The Saint in New York (1938)

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Siskoid
The very first film adaptation of The Saint is RKO's The Saint in New York (1938) with Louis Hayward playing the lead role with murderous glee as he goes up against a list of New York crime lords on behalf of a city that hasn't been able to get rid of them legally. The Saint here is bloodthirsty, but in a fun, witty way, and though it's his first movie appearance, the character is mid-career and everyone knows who he is, providing a touch of world-building before he even makes it on screen. There's a LOT of incident in what is less than 70 minutes, enough that I wasn't always sure where we were in the plot, which made it feel like a serial, but it somehow lacked in the way of pacing. I can't help but wonder what it would have been like if Alfred Hitchcock had directed it as was originally discussed. As is, it's not a bad way to spend an hour and some change, it has a breezy atmosphere, mercilessly deadly action, sharp dialog, and even a couple of amusing henchmen (get them a dictionary, for Pete's sake!). 5 years ago
badblokebob
Utter hokum really, but entertaining for it.

Paul Guilfoyle's henchman, constantly commenting on the Saint's actions, is the comic highlight, though I also really enjoyed Louis Hayward’s cocky, witty performance as the titular hero. Seems a shame he only did one more (many years later) -- he’s a watermark I’ll be comparing George Sanders and Hugh Sinclair to in the series' further films. 11 years 9 months ago