Produced in 1941 but not released until 1943, owing to Saint creator Leslie Charteris’ dispute with RKO over their new Falcon series (which is fairly unashamedly a rip-off of the successful Saint films), The Saint Meets the Tiger is a belated adaptation of Charteris’ first Saint tale, but was to be the series’ final film. Fortunately, it’s quite a good one.
Whether it be by conscious effort or serendipity, several of the problems suffered by The Saint’s Vacation are rectified here. Consensus seems to hold this is even worse than Hugh Sinclair’s first Saint film, but I definitely preferred it. The plot is not only engaging but makes sense, flowing onwards rather than going round in circles and not trying to push ‘twists’ that can be seen a mile off. The sense of place is also back: it’s very much The Saint in Cornwall. The downside is that’s a bit less glamorous than New York or trotting around Europe, the tiny Cornish village setting giving a low-key and quaint sensation, despite the story concerning international gold thieves. Secret passages, a smugglers’ cave and a yacht add some Boy’s Own excitement and borderline grandeur nonetheless.
Unfortunately the titular villain is a damp squib. Clifford Evans’ performance is good enough, and the notion of him working with our heroes under an alias is a good one, but ultimately he’s not the kind of crime lord the dramatic title and initial setup serve to imply. His underlings are the focus of the Saint’s investigations at first, and then they overthrow the Tiger with a basic double cross and become the focus for the climax too. Insert some predictable comment about him being a tiger without teeth here.
It still lacks the wit and light touch that make the Sanders films so entertaining, with only vague attempts at humour that generally raise little more than a smile. Sinclair doesn’t seem quite as wooden this time out, but he’s a straight-cut hero-type, not the kind of charmer this series really wants. In fact, one moment when he bursts into laughter, only to suddenly cut it short, is actually quite creepy. Perhaps he was trying to emulate Sanders more — the film does feel lighter than Vacation — but he still comes up short.
Gordon McLeod is Inspector Teal for the third time, but is still no Fernack; and Wylie Watson as Templar’s butler-butler (as opposed to the usual criminal-turned-butler) isn’t the series’ best sidekick either. Still, they’re both light years ahead of the ones offered in Vacation. Jean Gillie is actually one of the better ‘Saint girls’, though.
All in, Meets the Tiger plays as a straight-up thriller in the ’40s filler model. It’s fine for what it is, with some nice moments particularly during the third act, but it’s not quite as entertainingly memorable as the series’ middle entries.
Read more of my thoughts on Sinclair’s time as the Saint here.
* As with many of the Saint films, this has apparently not been passed by the BBFC since 1941 (when it was also 12 minutes longer — that’s not just PAL speed-up!). Nonetheless, it’s available on DVD, rated PG. ^
The Saint’s gone on vacation indeed — with 
Apparently the villains are Nazis, though there’s absolutely nothing to suggest that here (again, that’s something I’ve since read online). The Saint knows both the villain and a Mysterious Woman of old, but it’s never explained how or why or what their relationships are. It’s like a set of stock adventure-story elements assembled without any understanding of how or why they should connect, which makes for an unsatisfying and unenthralling experience.
The rest of the cast don’t offer much compensation. Arthur Macrae as the Saint’s cowardly friend Monty is no replacement for the parade of ex-cons he formerly hired as manservants, while Sally Gray of 
As seems to be the case fairly often these days (I feel like I’m noting it in more and more reviews, anyway) there’s a host of famous cameos and recognisable faces. This time I won’t ruin it by listing them, but there’s a regular stream to look out for.
Tony Scott teams up with Denzel Washington for the fifth time to tell the (kinda) true story of a runaway train with the potential to cause massive destruction.
are as stock as they come. Also look out for Kevin Dunn playing the kind of role (condescending middle-management ‘bad guy’) he always plays.
George Sanders is the Saint for the final time in a film that isn’t the series’ best, nor its worst. It also marks the final appearance by Jonathan Hale as Inspector Fernack, and third-and-final turns from both Wendy Barrie and Paul Guilfoyle. For those keeping track (or not), that’s the same four leads as the last picture! Same director too, as Jack Hively helms his third (and, of course, final) Saint adventure.
Hale isn’t in it nearly enough unfortunately, especially considering this is his last outing. Guilfoyle has the sidekick role and at least his and Sanders’ relationship is a fun substitute. Barrie is, for once, simply the ingénue and not some form of criminal mastermind. Don’t worry, there’s another girl for that: Linda Hayes, who seems a promising match for the Saint but, though prominent early on, is ultimately disregarded. The highlight for both women comes when they get invited along for a horse ride with the Saint and have a good bitch at each other. It’s a pickle quite unlike the ones Templar usually finds himself in! I have nothing against Barrie, but quite why they sought to use her repeatedly I don’t know. And, to be frank, she worked best in 
The first RKO Saint film to not be based on a story by the Saint’s creator, Leslie Charteris, is actually one of the better mysteries in the franchise. Sort of. The downside would be that the solution is glaringly obvious. For a mystery you might imagine that would be a major problem, but the process of investigating is nicely done. A bit more work might’ve been done to obscure the culprit, a character who we meet at the beginning and then more or less disappears and so will inevitably return somehow, but I had so much fun I don’t really care.
One of the highlights of 
After two fun adventures, here RKO’s series turns in my least favourite film to star George Sanders as the Saint.
Helene Whitney is fine in this role, but her character’s not a patch on 
The third film in RKO’s Saint series is a bit of a mixed bag, from my point of view.
I bring up Bond again because this is perhaps the most proto-Bond of all the Saint films. Within the first few minutes we have a tuxedoed Saint introduce himself as “Templar, Simon Templar”, enter a fancy restaurant where he drinks a martini, and expertly orders a swish meal and the appropriate wine to go with it. Later, villain Bruno Lang (because yes, he is relevant in the end) is a somewhat Bondian villain, a powerful man with a grand plan who thinks he’s smarter than our hero. Which he isn’t, of course. Perhaps there was an abundance of these kind of heroes in the middle decades of the twentieth century, but as Bond is the only one that’s endured while retaining the same iconography, these similarities are striking.
Best of all is Sally Gray as Penny Parker, a charming girl Templar bumps into — as he’s wont to do — who forcibly strings along for the ride. Every film in the series contains a pretty young thing who falls for the Saint, and who he seems to fall for back before casually disregarding at the end — at least Bond faded to black, leaving the inevitable parting off-screen, whereas Templar is almost callous-with-a-smile. Of all the girls the series offers, though, plucky Penny is the one you’d wish had stuck around. Even with that silly hat.
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