Todesroulette

Louis Hayward is many people's preference as the Saint over George Sanders, precisely because he played him as a hard, cold hit-man in 1938's The Saint in New York. While this is, undeniably, a trait in Charteris's creation, it is not the most likeable one and it is intriguing to see too Hayward's performance has mellowed with age. The script here is a little trite, but on the whole this is a more than passable little preamble that predicts nicely the Saint the Roger Moore series would show, with the Saint a vaguely retired disreputable character who finds it hard to stay on the right side of the law. There is much humour, and a little padding, but the film is worth a watch for Saint fanatics. For Hammer Film fans (the film was shot for RKO by the British studio) a nice touch is the shot of a floor plan of a country house that is about to be burgled; the names of all the guests belong to Hammer regular cast and crew members, including cult director Terence Fisher.