The Saint in New York | |
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theatrical release poster
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Directed by | Ben Holmes |
Produced by | William Sistrom |
Written by | Anthony Veiller (uncredited contributor to treatment) |
Screenplay by |
Charles Kaufman Mortimer Offner |
Based on |
The Saint in New York 1935 novel Leslie Charteris |
Starring |
Louis Hayward Kay Sutton Sig Ruman Jonathan Hale |
Music by | Roy Webb |
Cinematography |
Joseph H. August Frank Redman |
Edited by | Harry Marker |
Production
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Distributed by | RKO Radio Pictures |
Release date
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Running time
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71-72 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $128,000 |
Box office | $460,000 |
The Saint in New York is an American 1938 crime film, directed by Ben Holmes and adapted from Leslie Charteris's novel of the same name by Charles Kaufman and Mortimer Offner. After a police lieutenant is killed, the New York Police Department enlists gentleman criminal Simon Templar to fight criminal elements in the city.
Released by RKO Pictures, The Saint in New York marks the first screen appearance of Templar, also known as "The Saint". Louis Hayward stars as the title character, with Kay Sutton as his love interest. Alfred Hitchcock was initially discussed as a possible director for the film. This was the first of eight films in RKO's film series about The Saint. After being replaced in the series by George Sanders, Hayward would not play The Saint again until 1953.
Police Lieutenant Martin, an officer leading the fight against New York gangsters, is killed. Jake Irbell is arrested and charged with his murder, but has to be released when prosecution witnesses are either coerced into changing their testimony or simply disappear. A civilian crime commission demands action of the police commissioner, but he has no fresh ideas. William Valcross (Frederick Burton), a respected leading citizen and member of the commission, suggests they resort to drastic measures and recruit Simon Templar (Louis Hayward), the "Saint", a British amateur Detective with a reputation for dealing with criminals outside the law. The commissioner reluctantly agrees to give the Saint free rein to do what he must.
Valcross spends months tracking the Saint down, following a trail of dead (criminal) bodies across Europe and South America. Templar is intrigued by the challenge and is given a list of six gangsters whose removal would hopefully bring peace to the city.