The Saint-Volume 1 (1962)

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General		Extras
Category	Drama	Main Menu Audio & Animation Menu Audio Introduction-Roger Moore Episode Introductions-Roger Moore, Episode 1 - The Talented Husband Audio Commentary-Filmmakers and Roger Moore - Episode 1 Booklet-Original ITC Publicity Booklet Biographies-Cast & Crew-Saints And Sinners Gallery-Photo-Photographic Evidence Notes-The Saint At The Movies Production Notes Notes-Original ITC Pressbook Isolated Musical Score-Music And Effects Track - The Element Of Doubt Interviews-Cast-Original 1963 And 2003 Interviews With Roger Moore Isolated Musical Score-Music And Effects Track - The Ever-Loving Spouse Notes-ATV Television Show Book Gallery-USA Paperback Gallery Credits-Textless Opening And Closing Credits Filmographies-Roger Moore Trailer-The Prisoner, Danger Man, Man In A Suitcase, The Baron Trailer-Strange Report, Randall & Hopkirk Deceased, And Many More...
Rating
Year Of Production	1962
Running Time	1170:58 (Case: 1200)
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered Multi Disc Set (6)	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	1,2,3,4,5,6	Directed By	John Ainsworth Robert Asher Ray Austin Robert S. Baker
Studio Distributor	Madman Entertainment	Starring	Roger Moore
Case	Slip Case
RPI	$119.95	Music	Chris Andrews Edwin T. Astley Leslie Charteris

    In 1962 The Saint finally found his way there, and with Roger Moore in the title role - a piece of casting so perfect that it virtually guaranteed the series' success (although it almost didn't happen, with Moore well down the list of preferred choices). The Saint is excellent television - great stories, good action, and a super-hero for his times at the centre. Each episode starts in the same way - Moore looks directly into the camera and confides his opinions on his current location or circumstance. He then enters into conversation with someone in which they either say his name, or ask him to - in either case, once his name is said, a halo appears above his head and the opening titles roll.

    Dressed in suits, driving a Volvo P1800 sports coupe, and fighting evil across the world, Simon Templar is one of the 20th century's greatest heroes, and makes The Saint one of the most enjoyable television series of all time. This six disc set presents almost 20 hours of Saint action, comprising 24 episodes as follows:

