The
lowdown: Roger Moore starred as Simon Templar, otherwise
known as 'The Saint', in 118 episodes of the popular
action/adventure series
between 4 October 1962 and 9 February 1969. It was made by the prolific
production house ITC
and broadcast on ITV1. The
Saint was often in exotic locations, coming to the assistance of people
in peril, helping old
friends or assisting the
wronged to get justice. Templar often ran afoul of the local law (usually
represented in England
by Inspector Teal, played
by series regular Ivor Dean), although in the TV series he generally co-operated
with the police
rather than working against
them. In the original series of novels, Templar was portrayed as a gentleman
villain, although
one who preferred to make
a quick buck by conning the conmen rather than innocent people. The first
four seasons were
made in black and white,
before switching to colour in 1966.
The
episode: 'The Contract' is the 14th episode of the third
season, and was broadcast on January 7, 1965. Templar is
in London, where somebody
tries to run him down as he gets out of his car. Templar is warned that
somebody has taken
out a contract on his life,
and is willing to pay £5,000 to anybody who kills the Saint. Templar
is given the name of a man
named Friste, who may be
able to tell him who has commissioned the hit. Templar soon learns that
an American named
Jack Farnberg is behind
it. Farnberg was a flight sergeant at a US air force base in England. He
has served eight years in
prison for robbing the paymaster's
office of £250,000 in cash. Templar had been visiting the base at
the time and assisted
the military police to arrest
Farnberg. The money was never recovered, and Farnberg has returned to England
to both find
the cash and get his revenge.
He believes that the widow of his accomplice knows where the loot is hidden.
It turns out the
money had been converted
into diamonds, which are easier to get out of the country than cold hard
cash. The widow writes
crime novels, and it turns
out that one of her unfinished books provides a clue to the location of
the diamonds are hidden.
Nicholas Courtney has a
brief (and uncredited role) as a uniformed police officer, who assists
Inspector Teal to investigate
when Fiske turns up dead.
Courtney also appeared in a 1965 episode called 'The
Abductors.'
The
verdict: Like many shows from the 1960s, 'The Saint' is
showing its age; Roger Moore seems impossibly young, not
surprising given that it
would be 10 years before his debut as James Bond, and the pace of the episodes
is slow compared
with modern TV production
standards. However, 'The Saint' has more realistic plots than some shows
of the era (such as
the later episodes of 'The
Avengers') and is still a very enjoyable series for fans ofaction-adventure
shows of the 1960s. And
like many shows of the era,
it is enjoyable to watch 'The Saint' due to the numerous guest actors who
later went on to more
famous roles. Patrick Troughton
and Roger Delgado are among the other Doctor Who actors to appear
in 'The Saint'.
Video clip: Police
investigation 4.3mb |
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