|
Post by dem bones on Nov 1, 2011 18:48:57 GMT
The Saint Plays With Fire Have yet to begin the novel, but the TV adaptation bodes well, though I gather John Kruse's screenplay is quite a departure from the source material. The first ten-fifteen minutes are the darkest of any episode I've seen to date. Templar attends an anti-fascist demonstration in Trafalgar Square where he's introduced to brilliant young investigative reporter John Kennett. Kennett has infiltrated the British Nazi Party but their leader, Kane Luker (Joseph Fürst), is onto him. Luker invites the Kennett to spend the weekend at the country retreat of the outfit's chief sponsor, Sir Robert Sangore. Such is Sangore's fervour for a Fourth Reich that he thinks nothing of allowing Luker to burn down his home with the drugged journalist trapped inside. Simon Templar, who just happens to be passing, bravely attempts a rescue, but the stout door of Kennett's room is locked. At the inquest, the coroner, presumably another of the party, faithful, records a verdict of death by misadventure. Templar - we've never seen him so furious - shouts over him. It was premeditated murder, and he is going to bring those responsible to justice! The nearest thing he has to an ally is the victim's on-off lover, spoilt little society girl Lady Valerie (Justine Lord), until she inadvisedly attempts to blackmail the blackshirts over a document left her by her dead boyfriend ...
By contrast, despite a title that wouldn't be out of place on front of a PaperbacK Library Gothic, The Frightened Innkeeper is disappointingly phantom free. Templar, boarded at The Weary Traveller, Cornwall, under the name Mr. Tombs, his three fellow guests intent on springing a convicted killer from the local prison by means of a secret tunnel. Briefly enlivened with the appearance of Mr. Yesterman (John Gabriel), a bent solicitor who, as Templar smirks, has more than a touch of the Bela Lugosi's about him.
The quest for weird Saint continues ..
|
|
|
Post by dem bones on Nov 8, 2011 22:36:09 GMT
Leslie Charteris - The Saint On The Spanish Main (Pan, 1962: originally Hodder & Stoughton, 1955) Bimini: The Effete Angler Nassau: The Arrow of God Jamaica: The Black Commissar Puerto Rico: The Unkind Philanthropist The Virgin Islands: The Old Treasure Story Haiti: The Questing TycoonBlurb: The Saint takes a holiday!
Relaxing among sparkling Carribean islands the Saint rubs shoulders with villains as colourful and damsels as appealing as any he could wish to find.
Away from it all Simon Templar still finds that nothing ordinary ever happens to THE SAINT!The Hodder cover on page 1 of this thread is miles lovelier of course, but any port in a storm and this will be the first Charteris i get properly stuck into. Already recognise a number of these from their TV adaptations (most if not all from the early series' when the episodes were still shot in black & white), and i'm particularly delighted for an opportunity to finally read The Questing Tycoon, basis for the ace voodoo episode Sibao from season 3.
|
|
|
Post by dem bones on Nov 14, 2011 9:11:47 GMT
Little time for reading just now but i really had to make a start on this. The Questing Tycoon differs significantly from the TV adaptation but happily, all the voodoo elements are there and the story could easily have slotted into an early Pan Book Of Horror Stories without the audience feeling the least swizzed.
The American, Theron Netford, is a cheap lingerie mogul whose empire is built on the back of glorified slave labour. But to Netford's way of thinking, putting these native types on the most paltry excuse for a wage is paying over the odds, hence his interest in the voodoo. If he could only penetrate its darkest secrets he would staff his factories with zombies!
