THE SAINT MEETS THE TIGER

US, 1943, 70 minutes, Black and white.
Hugh Sinclair, Jean Gillie, Gordon Mc Leod, Clifford Evans, Wylie Watson, Dennis Arundel, Charles Victor, Louise Hampton.
Directed by Paul L. Stein.

Leslie Charteris’ investigator character, Simon Templar, The Saint, was played in five films by George Sanders, two by Louis Hayward. He also played the leading many of the small-budget films in the series of The Falcon. British actor, Hugh Sinclair, played The Saint twice.

This adaptation of the Leslie Charteris story transfers the action to Britain, London, and Cornwall, the small country town, with echoes of the smugglers of the past.

Hugh Sinclair is debonair as Simon Templar. Wylie Watson is amusing as his butler who wants action, stayed in London with Templar and did not go to Chicago with the gangsters, but finds himself in action and trouble. Templar receives a phone call offering £1 million, the man coming to the door, trying to evade pursuer, but is murdered, able to mention a Cornwall town, the million pounds and The Tiger. While he contacts Inspector Teal, Templar wants to find The Tiger himself – and, at the end, reveals that he has a deal with the insurance company for 20% of the recovered gold!
Templar and Horace go to Cornwall, are accosted by newspaper reporter wanting information, Templar deciding to stay and trying to hire a cottage and mistaking Pat as the salesgirl. She is attracted to Templar – but is also quite intrepid in her joining him in the search for the villains.

There are quite a few villains in the town, having robbed the Bank of England, having hired a yacht to transport the gold to South Africa and dump it in an unused mine and claim it as a discovery.

There are various sinister characters, guns pulled, fistfights, threats, the Scotland Yard Inspector pretending to be a professor, and some split-second timing.

Templar discovers the entry to the smugglers cave through the local museum where the curator is killed. He gets onto the yacht but finds that the villains have betrayed The Tiger and are taking over the gold, Pat and Horace have already done a good job in rounding up everyone. The journalist turns out to be The Tiger, various shootings, the police arriving just on time and happy resolution for everyone.

Rather minor, especially in production values compared with the Sanders’ films. Small-budget, an easy entertainment with a Charteris story.