Bela Lugosi as character actor: The Saint's Double Trouble

By Doug Gibson

At Plan9Crunch, today's review is the 1940 film, "The Saint's Double Trouble," filmed in late 1939 for upper-tier film producer RKO. If you're a Bela Lugosi completist, you need to see this entry in the Saint, Simon Templar, series with starred George Sanders, and which is today the most popular offering precisely because Lugosi is featured in a supporting as -- literally -- the "partner" of a the Saint's adversary in this film, "Boss" Duke Bates, a ruthless jewel thief who casually kills anyone who gets in his way.

What's most interesting for Lugosi fans is that this marks the dawn of the era when Lugosi -- except for a few monster pics -- was shoved out of great roles in A upper-budget productions. In film after film that wasn't a Monogram or other low-budget offering, Lugosi would usually be wasted as either a "red herring butler type" or a "secondary criminal." He's the latter in "...Double Trouble." As the Egyptian partner of Boss Bates, he has decent screen time in the 68-minute programmer, but no real memorable lines. He's more cautious than the sociopathic Bates.

This is still a fun film and Lugosi provides good acting skills. Sanders absolutely a delight as the British, superficially polite rogue who matches wits with both police and crooks. The character, Simon Templar, is based on a popular detective series of the time penned by Leslie Charteris. "...Double Trouble," however, was the one flick that was not based on a book. The plot is a tad convoluted but clever, and it all warps up well. These programmer mysteries were forerunners to TV detective shows.

Today, the Saint might make a good series for cable or even HBO if the producers wanted to unclothe a few actors. Frankly, that would seem a bit gauche for Sanders' Saint, who has a fine time flirting with and protecting the gorgeous daughter (Helene Whitney) of a past professor of his who is, unfortunately, rubbed out by Bates before justice is served. The film was directed by Jack Hively and Jonathan Hale ably portrays Inspector Henry Fernack, who matches wits with the Saint in more than one film in the series. A fun film, so long as one accepts that Bela is only a minor presence in the movie.

Sanders shines again as Simon Templar in 'The Saint Takes Over'

By Doug Gibson

(Long-suffering?) readers of this blog know that I have recently discovered, and become a big fan of, George Sanders' portrayals as Simon Templar in several of the RKO Radio pictures of The Saint movies (late 1930s to early 1940s). TCM aired "The Saint Takes Over" last Saturday (tomorrow I'll be taping Sanders in "The Saint in Palm Springs," also on TCM). Of course, the missus and I watched "... Takes Over" and Sanders was every bit the cool, fashion-conscious "Robin Hood-type," as one cast member put it. Frankly, Sanders reminded my wife and I just a little bit of "Mr. Chapel," the enforcer, played by Michael Madsen, who righted wrongs in the too-short one-season ABC series "Vengeance Unlimited."

But enough babble, on with the review. "The Saint Takes Over" begins with Sanders' Simon Templar taking a cruise across the Atlantic to New York City. On deck he rescues a lovely young lady, played by Wendy Barrie, from card cheats. Her character, Ruth (he doesn't catch her last name) rebuffs his more amorous intentions, however. Coincidentally, later in NYC, the Saint rescues Ruth from some hoods who want to drag her into a car. He also buys her roses.

The Saint is in New York to bail out his feckless but diligent opponent/collaborator nspector Henry Fernack, played as always by Jonathan Hale. It seems the mob not only beat him at trial by killing his star witness, Johnny Summers, they've framed the inspector, sticking $50,000 in his safe.The Saint, Simon Templar, naturally is coming to his rescue.

This movie, while still a lot of fun and well done, is less sharply written. There are fewer plot twists and it's more of a standard Hollywood B tale. That may be because this is a studio-created story, and not based on any Saint tales by his creator/writer, Leslie Charteris. In any event, after a scene where the mobsters who framed Fernack meet and discuss raising the $90,000 it cost to clear case and frame the inspector, they start getting killed one by one. Strangely enough, Fernack, who is trying to clear his name, always seems to be around when a mob guy dies. This amuses the Saint, who teases the inspector at times not only about his probablt culpability, but about his absence of a badge -- he's on suspension. As is the case with most Saint films, there's a former baddie who goes good. In "... Takes Over," it's Clarence "Pearly" Gates, a low0level mug whose employed by one of the mob leaders. Veteran actor Paul Guifoyle does a good job as "Pearly."

The Saint has his own ideas about who might be committing the murders. In what is a rather heavy cinematic clue, he finds part of the roses he sent to Ruth at the scene of one killing. I'm giving away the murderer in this review for two reasons. One, viewers will guess soon that Ruth is the killer, and two, Ruth's fate in the film is directly tied to the Hollywood morality code of the early 1940s. That may be the most fascinating part of the film.

Rith's last name, we discover, is Ruth Summers. You see, she's the slain Johnny Summers' sister, grief-stricken and driven to revenge. As the plot nears its end, Simon Templar, no doubt having guessed all this, conveys an elaborate scheme that will solve the crimes, nail the mobsters for their murder and frame of Fernack, clear Fernack, of course, and absolve Ruth of any consequences for her killings. After all, she's a swell kid -- she even gave the $90,000 she took from the mob to her brother's widow.

Oh well, all goes well except the last part of The Saint's goal. Ruth gets mortally wounded in a gun battle with one of the mobsters. She kills the mobster, but then, with barely a wrinkle, dies in Simon Templar's arms. It seems that no matter how good a reason a young lovely might have for revenge, is she commits murder in a film the Hays Commission would never allow her to live!

Notes: This was Wendy Barrie's second of three appearances in The Saint films. Barrie, who bears a resemblance to Loretta Switt, best known for MASH TV series, played a different character in each film. Morgan Conway, who later played Dick Tracy a couple of times, plays a hood in the film. The 70-minute, 1940 film was directed by Jack Hively.