The Saint's Blog devoted to news and rumors about The Saint and Leslie Charteris. Simon Templar, alias The Saint, was played by Roger Moore in the 1960's TV show featuring the Volvo 1800.
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While not technically the soundtrack just to The Return of the Saint, there is a collection of the greatest music from a number of ITC television series, The Music of ITC. There are 133 different tracks on 2 CD audio discs (158 mins), and beautifully illustrated booklet with liner sleeve notes. Disc 1 features Edwin Astley's music from the original Saint TV show, starring Roger Moore on tracks 23 to 31. The Edwin Astley songs have been on CD before; the real news is the songs from The Return of The Saint, starring Ian Ogilvy! Those have not been on CD before, and they appear on the second disc as tracks 45 through 52!
Disc 1 1-6 Danger Man (half hour series)(Edwin Astley) 7-13 Danger Man (hour series)(Edwin Astley) 14-15 Gideon's Way (Edwin Astley) 16-22 The Baron (Edwin Astley) 23-31 The Saint (Edwin Astley) 32-37 Man In A Suitcase (Ron Grainer / Albert Elms) 38-44 The Prisoner (Ron Grainer / Albert Elms / Robert Farnon) 45-53 The Champions (Tony Hatch / Edwin Astley / Albert Elms) 54-61 Department S (Edwin Astley)
Disc 2 1-6 Randall & Hopkirk (Edwin Astley) 7-13 Strange Report (Roger Webb) 14-17 The Persuaders (John Barry / unknown) 18-25 Jason King (Laurie Johnstone) 26-33 The Protectors (Mitch Murray / John Cameron) 34-36 The Adventurer (John Barry / unknown) 37-44 The Zoo Gang (Paul McCartney / Ken Thorne) 45-52 Return Of The Saint (Brian Dee / G&M De Angelis)
45 - Main Title Theme by Brian Dee and Irving Martin 46 to 50 - various Incidental cues by Brian Dee and Irving Martin 51 - Taking It Easy (European Theme) by Guido and Maurizio de Angelis / performed by Oliver Onions 52 - Closing titles by Brian Dee and Irving Martin
So yes! To answer the most pressing issue of the day, the elusive European theme song Taking It Easy by Oliver Onions is indeed included in the collection!
Burl Barer's wonderful addition to the Saint saga, Capture The Saint, is now available in e-book format for Amazon's Kindle!
The price is just $1.99 and all Kindle Books include wireless delivery - you'll be reading Capture The Saint on your Kindle within a minute of placing your order.
Capture The Saint, is the first all new Saint novel approved by the Estate of Leslie Charteris, and finds the famous Simon Templar encountering beautiful women and dangerous criminals in the Emerald City of Seattle, Washington. Written by Burl Barer, Edgar Award winning author of The Saint: A Complete History, and The Saint: A Novel; Capture The Saint has been described as "Fast, Funny and blissfully faithful" by Dick Lochte of the Los Angeles Times and "Wonderful entertainment" by the Washington Post.
Officially released March 4, 2009, Editions Montparnasse have collected together eight of the RKO films in a very nice Region-2 DVD set:
DVD 1
Le Saint à New York (The Saint in New York). Un film de Ben Holmes with Louis Hayward (1938)
Le Saint contre-attaque (The Saint strikes back). Un film de John Farrow with George Sanders (1939)
DVD2
Le Saint à Londres (The Saint in London). Un film de John Paddy Carstairs with George Sanders (1939)
Simon Templar face au Saint (The Saint’s double trouble). Un film de Jack Hively with George Sanders (1940)
DVD3
Le Saint reprend du service (The Saint takes over). Un film de Jack Hively with George Sanders (1940)
Le Saint à Palm Springs (The Saint in Palm Springs). Un film de Jack Hively with George Sanders (1941)
DVD4
Pas de vacances pour le Saint (The Saint’s vacation). Un film de Leslie Fenton with Hugh Sinclair (1941)
Le Saint face au tigre (The Saint meets the tiger). Un film de Paul L. Stein with Hugh Sinclair (1943)
Extras include a 5-min TV interview in French with Leslie Charteris, and a 20-page booklet, Le Robin des Bois des temps modernes, by noted Saint expert Jean-Marc Lofficier.
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:
We are very hopeful that The Saint will be available on Amazon Unboxed, iTunes, and other various online viewing services. In April, Media Guardian reported that ITV plans "to make a range of classic programmes" available through iTunes at prices from £1.89 per episode, and scheduled for later this year is The Saint. Presumably the Roger Moore version, but we'll see.
In the meantime, we can still watch Sherlock Holmes!
The Saint's website has been running since the Web 1.0 days of 1995, and in those days each web page's HTML had to be hand-coded in a text editor, such as BBEdit and then FTP'd up to the saint.org web host by me and me alone. Web 1.0 for The Saint was a one-way posting of static information that you hoped someone would find and read (this was called "Pull", as it was hoped that the sites content was so good that the sheer gravity would pull users to it.
