The Saint Takes Over (1940)

When Inspector Fernack (Jonathan Hale) is framed, Simon Templar comes to America to help out not before meeting a beautiful damsel on the ship who is being cheated in a game of cards but their paths will cross again soon.Fernack cannot explain how thousands and thousands of dollars were found in his safe. The Saint reckons a group of mobsters involved a race fixing ring are involved. However more bodies show up and they all point to Fernack as the murderer.This is a more enjoyable B film simply because there is a nicer and more involved plot, a few red herrings and a milk drinking character called Pearly Gates who decides to turn his back on the mobsters and join up with the Saint.

GEORGE SANDERS is his usual suave self as the smoothly capable man who falls for WENDY BARRIE aboard a cruise ship, but is unable to really connect with her until he finds out the truth about her while he tries to clear Inspector Fernack (JOHNATHAN HALE) of a murder charge in New York City.It's a typical "Saint" story with a predictable wrap-up that has the sinners paying for their crimes. It's a neat B-film entry that benefits from good performances from the cast and some appropriately menacing background music by Roy Webb.Jonathan Hale does a good job of playing the police inspector suspected of several murders and unable to clear himself of the charges until The Saint steps in to help. The story concludes with a downbeat ending that may leave some fans disappointed, but most of the story is done in breezy style with Sanders delivering all of his lines with his usual flair.

The above summary really isn't meant as a slam against this film, as the series followed a very similar format. As usual, Simon Templar ("The Saint") meets a lady in distress and comes to her aid. He also comes to the aid of a police detective who was framed of accepting a bribe. Along the way, he meets some interesting supporting characters (this time, Paul Guilfoyle as "Pearly" Gates) and during his unraveling of this not especially compelling mystery (none of them really are), Templar is extremely erudite and just plain cool! George Sanders is once again the consummate sophisticated British do-gooder and he succeeds once again in making an excellent B-detective series film. Nothing particularly special, but a familiar and breezy product sure to please fans of the genre.

George Sanders playing the Saint for the penultimate time does a good job out of a good script - with the usual good RKO cast around. It's a non-Charteris story too, bristling with murders and good clean fun.Thread 1: In New York, Police Inspector Fernack, Templar's friend is framed in a corruption scandal and disgraced - ST comes over from London to try to put things right. Nice and simple so far - but is there really more than $90,000 in the world? Thread 2: Another tale of a woman taking revenge on the people who murdered her brother, Wendy Barrie does well in bumping off some nasty men and having the Saint fall in love with her to boot. Including a baddie who was under their direct protection and in Fernack's cellar - there's a creepy shot of him (dead and staring) and them in a car when they're taking him back to where they'd got him. Paul Guilfoyle as Pearly Gates must have supposed to have been homosexual in this - witness the dressing gown at the beginning, and the later beguiling comment by ST that he was thinking of keeping him as a pet - and did too for "Palm Springs"! Fernack was played by Jonathan Hale as usual but this time with such a beaten deflated attitude that what he really needed was a good slapping from Templar to liven him up.The Hays Office also made sure you got the picture right, all threads are tied up with no straggly bits. Well worth watching for all of us who like this kind of thing, but if Val Kilmer's version is your yardstick then don't bother.