• The Talented Husband (49:08) - The first ever instalment of The Saint, The Talented Husband is actually a fairly atypical Saint adventure, focusing far more on the melodrama of the relationship between an actor husband and his recently injured wife than on Simon Templar himself. The Saint swings into action when it seems that the husband's previous two wives both died of "accidents", and soon finds himself working with a beautiful insurance investigator whose company is suspicious of the new, and very large, life insurance policy taken out for the wife. This is certainly not the strongest start to a series, and is easily the least interesting episode in this set - rest assured, it gets much better from here. The investigator is played by Shirley Eaton who later appeared in the third James Bond film Goldfinger (painted gold).
• The Latin Touch (49:07) - The first "typical" Saint adventure sees Simon Templar in Rome. After going to the rescue of a young woman who is being over-charged by her taxi driver, Simon becomes embroiled in a deeper plot of kidnapping with political consequences.
• The Careful Terrorist (48:49) - A journalist friend of Simon's is looking to bring down a corrupt union boss who is embezzling money from his members and controlling them with fear. The night before he can broadcast evidence of the boss' corruption he is killed in an explosion in his apartment. Simon steps in to finish off his friend's work, and make sure his death is avenged.
• The Covetous Headsman (48:36) - Simon takes a plane to Paris, and on the way meets a girl whose life is turned upside down when she learns of the death of her brother. After being attacked in her hotel room, it seems that someone intends she share her brother's fate. The Saint must use all his skills to help her.
• The Loaded Tourist (48:58) - Simon finds himself the witness to a murder as a dysfunctional family attempt to flee to a better life. Initially the prime suspect in the case, The Saint eventually provides the evidence to solve the mystery and clear his name. Watch for the appearance of Andrew Sachs who would go on to play waiter Manuel in Fawlty Towers.
• The Pearls Of Peace (48:54) - When the man running a pearl diving operation Simon invested in disappears in Mexico, taking the money with him, The Saint just considers it to be a bad investment, but when a message arrives from the missing man years later, he finds the notion of a quick trip to investigate rather appealing.
• The Arrow Of God (48:37) - Visiting a friend for the weekend in Nassau, The Saint gets more than he expected when one of the guests ends up dead. This episode is a little different to the others in that the action following the murder takes place in one room, in standard whodunit style. This episode is also notable for the appearance of the then yet-to-be Bond girl Pussy Galore, Honor Blackman.
• The Element Of Doubt (48:55) - When a lawyer takes it upon himself to win cases regardless of the cost, The Saint steps in and leads him to see the error of his ways.
• The Effete Angler (48:56) - On a fishing holiday in Miami Beach, The Saint gets more than he bargained for when he accepts an invitation to a day on the water with a beautiful woman.
• The Charitable Countess (49:02) - A young socialite running a number of charities meets her match when Simon finds out that her cut of the proceeds is a little too large. A bet is made, and The Saint has only a few days to steal the countess' expensive diamond necklace.
• The Golden Journey (48:33) - One of Simon's best friends is about to be married, but his bride is still behaving like a spoiled brat, so The Saint moves in and over a week's hiking teaches her that there is more to life than money and servants.
• The Romantic Matron (49:08) - In Buenos Aires for some time away from his crime-fighting work, The Saint stumbles across a plot that involves theft of gold bullion and the seduction of a newly widowed American lady.
• The Man Who Was Lucky (49:04) - Simon is drawn to take action against a notorious London bookie when a friend of his is threatened for protection money. The police may never have been able to make anything stick, but The Saint has methods the police can't resort to.
• The Invisible Millionaire (48:41) - When he bumps into an old friend at the London Stock Exchange, Simon is drawn into a mystery surrounding a millionaire and a car accident. The big twist in this episode is probably quite obvious to more cynical modern audiences but is well executed nonetheless.
• The Gentle Ladies (48:02) - While viewing historic sights at a picturesque English seaside village, Simon meets three elderly women whose pasts are about to catch up with them. Luckily Simon is around to make sure that bygones remain bygones.
• The Ever Loving Spouse (48:54) - A delegate at the Candy Makers convention is framed, but when it is discovered who did the framing, The Saint will have to use all his skill to stop a tragedy.
• The Saint Sees It Through (48:40) - When the long arm of the law learns that one of Simon's former girlfriends is deeply involved with a smuggling ring, they enlist his help to crack the case.
• The King Of The Beggars (48:59) - A crime boss has found a new way to make money - extort the one group of people that society would rather forget about - beggars. Seeing the evil of this scheme, The Saint steps in to bring down the King of the beggars and return freedom to the streets. Watch for a young Oliver Reed making a guest appearance in this episode. Also watch for a (very) brief appearance of a young Ronald Corbett (better known as Ronnie Corbett), who would go on to become one half of the famous comedic duo The Two Ronnies.
• The Benevolent Burglary (48:30) - When a millionaire financially ruins a young musician dating his daughter in an attempt to keep the couple apart, The Saint takes measures to deflate the man's ego, and in the process brings him to realise that his daughters happiness is more important to him than his ideas about who she should be with.
• The Fellow Traveller (48:57) - The Saint is contacted by a man who claims to have sold government secrets to cover a large gambling debt. Before the man can reveal the information needed to crack the organisation behind the scam, he is murdered, and so it is up to Simon to solve the mystery.
• Marcia (48:25) - A beautiful actress takes her own life following an horrific accident that left her permanently scarred. When her replacement starts receiving threats that the same type of "accident" will happen to her, The Saint lends a hand to find the culprit - but the story of the late actress' life is more complicated than he could have imagined.
• The Bunco Artists (48:55) - A "bunco" artist, for those unfamiliar with the term, would nowdays be called a "con" artist. In this episode, two con artists take a rural English church for the value of their entire savings. When Simon learns of this, he sets out to retrieve the money, and force the con artists into a more lawful lifestyle.
• Judith (48:63) - While driving innocently along a Canadian road, a car accident leaves Simon in hot water with the local authorities. But when he tracks down the girl responsible, a family's bitter feud is brought to the fore, and The Saint finds himself helping to settle it. This episode features Julie Christie in the lead female role.
• The Work Of Art (48:32) - When Simon's friend is the last man seen with his now deceased business partner, naturally he becomes the prime suspect in the crime. Simon must prove his innocence, but doesn't yet have all the information.

    This series is must-see TV. While modern series like Alias may have the edge over The Saint when it comes to action, the far superior stories and more visceral escapism of the latter holds it in good stead as a stand-out mystery/adventure series. Oh, and all you James Bond fans (well, those that liked the Roger Moore ones anyway) should buy this now, no questions asked - you'll love it. Well, look at that - an entire review for The Saint, and I haven't even mentioned Val Kilmer...

Video

    Presented at the original aspect ratio of 1.33:1 (you know, back from when a widescreen TV meant jumping on it until it flattened), this transfer is not 16x9 enhanced.

    The image quality is really a tale of two sources - material shot in the studio (the majority) and material shot on location (mostly small inserts). The studio footage is very sharp, with plenty of fine detail and little grain. The shadow detail in the studio sets is good with the image having a nice amount of depth. The location footage (which incidentally almost never features any of the principal cast...and if you read the production notes is for the most part stock footage) is almost the complete opposite - soft, little detail, and large helpings of grain. Examples of this are too numerous to mention, but for reference, it can be seen from 0:24 to 0:47 in Episode 2 (The Latin Touch) and from 0:19 to 1:10 in Episode 7 (The Arrow Of God). Fortunately the location footage is used only to set up where the Saint is going to be dishing out his own brand of justice this time around, and never includes any important plot points, making its poor quality easier to bear. There does not appear to be any low level noise present.

