Main Cast: George Sanders, Sally Gray, David Burns, Athene Seyler, Gordon McLeod, Henry Oscar
Release Year: 1939
Country: US/UK
Run Time: 72 minutes
Plot
In an unusual move for a mere program picture, RKO Radio filmed A Saint in London on location in England, using a largely British cast and crew. George Sanders makes his second appearance as suave soldier of fortune Simon Templer, aka The Saint. This time, Templar gets mixed up with a gang of counterfeiters who've murdered and robbed a European count of 1,000,000 pounds. He is aided reluctantly by Scotland Yard inspector Teal (Gordon McLeod), who's convinced that Templar himself pulled off the heist, and less reluctantly by light-fingered Dugan (David Burns) and dizzy socialite Penny Parker (Sally Gray). The Saint in London was directed by John Paddy Carstairs, who later worked on some of the episodes of the Saint TV series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
Fans of The Saint will have a fine time with The Saint in London, one of the better entries in the series. Exactly how much one enjoys London, though, will be tempered by what one goes in expecting. This being a mystery, one might logically expect the plot to be a bit more challenging. In fact, there's very little to figure out in terms of the caper, and what mystery does exist is easy to solve. Therefore, one better enjoy the cast, and here London is quite lucky. No one in the history of the cinema ever played debonair quite the way as did George Sanders, and he is at his most suave playing The Saint. The actor is in top form; he's not delivering a groundbreaking performance or one to make one gasp in surprise at the unexpected turns he takes, but he's giving the viewer everything that the viewer could possibly desire in this picture. Sally Gray stands out in the kind of role that is often a bit of a pill, making a strong impression and playing very well off of Sanders. And David Burns is a delight as the pickpocket that aids Sanders, providing some fine comic relief along the way. The direction is competent, the production values adequate, and the location lensing a welcome plus. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
C. Wilfred Arnold - Art Director, John Paddy Carstairs - Director, Doug Robertson - Editor, Harry Acres - Musical Direction/Supervision, Claude Friese-Greene - Cinematographer, William Sistrom - Producer, Lynn Root - Screenwriter, Frank Fenton - Screenwriter, Leslie Charteris - Book Author
This article is about the film. For the Simon Templar book which is often published under this title, see The Misfortunes of Mr. Teal.
The Saint in London (RKO, 1939) is an American motion picture, the third in a series of films featuring the adventures of Simon Templar, alias "The Saint".
According to Saint historian Burl Barer, Charteris considered The Saint in London to be the best of the RKO film series, and it was also a box office success. He believed George Sanders was better suited for the role than Louis Hayward. He admired director Carstairs' work enough to dedicate the book The Saint in the Sun to him; Carstairs is also the only person to direct not only RKO Saint films, but also two episodes of the 1962-69 series The Saint.
Burl Barer, The Saint: A Complete History in Print, Radio, Film and Television 1928-1992. Jefferson, N.C.: MacFarland, 2003 (originally published in 1992).