Simon Templar, as so often, just happens to be passing, when the beautiful young Sibao suffers minor injuries in a road accident. Sibao is the Houngan's daughter, in fact, she's worshipped locally as a Goddess, and, grateful for his chivalry, sends Templar an intricately inscribed tin plaque denoting that he is under the protection of the Maitresse Erzulie (it soon comes in very handy when the the head of Netford Underwear attempts to shoot him). Sibao and her father, impressed at his capacity for learning, have been instructing Netford in the mysteries of their religion, though both are a bit put out when, on the eve of his initiation he drugs Templar and attempts to convert him into a walking dead. As a consequence, the ceremony does not go as the "pantie potentate" would have wished. Once Sibao has finished with him, what's left of Theron Netford is not worth bringing to justice.
|
|
|
Post by dem bones on Dec 5, 2011 7:49:09 GMT
Leslie Charteris - The Happy Highwayman (Hodder & Stoughton, 1953: originally 1933) The Man Who Was Lucky The Smart Detective The Wicked Cousin The Well-Meaning Mayor The Benevolent Burglary The Star Producers The Charitable Countess The Mug's Game The Man who Liked Antsthere's a guy has a stall in Spitalfields Market on Wednesdays and Sundays, specialises in vintage Penguin and crime paperbacks, most of 'em priced at £2-3, and that's where i found this lovely H&S yellowback yesterday morning. Mostly crime capers by the looks of it, but the first collection to include Templar's 'when termites attack!' adventure, The Man Who Liked Ants, a.k.a House On Dragon's Rock. Was distinctly underwhelmed by the story when first i read it in Wake Up Screaming, but that was bang in the middle of a "give me blood, guts and entrails hanging out or give me death!" phase. i'd not seen the top-notch TV adaptation at that point, will be interesting to compare the two.
|
|
|
Post by dem bones on Feb 17, 2012 9:41:06 GMT
Leslie Charteris - The Saint Intervenes (Pan, 1950, 1951; originally published as Boodle, Hodder and Stoughton, 1934) The Ingenuous Colonel The Unfortunate Financier The Newdick Helicopter (aka The Chequered Flag) The Prince of Cherkessia The Treasure of Turk's Lane The Sleepless Knight The Noble Sportsman The Damsel in Distress The Loving Brothers The Tall Timber The Art Photographer The Man who Liked Toys The Mixture as BeforeBlurb: THE SAINT INTERVENES tells of thirteen adventures of Simon Templar, known as The Saint, the gay buccaneer of the fringes of London's underworld, whose friendly rivalry with Chief Inspector Claud Eustace Teal of Scotland Yard lends a constant touch of humour to the exciting stories of the Robin Hood of modern crime. The Saint neatly tricks two racing crooks; he plants his girl-friend Patricia Holm as secretary to a notorious manipulator of Stock Exchange shares who also collects rare stamps; he turns the tables on the bogus inventor of a remarkable helicopter. The Saint triumphs — and incidentally removes from evil-doers their ill-gotten gains, which furnish him with a very satisfactory income not subject to tax!
Leslie Charteris, one of the most successful writers of to-day, was educated at Rossall School and Cambridge University. Possessing an inexhaustible zest for adventure, he was in turn seaman, rubber planter, tin miner, wood distiller, prospector and tramp, travelling all over the world. Meanwhile he wrote articles, short stories and books in large numbers. His invention of The Saint made his name famous; his own contacts with gangsters have enabled him to paint a lifelike background to his Saint stories. Several of his books have been filmed, and he himself has worked on scenarios at Hollywood. Enthusiasts for The Saint are asked to support The Saint Club, which sponsors the Arbour Youth Club in an East End area of London (subscription of 2s. 6d. should be sent to the Hon. Sec., The Saint Club, to Eccleston Place, London, S.W. i).The second Saint short story collection. Doesn't look as though there's any weird or horror material to concern us and this being a UK edition, it lacks the The Uncritical Publisher, a story which so upset Hodder & Stoughton, they decided to give it a miss. Some UK editions also reputely omit: The Noble Sportsman: Templar and Inspector Teal are among the guests at Lord Yearleigh's house party. Yearleigh has been the recipient of several death threats since he introduced a bill to Parliament which, if successful, will see military training added to the school curriculum. Teal has his eye on poet Maurice Vould, an anti-war campaigner and outspoken opponent of his Lordship's proposal. Templar is inclined to suspect his lordship's glamorous young