With Web 2.0, The Saint's website is much more collaborative and automated. The use of Blogger means that an entire dream team of Saint experts from around the world can add, edit, or delete news articles in a rich web-enabled editor using only a web browser. These articles can have pictures, links, video, and other files. Additionally, all of the Saint fans who read these articles can use the comment feature to add their thoughts and feedback -- giving us collaboration, discussion, and ideas about the next article.
Each News article written in Blogger has an RSS syndication feed powered by Blogger and enhanced by FeedBurner to promote, gauge, and facilitate adding to your home page, like My Yahoo! or iGoogle. This allows people to see the news headlines on their favorite site, instead of having to visit Saint.org every day to check to see if there is any news. The Feedburner RSS feed "pushes" content to the user, which then brings them to the site. Feedburner also features a News Headlines module which appears on the home page of www.saint.org and automatically lists the links to the most recently posted news articles. In addition, FeedBlitz "Subscribe Via E-Mail" was added to allow users to have the Feedburner RSS feeds sent automatically to their e-mail address whenever anything has been posted.
Web 2.0 also gives us the tools to allow anyone to help publicize a particular news Story about the Saint. If something catches your eye, for example, you can use Digg, Del.icio.us, Technorati, or StumbleUpon to share your links with other people. This is a great help, as it allows more people than just a single webmaster to update a list of links that are related to the same subject. For example, all of the Saint Actor pages (like Tom Conway) feature external links about that actor which are powered by Del.icio.us. By adding me to your Del.icio.us network, you can help in maintaining and adding links to important Saint sites around the web.
Statistics are another important way of seeing what information has the most interest, and if additional pages, articles, or other items are needed. SiteMeter gives quick statistics for each page, and FeedBurner gives statistics on each RSS feed usage.
And in the end, the other big change in Web 2.0 is all of the advertising capabilities for giving Saint fans relevant products for sale that are at least somehow related to The Saint. These tools, like Google's AdSense, Commission Junction, and Amazon Associates allow this site to remain up and running at no charge to the public. The advertising revenue, while slight (about $1 a day), does pay for the domain registrations and other hosting charges incurred. Please continue to support www.saint.org by visiting the advertisers and using all these Web 2.0 features to be part of The Saint's online community!
Occasionally, and for no reasonable reason, there is groundswell of interest in a particular random topic. Such is the case this week with The Wild Geese, a movie starring Saint Roger Moore in 1978. Amazon's review explains that, "Mixing action, humor, sentiment, and even a few righteous moral convictions, The Wild Geese is good, rousing fun."
Released theatrically 29 years ago in 1978 (even though the 2005 DVD release was promoted as the "30th Anniversary Edition"), The Wild Geese depicts the adventures of a group of British mercenaries hired by a shady multinational corporation to free the benevolent leader of an African nation held captive by a ruthless dictator. Led by the caustic, no-nonsense Col. Allen Faulkner (played by Richard Burton), these soldiers of fortune are all stout fellows out to earn a big payday and restore a good man to his rightful place of power.
Watch for a filming goof during the parachute jump. When they leave the plane, the soldiers are wearing helmets, but as soon as they land, in some cases even before collapsing their parachutes, they've switched to berets -- and no discarded helmets are visible on the ground.
The cast includes Richard Harris, Roger Moore, and a host of other fine veteran actors. The Wild Geese is a very enjoyable ride.
The Saint, staring Val Kilmer, Elisabeth Shue, Rade Serbedzija, and Valeri Nikolayev was released on April 4, 1997. That means the 10th anniversary is coming up in a few months. Yes indeed, it would be great if Paramount would release a special anniversary edition with all the extras we have been looking forward to for many years now.
One of the most discussed missing features of the current DVD and VHS editions is the original ending. In fact Director Phillip Noyce has said that he hopes that one day he will be present the original version on a new DVD.
When the final film was test screened, audiences reacted badly to the death of Dr. Emma Russell.
In the original version of the film - as in the original Jonathan Hensleigh script - Dr. Russell, having escaped Russia via the American embassy, collapses while giving a lecture and dies in The Saint's arms. Watching the videotape back, he sees Tretiak, Jr. stabbing her in the leg with the tip of his cane. The final half-hour has the Saint returning to Moscow to destroy the villains' plans and avenge her death. With Dr. Botvin's help, he switches the formulas around and humiliates Tretiak during his show trial of the Russian president. The Tretiaks shoot their way out of the crowd and escape back to their mansion, with The Saint and the Russian army in pursuit. Tretiak shoots the treacherous Dr. Botvin. The Saint arrives and finds the bodies of Botvin and Tretiak, killed by his own son. The Saint battles Dr. Russell's killer on the stairwell as Russian tanks pound the mansion walls, exposing and setting fire to the vast stockpile of heating oil in the basement. With the stairwell disintegrating around them, the fight spills out on to the chandelier, suspended above the blazing oil. The Saint teases Treatiak, Jr. with the disc containing the formula for cold fusion. As he reaches out for it, The Saint cuts the rope and Tretiak, Jr. plummets to a fiery death. Returning to Dr. Russell's home, the Saint finds a letter from her, a tear fills his eye and he vows from now on to use his skills only for good.
