''The Saint Takes Over'', released in 1940 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-Orphe ...

, was the fifth 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

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 ...

, also known as "The Saint", the

Robin Hood Robin Hood is a legendary heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature and film. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions of the legend, he is depic ...

-inspired crimefighter created by

Leslie Charteris Leslie Charteris (born Leslie Charles Bowyer-Yin, 12 May 1907 – 15 April 1993), was a British-Chinese author of adventure fiction, as well as a screenwriter.George Sanders George Henry Sanders (3 July 1906 – 25 April 1972) was a British actor and singer whose career spanned over 40 years. His heavy, upper-class English accent and smooth, bass voice often led him to be cast as sophisticated but villainous chara ...

played Templar for the fourth time. Sanders made one more Saint picture the following year.

Wendy Barrie Wendy Barrie (born Marguerite Wendy Jenkins; 18 April 1912 – 2 February 1978) was a British-American film and television actress. Early life Barrie was born in London to English parents. Her father, Francis Charles John Graigoe Jenkin KC ...

played his latest romantic interest, in her second of three appearances in the Saint film series (playing a different character each time).

Plot

On an ocean liner making its way to New York, Simon Templar, "the Saint", rescues a fellow passenger from card cheats, though she refuses to give him her name and is offended when he kisses her without invitation. He later sends the mysterious woman a rose corsage by way of apology. The Saint learns that his friendly nemesis, Inspector Henry Farnack, has been suspended from the police force after $50,000 was found in his safe. He has been framed by "Big" Ben Egan on behalf of his race-fixing gang, which Fernack was investigating. The other members of the gang - "Rocky" Weldon, Leo Sloan, Sam Reese and Max Bremer - each pay a quarter share of the $90,000 cost of the frameup. Rocky himself has just been cleared in a trial after the testimony of his bodyguard, Clarence "Pearly" Gates and the murder of the main prosecution witness, Johnny Summers. Egan orders two henchmen to pick up the woman passenger when the ship arrives. Templar is able to foil them, and the woman drives off in a taxi. Templar goes to see Fernack. Weldon sends Gates to rob Egan, but Egan catches the safe cracker. At gunpoint, Gates confesses that Welden sent him. Egan orders him to lure his boss into a trap, but after Gates leaves, an unseen shooter kills Egan. Templar and Fernack meet when they both sneak into Egan's place. The Saint finds the hidden camera and later develops the photograph. He also picks up a clue, a rose petal. Welden assumes Gates killed Egan and has the $90,000, despite Gates' protestations. Templar blackmails Gates into helping him in exchange for not giving the police the photograph and telling Weldon that Gates does not have the money. However, when they go to see Weldon, they find him dead, and once again, Fernack is already there. Templar, assisted by Gates, kidnaps Sloan, the most likely of the survivors to talk, but they are followed. When Templar leaves Sloan guarded by Fernack, Sloan is shot and killed through Fernack's basement window. They take the body back to Sloan's place, but the suspicious police burst in and take them by surprise. Only Templar manages to escape. He waits for the murderer in Reese's apartment (Bremer being out of town). He is unsurprised when the woman shows up. It is his fellow ship passenger Ruth Summers, Johnny's sister, out for revenge. He offers to help her. Templar has Gates "betray" him to Bremer and Reese. They catch him searching Bremer's office. He offers to trade the $90,000 for his life, but insists they tell him everything. Their unwitting confessions are broadcast to the police via a hidden microphone and radio transmitter. When the police arrive, Bremer escapes by the fire escape. In the alley, he encounters Ruth. Each fatally shoots the other. Ruth makes a

deathbed confession A deathbed confession is an admittance or confession when someone is nearing death, or on their "death bed". This confession may help alleviate any guilt, regrets, secrets, or sins the dying person may have had in their life. These confessions c ...

to the three previous murders, then dies before Templar can tell her something important.

Cast

George Sanders George Henry Sanders (3 July 1906 – 25 April 1972) was a British actor and singer whose career spanned over 40 years. His heavy, upper-class English accent and smooth, bass voice often led him to be cast as sophisticated but villainous chara ...

as Simon Templar / The Saint *

as Ruth Summers * Jonathan Hale as Inspector Henry Fernack *

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 Clarence "Pearly" Gates *

Morgan Conway Morgan Conway (born Sidney Conway, March 16, 1903 – November 16, 1981) was an American actor, best known for his portrayals of Dick Tracy. Early life and career Conway was educated at Columbia University in New York City. He had a bro ...

as Sam Reese *

Robert Emmett Keane Robert Emmett Keane (March 4, 1883 – July 2, 1981) was an American actor of both the stage and screen. Biography Keane began on stage in the 1910s, his first Broadway appearance being in the production of '' The Passing Show of 1914''. He co ...

as Leo Sloan *

Cy Kendall Cyrus Willard Kendall (March 10, 1898 – July 22, 1953) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 140 films between 1935 and 1950. Kendall's heavy-set, square-jawed appearance and deep voice were perfect for wiseguy roles such ...

as Max Bremer (as Cyrus W. Kendall) * James Burke as Patrolman Mike *

Robert Middlemass Robert Middlemass (September 3, 1883 – September 10, 1949) was an American playwright and stage actor, and later character actor with over 100 film appearances, usually playing detectives or policemen.(13 Feb 1937)Mrs. Susan C. Middlemass ...

as Captain Wade *

Roland Drew Roland Drew (born Walter Goss; August 4, 1900 – March 17, 1988) was an American actor. Biography Born in 1900 in New York City, Drew made his first film in 1926 and continued to work until the 1940s. Noted primarily as Dolores del Río' ...

as Albert "Rocky" Weldon *

Nella Walker Nella Walker (March 6, 1886 – March 22, 1971) was an American actress and vaudeville performer of the 1920s through the 1950s. Biography The daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Walker, she was born and raised in Chicago. In 1910, she marrie ...

as Mrs. Lucy Fernack, Henry's wife * Pierre Watkin as "Big" Ben Egan

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Takes Over, The 1940 films 1940s crime films The Saint (Simon Templar) American black-and-white films American crime films Films directed by Jack Hively RKO Pictures films 1940s English-language films 1940s American films