trophy wife. As it turns out, neither are right. A competent murder story, nothing out of the ordinary. What is there to possibly disturb the prospective publisher? Could be that Vould is portrayed as the most sympathetic character by far. Unlike the Right Hon. Yearleigh, he fought in the trenches and sees war as a despicable waste of young lives on both sides for the benefit of politicians and the arms industry. Yearleigh despises him as "a damned communist" and "street-corner Red", so he's none too impressed when Templar chimes "I rather like the street-corner Reds - one or two of them are really sincere" which, mischievous or not, may possibly have raised a few eyebrows in the US. Templar will go on to disparage Yearleigh as "a great fat-headed blundering athlete .... adored by equally fat headed men". ""I wonder where you get the idea that a sportsman is some kind of hero" he will later sneer at Teal, "As if the ability to hit a ball were the only criterion of value in the world", pointing out there's nothing 'heroic' in hunting a fox to it's doom. As it transpires, his Lordship is revealed as a despicable, conniving murderer happy to shoot his defenceless victim in the back. Even though both the Saint and Teal know what he's done, there's no likelihood of prosecution. The Art Photographer: Templar poses as Sebastian Tombs II, son of an Australian moral crusader, to bring down Mr. Gilbert Tanford, a purveyor of erotic photographs and books. Tanford has been using his Birmingham-based mail order pornography racket as a basis for blackmail. His customers include several respectable pillars of the community who would prefer their constituents knew nothing of their taste for "spicy improprieties." Templar suffers himself to be photographed in a compromising situation with a scantily clad floozie.
|
|
|
Post by dem bones on May 16, 2012 21:38:31 GMT
Leslie Charteris - Trust The Saint (Coronet, 1978: Originally Hodder, 1962) IAN OGILVY as SIMON TEMPLAR The Helpful Pirate The Bigger Game The Cleaner Cure The Intemperate Reformer The Uncured Ham The Convenient MonsterBlurb: Hamburg, London, and Paris are just a few of the international troublespots that Simon Templar drops in on in the course of his latest exploits. Danger and excitement await him at every turn — but what self-respecting adventurer would wish it any other way?Could have saved myself a load of trouble if i'd known that Hodder had published a six-story collection of Templar's more outré investigations as The Fantastic Saint (1982). In the meantime, will have to settle for this, snagged earlier, and not merely on the strength of its majestically boring cover. I seem to vaguely remember reading a Saint short story that involved the Loch Ness monster... I think it was also a TV episode. I seem to vaguely remember reading a Saint short story that involved the Loch Ness monster... I think it was also a TV episode.
It's a colour episode called The Convenient Monster , stars Vampire Circus' Laurence Payne and Dracula Prince Of Darkness' Suzan Farmer! I was convinced it was a b/w episode for years until I got the colour boxset. I'll try and find time to hunt up some more genre episode titles for Dem - The House On Dragon's Rock involves Templar fighting giant ants though any epsisode of the The Saint is a good one really. I really like the more surreal colour series best. KC The Convenient Monster: "Aye, I've been over and seen what's left o' the dog. It's more than they found of my sheep, I can tell ye.". Templar is enjoying a pleasant holiday in the Highlands when he's approached by the local bobby over a series of recent outrages, supposedly perpetuated by the Loch Ness Monster. First Fergus Clanraith, the perpetually bad-tempered farmer lost one of his sheep, and now his neighbours the Bastion's - curse their treacherous Sassenach hearts! - have found the mangled remains of Golly the guard dog, strewn across the lawn. Noel Bastion, a retired British Army Major, is an author and a bit of a drip, henpecked by alpha-female wife Eleanor, a famous big-game hunter whose ambition it is to bag the creature of the Loch. It was going to be Sasquatch, but Noel is afraid of heights. They've recruited Annie, Clanraith's rather more worldly daughter (she's been to Liverpool) as Girl Friday, and Simon takes an immediate shine to her, so much so that he readily accepts an invitation to join the Monster Hunters. Unlike voodoo story The Questing Tycoon (still my pick of the Fantastic Saint adventures), the television adaptation of The Convenient Monster is almost religiously faithful to the original. To say any more would give the game away, but trust me, both are very worthy of your time.
