The
lowdown: Roger Moore starred as Simon Templar, otherwise
known as 'The Saint', in six seasons from October
1962 and February 1969.
It was made by the prolific production house ITC and broadcast on ITV1.
The series was often
set in exotic locations,
with the Saint 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, but in the TV series he generally
worked with the police
rather than against them.
In the original series of books by Leslie Charteris, The Saint was portrayed
as a gentleman
thief, but this aspect of
his character was toned down for the TV series.
'Interlude in Venice' was
the second episode of the fifth season, and was first broadcast on ITV1
on 7 October 1966. As
one would imagine, it is
set in Venice, where Simon Templar is enjoying a holiday. He meets a young
woman named
Cathy who is vacationing
with her father, an attorney, and his new wife. Cathy is invited to the
villa of a local gangster,
Prince Ubaldo, and when
Templar follows he finds that Ubaldo has been shot and Cathy is holding
the gun. Realising
that is a set-up, he removes
any incriminating evidence and gets Cathy away from the crime scene before
the police
arrive. Templar soon discovers
that the murder is a revenge crime, and Cathy's father is involved. Patrick
Troughton is
his usual excellent self
as Inspector Gambetti, who is called in to investigate Fortunati's murder.
The episode also stars
Lois Maxwell, the original
Miss Moneypenny in the James Bond films.
The
verdict: Like many TV shows from the 1960s, 'The Saint'
is showing its age, although the colour episodes are
much more fast-paced than
the early black and white ones. It s still a very enjoyable series for
fans of British action-
adventure shows of the 1960s,
particularly for those of us who grew up watching it.
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