''The Saint in New York'' is an American 1938

crime film Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combin ...

, directed by Ben Holmes and adapted from Leslie Charteris's 1935 novel of the same name by Charles Kaufman and Mortimer Offner. After a police lieutenant is killed, the New York Police Department enlists gentleman criminal

Simon Templar ''The Saint'' is the nickname of the fictional character Simon Templar, featured in a series of novels and short stories by Leslie Charteris published between 1928 and 1963. After that date, other authors collaborated with Charteris on books un ...

to fight criminal elements in the city. Released by

RKO Pictures RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, was an American film production and distribution company, one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orph ...

, ''The Saint in New York'' marks the first screen appearance of Templar, also known as "The Saint".

Louis Hayward Louis Charles Hayward (19 March 1909 – 21 February 1985) was a Johannesburg-born, British-American actor. Biography Born in Johannesburg, Louis Hayward lived in South Africa and was educated in France and England, including Latymer Upper Scho ...

stars as the title character, with Kay Sutton as his love interest.

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...

was initially discussed as a possible director for the film. This was the first of eight films in RKO's

film series A film series or movie series (also referred to as a film franchise or movie franchise) is a collection of related films in succession that share the same fictional universe, or are marketed as a series. This article explains what film series are ...

about The Saint. After being replaced in the series by George Sanders, Hayward would not play The Saint again until 1953 in

Hammer Films A hammer is a tool, most often a hand tool, consisting of a weighted "head" fixed to a long handle that is swung to deliver an impact to a small area of an object. This can be, for example, to drive nails into wood, to shape metal (as wi ...

production of ''

The Saint's Return ''The Saint's Return'' (released in the US as ''The Saint's Girl Friday'') is a British crime thriller film from 1953, produced by Hammer Film Productions in London. It premiered in London under the original title on 12 October 1953

''. There had not been a Saint film made in twelve years.

Plot

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 (

), the "Saint", a British amateur detective 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 Jonathan Hale (born Jonathan Hatley; March 21, 1891 – February 28, 1966) was a Canadian-born film and television actor. Life and career Hale was born in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Before his acting career, Hale worked in the Diplomatic C ...

). (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 who 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 Siegfried Carl Alban Rumann (October 11, 1884 – February 14, 1967), billed as Sig Ruman and Sig Rumann, was a German-American character actor known for his portrayals of pompous and often stereotypically Teutonic officials or villains i ...

), 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.

Cast

* Kay Sutton as Fay Edwards *

as Hutch Rellin *

as Inspector Henry Fernack * Jack Carson as Red Jenks, one of Hutch's men *

Paul Guilfoyle Paul Vincent Guilfoyle () (born April 28, 1949) is an American television and film actor. He was a regular cast member of the CBS crime drama ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'', on which he played Captain Jim Brass from 2000 to 2014. He retu ...

as Hymie Fanro, another of Hutch's men * Frederick Burton as William Valcross *

Ben Welden Ben Welden (born Benjamin Weinblatt; June 12, 1901 – October 17, 1997) was an American character actor who played a wide variety of Damon Runyon-type gangsters in various movies and television shows. Early years Welden was born in Toledo, Oh ...

as Boots "Pappy" Papinoff, one of the six gangsters *

Charles Halton Charles Halton (March 16, 1876 – April 16, 1959) was an American character actor who appeared in over 180 films. Life and career Halton trained at the New York Academy of Dramatic Arts. He made his Broadway debut in 1901, after which he ...

as Vincent Nather, Irbell's lawyer *Cliff Bragdon as Sebastian Lipke * Frank M. Thomas as Prosecutor * George Irving as Judge *

Paul Fix Peter Paul Fix (March 13, 1901 – October 14, 1983) was an American film and television character actor who was best known for his work in Westerns. Fix appeared in more than 100 movies and dozens of television shows over a 56-year career b ...

as Phil Farrell - Doorman at the Silverclub * Edward LeSaint as Committee Member (uncredited)

Production

Hayward is generally praised for his portrayal of the Saint; his performance has been described as "a poor man’s... Orson Welles",The Saint in New York
at

Turner Classic Movies Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie-oriented pay-TV network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasting campus in the Midtown business district of ...

considered "rakish" while staying faithful to Charteris' vision. However he was unable to repeat the role because he was signed to a multi-picture deal by

Edward Small Edward Small (born Edward Schmalheiser, February 1, 1891, Brooklyn, New York – January 25, 1977, Los Angeles) was a film producer from the late 1920s through 1970, who was enormously prolific over a 50-year career. He is best known for the movi ...

who wanted to make Hayward a star.Staff (November 1, 1938) "Louis Hayward to Play Lead in 'Man in the Iron Mask' for United Artists; Opening at Continental: 'The Singing Blacksmith,' New Yiddish Picture, Will Begin Engagement Today; Casting for 'Hotel Imperial'; Coast Scripts Of Local Origin" ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' p.27 After being replaced in the series by George Sanders (Sanders later being replaced by

Hugh Sinclair Admiral Sir Hugh Francis Paget Sinclair, (18 August 1873 – 4 November 1939), known as Quex Sinclair, was a British intelligence officer. He was Director of British Naval Intelligence between 1919 and 1921, and he subsequently helped to set ...

), Hayward would return to the role 15 years later in 1953's ''

'' (known as ''The Saint's Girl Friday'' in the US). In the RKO films, Templar's

New York Police Department The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...

contact, Inspector Fernack, as played by

, appeared four times, even in films not specifically set in New York; Templar's British law enforcement foil, Inspector Teal of Scotland Yard, would appear in films set in Britain, played by different actors. In 1937,

met with Lillie Messinger of RKO. Hitchcock showed interest in coming to America and making ''The Saint in New York''. Ultimately, the film was made a year later with Ben Holmes directing.

Reception

The film was extremely popular, making a profit of $195,000.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint in New York, The 1938 films The Saint (Simon Templar) American black-and-white films Films directed by Ben Holmes RKO Pictures films American crime films 1938 crime films 1930s English-language films 1930s American films