Test audiences didn't like the way Dr. Russell died three-quarters of the way into the film; it was a little confusing as to what had happened to her. The novelization features an alternate version in which Dr. Russell lives and The Saint and Tretiak, Jr. still battle on the chandelier. In the end, however, the producers decided to cut Dr. Russell's death scene, chopped off the action-packed climax, inserted footage of the Tretiak's being arrested and filmed a new epilogue at Oxford. (Footage from the original ending features prominently in the film's trailer.) Director Phillip Noyce hopes one day to be able to restore the original version for DVD.
If you don't already own a copy of the DVD, it's currently selling on Amazon for less than $10!
Jazz in Paris: Jazz & Cinéma, Vol. 4 features a number of songs from the French film, Le Saint Mène La Danse, starring Felix Marten as The Saint.
Track Listing: 1. Touchez Pas Au Grisbi: Touchez Pas Au Grisbi - Jean Wetzel 2. Touchez Pas Au Grisbi: Grisbi Blues - Jean Wetzel 3. Le Piège: Cora - Alain Goraguer 4. Le Piège: Patricia - Alain Goraguer 5. Le Piège: Belinda - Alain Goraguer 6. Le Piège: Amanda - Alain Goraguer 7. Le Saint Mène La Danse: Générique - Michel de Villers 8. Le Saint Mène La Danse: Slow Bleu Bleu Bleu - Michel de Villers 9. Le Saint Mène La Danse: Cha Cha De Cullera - Michel de Villers 10. Le Saint Mène La Danse: Il Se Passe Quelque Chose - Michel de Villers 11. Le Saint Mène La Danse: Le Ciel C'est Toi - Michel de Villers 12. Les Ennemis: No Hay Dinero Caballo - Gonzalo Fernandez 13. Les Ennemis: Va Ya Pa'ti - Gonzalo Fernandez 14. Les Ennemis: Les Ennemis (Générique) - Gonzalo Fernandez 15. Les Ennemis: L'espionnage - Gonzalo Fernandez 16. Le Procès (the Trial): Sentimental Slow - Martial Solal 17. Touchez Pas Au Grisbi: Touchez Pas Au Grisbi [Alternate Take] - Jean Wetzel 18. Touchez Pas Au Grisbi: Touchez Pas Au Grisbi [Reprise] - Jean Wetzel
The soundtrack is available from Amazon USA, UK, and France.
Just a quick reminder that The Return of The Saint DVD Set from Network is shipping today from Amazon UK. This set is the definitive collection and features many extras, including voice-overs by Ian Ogilvy.
The Return of The Saint DVD Set from Network is now available for pre-order from Amazon UK for release on January 29, 2007.
This set is eagerly anticipated, and features a number of commentary tracks that were recorded in late 2006 exclusively for this release.
Ian Dickerson of The Saint Club was heavily involved in the creation of this set and getting a great deal of extras on the DVDs. And you can be sure that he did a great job in pulling together a wealth of extras from a good number of different sources. I especially like the PDF files that will be included, as the ones from the Roger Moore series by Network were also of very high quality.
For more information about all the goodies that will be included with this set, here is a nice complete list of all the extras.
Burl Barer has written a short story that is exclusively for sale on Amazon.com entitled, The Treasure of Sir Thomas Conway. It is priced at only 49 cents, and well worth the small investment!
This story is a very clever satire written in a Saintly manner by the noted author of a number of books on The Saint. It is a classic caper with a twist at the end, with its roots firmly entrenched in The Falcon, Raffles, The Saint, and the other gentleman thieves. Watch for Burl's classic touches with regards to the title, the main character's name, and others.
Burl Barer Speaks About The Treasure of Sir Thomas Conway: I've always held affection for the classic gentleman crooks featured in motion pictures produced in the 1930's and 1940s by RKO. I also favor the once-popular literary form known as the novelette. In “The Treasure of Sir Thomas Conway,” our hero's name, Falcon Arcaio, sets the satirical tone for this modern day reworking of an old fashioned recipe for adventure.
For those of you wondering what kind of an actor Roger Moore's son Geoffrey will be, see if you can get your hands on a copy of Fire, Ice, and Dynamite. This movie starred both Roger Moore and Geoffrey Moore. I haven't actually viewed the film myself, and I'm looking to hear from the Saint fans out there about what they think about the chances that Geoffrey might take on the role of The Saint in 2007.