|
|
|
Post by killercrab on May 16, 2012 21:59:20 GMT
Watched both The Convenient Monster and House on Dragon's Rock last week in a mini fantastique-Saint binge ! Got a bunch of books too that I've not plowed into yet. Watched an hilarious extra on the dvd disc set that included letters from Charteris bitching away to the production team about the series!
KC
|
|
|
Post by dem bones on May 21, 2012 14:39:09 GMT
Watched both The Convenient Monster and House on Dragon's Rock last week in a mini fantastique-Saint binge ! KC definitely two of my favourites, both in print and on TV. The Newdick Helicopter also made The Fantastic Saint though i can't think why. It's a straightforward crime caper which sees Templar conning a con-merchant - the unfortunately named Oscar Newdick - on behalf of his friend, Monty Hayward, who's been fleeced of a few thousand. Newdick is selling shares in his impressive "autogyro", the con being that they're worthless, he's working from existent patents. Nevertheless, The Saint sees enough potential in the idea to buy the company. Monty is soon re-reimbursed and Newdick left red-faced. Templar had a steady girlfriend at this point, Patricia Holm, though i'm not sure she made it into the TV adaptations? This story provided the basis for the b/w motor-racing episode, The Chequered Flag, but the overhaul was drastic to the point where it's all but unrecognisable. Just the one Charteris paperback left on my list now ....
|
|
|
Post by killercrab on May 21, 2012 15:08:04 GMT
The Saint never had a steady girlfriend in the tv shows or a discernible source of income either - one of Chateris' biggest niggles with the show. Newdick .. I did laugh .... KC
|
|
|
Post by dem bones on Nov 2, 2012 20:48:52 GMT
Took the scenic route to get there, but have finally landed a copy of Dawn, aka The Darker Drink, the sixth of the stories which comprise The Fantastic Saint, in: Leslie Charteris - The Second Saint Omnibus (Hodder and Stoughton, 1952: Sixth impression, 1969) Leslie Charteris - Foreword
The Star Producers ( The Happy Highwayman, 1939) The Wicked Cousin ( The Happy Highwayman, 1939) The Man who Liked Ants ( The Happy Highwayman, 1939: Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, June 1953) Palm Springs ( The Saint Goes West, The Sizzling Saboteur ( The Saint On Guard, The Masked Angel ( Call For The Saint, Judith, aka The Naughty Niece ( Saint Errant, 1948) Jeannine, aka The Lovely Sinner ( Saint Errant, 1948) Teresa, aka The Uncertain Widow ( Saint Errant, 1948)t Dawn, aka The Darker Drink ( Saint Errant, 1948: Thrilling Wonder Stories, October 1947) AfterwordThe trader at Spitalfield Market had a whole load of Saint hardcovers going for £1 a time, so nabbed a copy of this one while i was at it. Leslie Charteris - The Brighter Buccaneer (Hodder and Stoughton Feb. 1933, April 1941) The Brain Workers The Export Trade The Unblemished Bootlegger The Owner's Handicap The Tough Egg The Bad Baron The Brass Buddha The Perfect Crime The Appalling Politician The Unpopular Landlord The New Swindle The Five Thousand Pound Kiss The Green Goods Man The Blind Spot The Unusual Ending These all appear to be straight crime thrillers with no weird element, but will eventually sample the ones with the more enticing titles. KC, if you've not done so yet, you really should try The Convenient Monster, if only to find out how the tv adaptation would have ended if they'd had any kind of budget.
