ThiefHott Too much of everything

Solemplex To me, this movie is perfection.

Beanbioca As Good As It Gets

Derry Herrera Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.

ksf-2 The very first "Saint" made into a film, based on the novel by Leslie Charteris. And STILL not available on dvd, as of June 2018. Interesting. This one stars Louis Hayward as Simon Templar. Hayward was a war hero, shorter but dashing, and was married to Ida Lupino. In this one, he dresses up as a nun. Jack Carson is in here as a mob goon.. ..he was in so many films, could play any part. Sig Rumann was the comic foil to the Marx Brothers. Here, he's Hutch, the leader of the mob. Sound and picture quality are a little shaky, could probably use a restoration. Kay Sutton is "Fay"... according to imdb, most of her roles were either deleted or uncredited. This story kind of goes all over the place... the Saint puts the moves on Fay to see what he can find out about Hutch and the mob, and wants to dismantle the gang. Moves pretty slowly. Entertaining enough, but a bit dry. Also interesting as the one that started off the films. Later played by George Sanders. and of course, Roger Moore in the tv series.

Spikeopath 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

csteidler "What we need is a Robin Hood," suggests a citizens' committee member to the police commissioner. New York is being overrun by a few mob leaders: the police do their job and arrest lawbreakers, but crooked lawyers and bought juries just set them free again. "Mr. Commissioner….You must have heard of Simon Templar, the Saint?" Yes, everyone knows the Saint's reputation; it is quickly agreed to recruit his help, if possible. A search for the Saint covers continents, until he is at last tracked down near the center of a South American revolution—which is not surprising, given his reputation for courting adventure. What does the Saint find so appealing about revolutions? "I don't know….Maybe it's because I like to see justice for the underdog….maybe it's simply my love of anything that smells of danger or trouble." Louis Hayward is immediately arresting as the Saint, from his careless posture to his easy grin and wary eyes to his sparkling conversation. Intrigued by the idea of aiding a city in need, he agrees to fly to New York—but only if he is allowed to work using his own methods.Jonathan Hale is strong as the police inspector whose respect for the law makes him leery of trusting an outsider like Templar; grudging respect grows into good teamwork as the two men gradually learn each other's ideals and motivations.The rest of the cast is also excellent—solid character actors in well-written roles. Paul Guilfoyle and Jack Carson are semi-comical as a pair of dim yet rather philosophical trigger men. Kay Sutton is appropriately alluring and mysterious in her role as a tragic female. Sig Ruman plays it straight as a crafty mob boss. An actor named Cliff Bragdon is swell as a taxi driver who can "handle a wheel better 'n any guy in this screwy town."A good script and strong RKO production values—and Hayward's charismatic touch as the Saint—add up to a top B mystery.

Michael_Elliott Saint in New York, The (1938) *** (out of 4) The first in RKO's series of The Saint films features Louis Hayward in the title role. In this film, The Saint is tired of criminals getting away due to the judicial system so he sets out to get his own vengeance. I've seen a lot of these early mystery series from the Crime Doctor to Boston Blackie to The Falcon and so on but this one here, at least the first film, is a big change from those series because The Saint isn't a totally friendly character. Where those other series have the good guys trying to arrest the bad guys that's not the case here because The Saint wants them dead and will even kill in cold blood or kill an unarmed man to get his vengeance. I guess you could call this an early version of Death Wish because the vigilante theme runs very high here. I'm not sure what the rest of the series holds but this first film is very impressive even with its low budget. Hayward is very good in his role and his dry acting really adds a lot to the character. The supporting cast really isn't that impressive and that holds the film back some as does some ill-fated humor at the hands of two of the top gangster's gunmen but outside of that this is a very good movie and one that's unlike the others of its type that was out there around the same time.