The Best of The Saint by Leslie Charteris
The Best of The Saint by Leslie Charteris is now available for order from Amazon! This two-volume tome will be released on December 11, 2008.
It's been 80 years since the adventures of Simon Templar first debuted in print and Hodder & Stoughton are celebrating this anniversary by publishing two anthologies of the best of the Saint's adventures.
Volume 1 is introduced by Ken Follett; this sparkling collection of the very best of the earlier stories:
- The Man Who Was Clever
- The Policeman with Wings
- The Lawless Lady
- The Inland Revenue
- The Charitable Countess
- The Star Producers
- The Art of Alibi
- The Simon Templar Foundation
- The High Fence
- The Ellusive Ellshaw
- The Miracle Tea Party
- The Affair of Hogsbotham
Sir Roger Moore, star of the Sixties TV series, introduces Volume 2 -- a collection of post-war stories of the following Saint adventures:
- The Covetous Headsman
- The Angel's Eye
- The Rhine Maiden
- The Golden Journey
- The Loaded Tourist
- The Spanish Cow
- The Latin Touch
- The Patient Playboy
- The Talented Husband
- The Reluctant Nudist
- The Lovelorn Sheik
- The Pluperfect Lady
- The Sporting Chance
- The Better Mousetrap
- The Prodigal Miser
- The Hopeless Heiress
Labels: 2008, Amazon.com, Hodder and Stoughton, Ken Follett, Leslie Charteris, Roger Moore
13 Comments:
I just saw a promo for the upcoming season of "Burn Notice." I can't believe that a new TV or movie series of "The Saint" wouldn't be successful if the right producer, writers and lead actor were found. The Roger Moore episodes were well done for their time. In my opinion an updated or possibly the right "retro" version would go over well --- especially on a cable network like USA, TNT, SPIKE, etc. I hope there are new attempts to bring "The Saint" back to TV or possibly to start a movie series similar to the James Bond movies. I think the Leslie Charteris character and stories are very worthy of continuing to live today and that new stories using his character would also do well if they try to stay as true to the original as possible.
I know I've made a number of suggestions for possible actors to play Simon Templar but I think I may have finally thought of one actor who might be ideal and acceptable to most fans: Jonathan Rhys Meyers. He has been in a number of movies including "Bend It Like Beckham" and "Mission: Impossible III." He's definitely young enough for the part (possibly unlike some of my past suggestions) and while he's not British he is Irish. I seem to recall that a number of people have suggested that Pierce Brosnan would have made a good Simon Templar in his younger years. Brosnan is also Irish. Brosnan did play British secret agent James Bond 007 quite successfully. I think Irish actors can play British character and do a more than credible job in the role. I'd be interested in reading what other people think. Hopefully we'll see "The Saint" back on the small screen or the big screen sometime in the near future.
These were a very welcome Christmas present from the missus to add to my collection. Iactually took them on my 5 hour traintrip to the inlaws. And they proved to be the best entertainment a man in a train can get.
Lets hope we'll get some more Saint related bookreleases this year.
I hope to come across a copy of either of these in my cross-Canada travels someday.
Books now on my birthday list...especially the second book. I truly do hope that this character does not disappear from the stage. With some of the best stuff now on Cable I can't help but think a saint project could be successful. It does need a good young actor as others have commented on. But of course good writing is key. I believe that Templar needs to remain an independent man. So many stories revolve around agents working for some government. An independent man working often on his own would be a refreshing change. BE SEEING YOU.
I was recently looking at the Leslie Charteris website (www.lesliecharteris.com). When I looked under their "News" tab I found a short item that says IMDb lists T.J. Scott as the director for a planned pilot for a new version of "The Saint." I clicked on the IMDb link but very few details were available about the planned pilot. Hopefully the pilot actually makes it to the air this time and a new TV series is picked up or it renews interest in a movie series based on "The Saint."
Interesting news, that!
Looking forward to further developments with Saintly interest...
It looks like "The Saint" isn't the only former ITC series getting new life. After a little exploring around IMDb I found a possible movie version of the "The Persuaders" mentioned here: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0464147/. I also found information about the upcoming AMC mini-series remake of "The Prisoner" mentioned on this page: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061287/news. If you missed my earlier post you should go to http://www.lesliecharteris.com/ and click on the "News" tab to see what is being reported about a proposed new pilot for "The Saint." If everything pans out it looks like it could be a fun three years for fans of a number of former ITC television shows.
No more blogs since December 2008? That's a saintly shame.
Seems quite odd that there should be no news at all on the subject for over seven months. Didn't I see something more recent than that on the Charteris estate's website?
If anyone hears anything exciting, please let me know!
There is a very mysterious reference on the front page of the www.lesliecharteris.com website. Maybe that qualifies as something "exciting."
Further news from Sir Roger himself:
http://www.roger-moore.com/sirrogermoore/july2009.html
And very nearly my own backyard for the filming!
Post a Comment
<< Back to The Saint's Blog