|
|
|
Post by dem bones on Nov 3, 2012 9:54:21 GMT
Dawn, or The Darker Drink: For all i know this may be the nearest Charteris ever came to writing a ghost story. Templar, hiding out from the law in a cabin in the Seirra Mountains, finds himself trapped inside the action packed dream of coma victim Andrew Faulks, a mild-mannered bank clerk from Glendale with a vivid, B movie enhanced imagination. In his dream Faulks becomes Big Bill Holbrook, would-be lover of Dawn Winter, the most impossibly beautiful woman Templar has ever seen. Dawn is in possession of a magnificent heirloom, a cursed fire opal, which, should it fall out of her family's hands, will bring down all manner of horrors. The bad guys of the piece - fat, lecherous Selden Appopoulis and his hired thugs - are, like Dawn, cast straight from Faulks' favourite lurid crime flicks, and they'll stop at nothing to get their hands on Miss Winter and her priceless jewel, even if it means shooting the Saint in the heart at a point blank. The pain on impact is so agonizing that Templar believes himself dead, only to wake some hours later with not a mark on him but the opal safe in his breast pocket. Puzzled like never before in his career, the Saint travels to Glendale to have it out with this Andrew Faulks character ....
I love story notes so am delighted that Charteris saw his way to to include introductions to each of the tales in The Second Saint Omnibus. Here's a snippet from the page he devotes The Man Who Liked Ants
"I still like it as an experiment. In the course of a frightening number of Saint stories, I have tried to project him into as many established story styles as possible. This is my one attempt to put the Saint into a pure horror-science story: and those readers who like Frankenstein and Dracula may get a pleasant goose-pimple out of my ants .....Here is the story for what it is worth, and if you don't like it you can feed it to your termites."
|
|
|
Post by killercrab on Nov 14, 2012 13:23:34 GMT
I don't have any of The Saint anthologies yet so the Convenient Monster continues to allude me! Just watched the episode Paper Chase - a good standard spy story with Templar trying to destroy a list of British spies before it falls into East German hands! Nothing exceptional about it - the usual Pinewood ( or is it Elstree?)backlot street sets bedecked with german signs this time. Great turn from Niall MacGinnis ( Curse of the Demon) as the head of East German security!
KC
|
|
|
Post by H_P_Saucecraft on Nov 14, 2012 13:46:04 GMT
KC, have you ever tried any of the radio version of The Saint, with Vincent Price as Templar? fully recommended.
|
|
|
Post by dem bones on Dec 20, 2012 0:29:11 GMT
I don't have any of The Saint anthologies yet so the Convenient Monster continues to allude me! Just watched the episode Paper Chase - a good standard spy story with Templar trying to destroy a list of British spies before it falls into East German hands! Nothing exceptional about it - the usual Pinewood ( or is it Elstree?)backlot street sets bedecked with german signs this time. Great turn from Niall MacGinnis ( Curse of the Demon) as the head of East German security! KC Caught another ace episode on ITV4 recently, The Death Game, written by John Kruse and featuring the return of Adolf Vogler (George Murcell) from the 'Mick Jagger for Prime Minister' hippies run riot episode, The Power Artists, and crazed psychology student Grey Wyler (John Steiner). A bunch of campus trendies compete for a trophy by devising several ingenious means of assassinating one another. Grey Wyler and flatmate Jenny Turner (Angela Douglas) lure Templar in on the action by setting a brigade of toy soldiers loose on him in the fog. All good, harmless macabre fun - until a lecturer is blown to pieces for real after warning The Saint of a darker aspect to the pantomime. Simon accompanies the students to Switzerland for the championship and finds himself the hunted party in Vogler's variation on The Most Dangerous Game.
|
|
|
Post by killercrab on Dec 20, 2012 10:39:55 GMT
Memorable episode not least for the fact that Simon Templar sports a Sarah Lund jumper way before The Killing was a watchword for modern detective tv.
KC
|
|