rather enjoy them.” This episode also plays with the halo bit at the beginning, with Roger Moore giving a quick glance upward as if waiting for it to appear. An old friend, now married, arrives in town and wants Simon to show him the night life. There is some silly slapstick elements in this episode. Wildly, this episode has a James Bond reference at the end. A woman refers to Simon Templar as James Bond. Wow, a bit of first-rate prognostication, that is. And then the episode ends by repeating the halo gag from the beginning.

Special Features

This ten-disc set includes commentary tracks on a few key episodes. On the first episode of the series, “The Talented Husband,” there is a commentary track by Roger Moore, executive producer Robert S. Baker and associate producer Johnny Goodman. They discuss the idea of Simon directly addressing the camera and about the music for the series. The commentary is moderated. Those same three people also provide the commentary on “The Saint Plays With Fire,” one of the series’ best episodes. Robert S. Baker was not only executive producer, but also directed that episode. They talk about the real demonstration against fascism, about Joseph Furst and about the fire scene. Roger Moore also speaks briefly about the film of The Saint, and about Robert Brown, who appears in this episode as well as several James Bond films, including The Spy Who Loved Me, Octopussy and A View To A Kill.

For the “Luella” episode, director Roy Ward Baker and guest star Sue Lloyd provide the commentary track. Both talk about the differences in their names in the credits of episodes (Sue is credited as Susan Lloyd in this episode), and about Roger Moore as a joker on the set. Roy mentions having worked for Alfred Hitchcock.

The Saint Seasons 1 And 2 was released on October 13, 2015 through Timeless Media Group.