Jason MacIsaac has written an extensive review and plot synopsis that truly defies explanation. It's part of his site dedicated to Jabootu, the muse of bad movie creativity. There are a great number of screenshots and a complete description and review of Fire, Ice, and Dynamite.
Think of any cult/fantasy television show of the 1960s or '70s and the chances are that they were created by ITC, the company owned by legendary media tycoon Lew Grade. For the first time in one book, the incredible stories behind the making of these enduringly popular shows are told by the actors, directors and creators involved in bringing them to the small screen. Robert Sellers' stellar list of almost fifty interviewees includes such international stars as Sir Roger Moore, Tony Curtis and Robert Vaughn; legendary animators Sylvia and Gerry Anderson; Jane Henson, widow of Muppets creator Jim Henson; Oscar nominated director Franco Zeffirelli; and cult stars such as Peter Wyngarde and Ian Ogilvy. Arranged in eight chronological sections, "Cult TV: The Golden Age of ITC" contains a wealth of anecdotes and detail that will delight fans of these remarkable series and cult television in general. The book is introduced with a foreword from former "James Bond" and "The Saint" star, Sir Roger Moore and contains an afterword by Gerry Anderson.
Burl Barer reports on his blog that there is some interest in Capture The Saint in the busy offices of the Hollywood movie business. There is nothing confirmed, of course, but the fact is that Robert Evans, the famed Producer of the Val Kilmer The Saint movie in 1997 is currently reading a personally signed copy of Capture The Saint by Burl Barer.
Robert Evans, as you might remember, not only produced The Saint. He has had quite a remarkable career and is most remembered for his years on the Paramount lot during Chinatown, The Godfather, The Conversation and other heady days of the 1970s. His Wikipedia entry has a lot more detail for your reading enjoyment. A new Saint film under his belt would be a lot of fun.
Robert Evan's book, The Kid Stays in The Picture chronicles the life and times of one of Hollywood's greatest producers is also available in Audio Book and DVD formats.
I've read Capture The Saint and I think it would make an excellent movie. And keep reading Burl Barer's Blog for updated news on this subject.
With great delight, Wesley Britton of Spy Television fame would like to announce three new articles now posted at his website:
Untold Stories of 007: Writer Ronald Payne Shares Some Secrets In the first part of my talks with writer, agent, and raconteur Ron Payne, Ron talks about his connections to 007 historian O. F. Snelling and his work to update Selling's 1964 classic Bond study; Ron's friendship with George Lazenby; and Ron's stories about so much more--like his first movie job--keeping director John Ford upright!
Untold Stories of 007 (Part II): The James Bond Curse? In Part II, Payne describes his attempts to work on an official Bond film, his trying to connect with Thunderball producer Kevin McClory, insider notes on Never Say Never Again, and some Bond might-have-beens.
Untold Stories of 007 (Part III) The Secret Script to Warhead Speaking of might-have-beens, here Ron tells the story of what was in the 1976 never produced Bond script, Warhead, written by Sean Connery, Kevin McClory, and Len Deighton.
All this is now at www.WesleyBritton.com under the "SpyWise" button, then scroll down to the "Interviews with Insiders" section.
For fans of The Saint, starring Roger Moore, who are looking for very similar TV shows to watch, check out The Baron! The Baron was written by John Creasey, and is a gentleman thief with a strong morale code just like Simon Templar. The TV show was produced by the same company as the Roger Moore series, at the same time, in the same studio, and stars many of the same actors and actresses!
This TV show is a little different than Creasey's Barron books, in that John Mannering, alias The Baron, is an American cattle baron who runs an antique store and sometimes helps out the British Secret Service -- just to make him for respectable for the 1960's television audience.
This month, September 2006, new sets of The Persuders as well as special edition The Saint DVD's are due to be released in the UK, as DVD Active have announced. Beautiful cover artwork and many special features which include: audio commentaries, interviews and much more. The Persuaders DVD Box Set is due to come out September 18th, while The Saint 18 disc The Complete Monochrome Series is due to be released September 25th.
Visit the Simply Moore Forums for more discussion about these releases and additional artwork.
While not technically the soundtrack just to The Return of the Saint, there is a collection of the greatest music from a number of ITC television series, The Music of ITC. There are 133 different tracks on 2 CD audio discs (158 mins), and beautifully illustrated booklet with liner sleeve notes. Disc 1 features Edwin Astley's music from the original Saint TV show, starring Roger Moore on tracks 23 to 31. The Edwin Astley songs have been on CD before; the real news is the songs from The Return of The Saint, starring Ian Ogilvy! Those have not been on CD before, and they appear on the second disc as tracks 45 through 52!
Disc 1
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It is priced at only 49 cents, and well worth the small investment!