    Given the era of the production, it is in black and white (probably an advantage, as the degradation of many early colour TV programs has been quite marked). For the most part, grey scales are smooth and present an image that is easy to discern and is not difficult on the eye. The only real problem is with Episode 20 (The Fellow Traveller) which is too "hot" with the lighter tones being more vibrant than they should be and presenting an image that is not easy to watch.

    The only compression artefact on this disc is some light pixelization that occurs on some of the heavier periods of grain. Aliasing is, however, a much larger problem. While individual items cause problems from time to time, such as the phone line at 43:49 in Episode 16 (The Ever-Loving Spouse) or the window shutters from 14:56 to 15:14 in Episode 9 (The Effete Angler), and virtually everything that is straight in Episode 8 (The Element Of Doubt), it is one of the Saint's favourite jackets that causes the most problems. It is a cross-hatched suit jacket that shimmers every time he moves, and it shows up in almost half the episodes - very frustrating. Film artefacts are also quite common, but like the grain, are far more prevalent in the location footage - but for a TV show around forty years old, it is better than expected.

    There are no subtitles present on these discs.

    These are Dual Layered discs, formatted with two episodes on each layer (that is - there are no layer changes within the episodes).

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    For all but a few episodes, there is one audio track - the original English dialogue in Dolby Digital 2.0 mono (at 224Kbps). On the first episode (The Talented Husband) there is also an English audio commentary track presented in Dolby Digital 2.0 (probably mono again, at 224Kbps), while on the 8th and 16th episodes (The Element of Doubt and The Ever-Loving Spouse) there are isolated music and effects tracks also in Dolby Digital 2.0 mono (at 224Kps).

    Dialogue is generally clear and easy to understand, although there are a few occasions where some of the accents could be difficult for those not used to them. There are a couple of problems that are isolated to individual episodes. Episodes 9 (The Effete Angler) and 23 (Judith) both suffer from some audio distortion, as if the soundtrack was being stressed, or overloaded. Episode 21 (Marcia) contains a relatively constant hum, which becomes quite annoying at times. Audio sync is mostly accurate, but there are a number of occasions where it does go out, such as from 13:36 in the first episode (The Talented Husband) and between 14:38 and 14:56 in Episode 5 (The Loaded Tourist). The instances are not all that common, and make up for only a small amount of the nearly 20 hours of material.

    The music, including the famous theme, is the work of Edwin Astley. As with many TV series even today, there is quite a bit of use of stock music cues (the fight theme is rather obvious, and pops up often enough to be easily recognised), despite the fact that this was one of the first series to have a new score composed for each episode. The slight repetitiveness aside, the music is excellent and really helps set the tone for the show.

    This being a mono soundtrack the surround channels (unsurprisingly) have nothing to do. Likewise, the subwoofer relies on re-directed bass, and there isn't much of that to be found in this forty year old soundtrack. Neither of these is at all an issue however, as there is only so much you can do based on your source material.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Menu

Audio Commentary - Sir Roger Moore (Actor), Robert S. Baker (Producer), Johnny Goodman (Production Supervisor), Jaz Wiseman (Commentary Moderator)

Saints And Sinners (Biographies/Filmographies)

• Roger Moore - note that there is a full filmography for Roger Moore on disc 6, while his biography is on disc 1.
• Shirley Eaton
• Derek Farr
• Barbara Shelley
• Warren Mitchell
• Andrew Sachs
• Honor Blackman
• David Bauer
• Alan Gifford
• Patricia Donahue
• Erica Rogers
• Roger Delgado
• Patrick Troughton
• Jack Carson
• Harry Towb
• Nigel Stock
• Mark Eden
• Anthony Nicholls
• Alexis Kanner
• Oliver Reed
• Ronnie Corbett
• John Barrie
• Dawn Addams
• Samantha Eggar
• Justine Lord
• John Standing
• Julie Christie
• Yolande Turner
• Johnny Goodman

Photographic Evidence

The Saint At The Movies

Umbrella Propaganda

• The Prisoner
• Danger Man
• Man In A Suitcase
• The Baron
• Strange Report
• Randall and Hopkirk, deceased
• Department S
• Jason King
• Robert S. Baker
• The Return Of The Saint
• The Protectors
• Secret Service
• The Saint - Set 2

Original ITC Pressbook

1963 Roger Moore Interview (5:01)

Memorabilia

Isolated Music and Effects Tracks

Textless Credits (1:18)

2003 Roger Moore Interview (9:33)

Production Notes

    The video is far better than could be expected from a 1962 TV series - the image is mostly crisp, the film artefacts are relatively unobtrusive, and it is generally a pleasure to watch.

    The audio is about as you would expect - mono, a little distorted from time-to-time, and totally serviceable. Why do we need 5.1 surround sound again?

    The wealth of extras presented here is very pleasing - this is an excellent presentation of a classic series. If you've only ever caught a couple of episodes, do yourself a favour - splash out and get the rest, because it's worth it.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall