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When a man is killed on his doorstep, Simon Templar (Hugh Sinclair) tries to find out the reason in "The Saint Meets the Tiger," a 1943 film also starring Gordon McLeod, Jean Gillie and Wylie Watson. In this episode, The Saint has a butler (Wylie Watson) who regrets not taking a job in Chicago so he could work with mobsters; a death on the doorstep is what he's been waiting for. The man utters a few words before he dies, which lead Simon and his butler to a small town. There they meet a young woman, Pat (Gille), who becomes part of the "team" trying to uncover the identity of "The Tiger" and reveal a scam involving gold and an old mine.

The scenes on board ship were good, with the butler and Pat working together knocking people out and not realizing Simon was on board, too, and Simon not knowing they were on board. The two would run across a body and accuse the other of knocking him out. Inspector Teal shows up posing as a professor.

This is pleasant enough, though Sanders brought a certain panache to the role of The Saint that is missed here. And why, when the series was imported to Britain, wasn't the Saint's whistle brought along with him?

Altogether not too bad a Saint entry, the big problems being it was low budget and the annoying decomposition of the film when the '50's TV dupe was made. Unfortunately this can give you the feeling that by mistake you're watching Dick Barton, another (ultra) cheapo British sleuth series I like. I take it the original is lost? To make up for it they did their British best with some atmospheric sets, nice Templar repartee and a competent story.

I haven't seen this film for over 20 years now or read Meet the Tiger for over 30 but it seemed familiar ie faithful to Charteris's first Saint story written in 1929. I can't remember Inspector Teal in it however but all of the stalwart British cast work well together in an effective potboiler. The incidence of a man murdered on the Saint's doorstep leads him and valet (Mr Memory from the 39 Steps) - and Teal - to a nest of savage gold smugglers in a quaint English seaside town. There's a pretty frank love interest and many twists and turns and multiple plot lines going on to keep you guessing how it will all turn out, although if you know your Saint you know the ultimate outcome with the opening titles. Hugh Sinclair was not my idea of Simon Templar - he was chunkily adequate - but at this distance I wish he'd gone on to make a dozen or so more I'd yet to see!

So, imho well worth watching for fans and completists alike, especially if you can get over the bad condition of the print.

Ultra lightweight movie almost floats away. Jean Gillie is fine as Pat Holm (borrowed from the very early Saint novels), but Hugh Sinclair suffers compared to the more magnetic George Sanders and lacks the vocal charm of Vincent Price's radio Saint. One of the appealing things about the Simon Templar character was the suspicion that he was only on the side of the good guys for as long as it would prove profitable. None of this comes through in this Republic effort, though the production values are reasonably high.

Saint Meets the Tiger, The (1941)

** (out of 4)

Eighth and final film of the original series switched from RKO over to Republic. This time out The Saint (Hugh Sinclair) gets involved with a gang of gold thieves who will stop at nothing to keep their riches. This entry is certainly better made than the previous film but in the end it still doesn't work too well. Once again, we've got a pretty interesting story to follow but sadly there's really no excitement and never any sense of real danger going on. This film also has a lot more comic relief than previous entries but, again, none of it really comes off too well. I think Sinclair is a lot better here than he was in the previous film as he manages to make the best scenes in the movie. The supporting cast are all pretty forgettable, which is another downside to this series as they never really had any good character actors working in them. Having now seen all of the films in the series I must say that overall this was the least interesting of them all. I think Holmes, Chan, Boston Blackie, The Falcon and the Crime Doctor all were better series and this one here, to me, ranks at the bottom. I know this series has a strong following but it just didn't cut it for me.

Jean Gillie (sp?) makes this movie. She's too cute for words with her gung ho attitude. She's not really believable IMO. She's just too calm in the face of danger given her background, but it's fiction after all, why not have a really strong female character to match up with the Saint.

A lot of the supporting cast is pretty dull

George Sanders is better as the Saint IMO. Hugh does OK - he's charming and competent enough

The plot is weak like most Saint movies. I don't care really as long as the dialog entertains, and it does.

I admit to having a real love for the early Saint movies for their totally relaxing experience - the violence is comic when there is violence, and you always just assume the Saint will manage to come out alive. Even though the violence is comic, the body count is high in this movie. Heck, I can't even remember how many people get killed (or one assumes their wounds are fatal.)

I would say, if you liked the Sanders Saint movie, this one might appeal to you. If you like comic-mysteries from this era and don't mind weak plots you will like this. I think most people just have to like Jean Gillie here, what's to not like?

For the second time, Hugh Sinclair is Simon Templar. Ben Williams dies on his doorstep, raving about a million pounds in gold. Intrigued, he investigates with the aid of Jean Gillie, leading to a mysterious figure known as the Tiger.

Like the previous one, this was produced in Great Britain. Unlike the previous one, RKO did not distribute it in the United States. Instead they sold it to Republic Pictures. They would produce no others.

It's quite a clever entry in the series, based on the first Saint book that Charteris wrote. I like Sinclair's version of the Saint as someone actually does something more energetic than your typical George Sanders episode. My opinion, however, does not result in lots of people in 1941 saying "Oooh! Joan Hickson is in this one! Let's go to the movies!" at least in part because I'm writing this more than eighty years later.

When you deposit a body on Simon Templar's doorstep what else can you expect but that the Saint will get involved. But on which side of the law?

In an opening that was taken from The Maltese Falcon when Captain Jacoby arrives on Sam Spade's door dying and with the falcon, Simon TEmplar has a similar experience and before long is involved in exposing a smuggling racket. He's got competition though, another master criminal called the Tiger, identity unknown, is also cutting himself in on the plans. We're not sure who's with who except that Scotland Yard has an undercover man as well.

This is the second of two films that Hugh Sinclair starred in as Simon Templar over in Great Britain. This one's not as good as the first though Sinclair makes one breezy Saint. The story line is kind of muddled though that could be bad editing.

For fans of the series only.

THE SAINT MEETS THE TIGER is the second film RKO made in Britain with a British cast with Hugh Sinclair in the title-role. The plot is a familiar one: the Saint (Hugh Sinclair) travels down to Cornwall to uncover a smuggling plot involving in which one million pounds of gold will leave the country. What makes this thriller worth watching, however, is its incidental pleasures: although much of it is shot in the studio, with quite obviously phony backgrounds, there are occasional sequences shot on location in Cornwall, where we get an authentic impression of what British seaside life was like during the middle of World War II. There are some notable performances from Wylie Watson as Horace, the Saint's faithful butler with a penchant for listening to gangster thrillers on the radio. When he is drawn into the action he takes every opportunity to assume the tough-guy role, pointing his loaded pistol at the villains. The eponymous Tiger/ Tidemarsh (Clifford Evans) comes across as a very clever mastermind - on the one hand he is more than willing to look after Pat Holm (Jean Gillie) and ensure that she comes to no harm; on the other hand he shows his true nature while trying to deal with his gang. The members of said gang are cleverly delineated, ranging from crooked financier Lionel Bentley (Dennis Arundell), whose facial expressions seldom change, even when he is holding the Saint at gunpoint; to Bittle (Charles Victor), a tough-guy with an accent combining South African clipped vowels and a Chicago twang. Needless to say they are outwitted at the end, leaving the Saint to walk off into the sunset with Pat on his arm, but one has to admire their ambition.

Leslie Charteris was apparently unhappy with the RKO films based on his Simon Templar character that were made in the late 30s and early 40s because they bore little similarity to his stories--just the titles and title character's name were often retained. I read that Charteris refused to allow further versions of his stories unless major changes were made. As a result, RKO did what you'd expect from a studio--changed the character's name and continued the series under a new name ("The Falcon"). However, they and Republic Pictures did not want to drop the idea of the Saint altogether, so they made a couple films in Britain with an entirely new cast. Part of this was, of course, to make Charteris happy but this was also done because a British law required that a certain percentage of films shown in the country must be domestically produced--hence many American companies, such as MGM, Warner and RKO bought or created British film companies. Most of these British productions were made on a shoestring budget and the parent companies didn't particularly care too much about the quality of the films, as they were never intended to be shown anywhere outside the UK--and they were only making them to get around British law.

Now some of these British-made films very good and many of them were downright dull and boring--about how I would characterize THE SAINT MEETS THE TIGER--dull and boring. I know that this film has a reasonably high rating on IMDb, but for the life of me it was a major struggle for me to watch this insipid film. While the American films were not faithful to Charteris' vision, they were indeed fun. This more "by the book" version forgot to include the fun. Sure, they weren't "authentic", but for my money I'd much rather watch George Sanders as the Saint than dull old Hugh Sinclair--who, unfortunately, has the charisma of a mop.

FYI--While I prefer the Americanized version of the Saint, the same cannot be said of James Bond. Just like the Charteris novels, most James Bond films have almost no similarity to the original Ian Fleming novels--just the titles and character name. However, I would LOVE to one day see a series based on the books, as they were far superior to the impossibly perfect Bond we've seen in the films.

The eighth and final Saint film from RKO. Well, technically it was released here by Republic but it was produced by RKO two years earlier and sat on the shelf while the studio worked out its legal issues with Saint creator Leslie Charteris. It's also the worst movie of the series, although still perfectly watchable. The plot has the Saint up against a villain called the Tiger. That's pretty much all you need to know to realize this isn't going to be much more than a generic programmer. Returning as the Saint is charmless Hugh Sinclair. His comic relief sidekick this time is valet Horace, played by Wylie Watson. He's an improvement over the last sidekick but not by much. Pretty Jean Gillie is the would-be love interest Pat Holmes. Apparently this character was a bigger deal in the Saint books but is just now making an appearance in this series. Gillie does a fine job and arguably has the most personality of anyone in the cast. But her banter and romance with the dull Sinclair is never very believable or interesting. Everything is very 1940s British, staid and mannered and leisurely paced. The story isn't particularly strong but they shove enough humor and action in to keep it your interest.

The Saint Meets the Tiger" was the first of the Saint books, but appeared rather late in the series of movies. The Saint is following the trail of a million pounds sterling of gold stolen from a Bristol bank by a gang headed by "the Tiger", a criminal mastermind. Hugh Sinclair, who doesn't much look the part initially, grows on you as the Saint with his witty and confident performance. His sidekick, Horace, has been transformed from a rough retired seaman to a dapper butler. The story isn't, of course, exactly the plot of the book, but it is close enough to give you fond reminiscences of the book. The cast is very similar in most respects to the main characters in the book. One of the main differences is that the identity of the Tiger is revealed quite early in the movie, and that revelation is virtually the last event in the book.

Some of the action scenes are a bit simplistic, to the point of virtually being bungled. Yet the charm of the dialog and the heroes overcomes those deficiencies. If you like these classic old mysteries, you can do a lot worse than "The Saint Meets the Tiger".

When a man is killed on his door-step and the Saint is suspected of the crime, he swings into righteous action. But a further series of shootings, knifings and stranglings ensue before the Saint can foil the plans of a gold-smuggling gang and corner their ruthless leader - the Tiger.

The tiger hunt starts in the deepest, darkest Cornwall! The Tiger himself remains strangely elusive, but as Simon Templar mingles with Cornwall's high society he soon finds a pretty girl (Jean Gillie) and some dirty rotten bankers intent on swindling out of her land rights. As the bullets start to fly and the double crosses come thick and fast, The Saint must uncover the connection between the girl's supposedly worthless land, some old smuggler's tunnels and a fortune in gold bullion from a recent bank robbery in Bristol!

Hugh Sinclair dons the 'halo' for the second and last time and it's a pity as he comes across better than in the first film - he's growing into the role. Like his snappy dialogue and he's more active, however he still lacks that George Sanders' distinct style and charisma.

As for the film, it's a bit of a comedown when compared to the breezy and fast-paced The Saint's Vacation, and lacks action, however it still passes muster as watchable entertainment and the plot has sufficient twists. Loved the secret passageways - the Saint uses the Big Betsy (his knife) to a great effect.

This is the eighth Saint film and the second and last with Hugh Sinclair as the Saint. It is based on a novel of the same title by Leslie Charteris (which was apparently the first Saint book to be published, according to another reviewer). It was not released this time by RKO but by Republic Pictures, all the previous Saint films having been RKO pictures; apparently this was really made by RKO and then handed to Republic for a much delayed release. In other words, it was apparently made before THE SAINT'S VACATION, but released after it. I still call it the eighth Saint film however, because it was the eighth to be released. It was the last of what is generally referred to as 'the original Saint series'. The lead gal in the film is played by Pat Gillie, who appeared in 22 films during her brief career of only 12 years, and died of pneumonia at the age of 33 in 1949. Gillie is not as cheerful and engaging as Sally Gray (who appears in THE SAINT'S VACATION, see my review, and appeared also in an earlier Saint film), and does not reach Gray's level of girlish charm. That does not mean that Gillie was bad in any way, merely that Gray was very special. This film is set in England and is very English indeed, with Gordon McLeod once again as Inspector Claude Teal. The film has a very gripping beginning: a man phones the Saint from a call box and asks to meet with him urgently. He is nearby and the Saint says yes come round immediately. However, the man is being followed and just as he rings the Saint's doorbell he is stabbed in the back. He manages to gasp a few incoherent words to the Saint and then dies. One of the words he spoke was 'Baycombe', the name of a fictitious Cornish fishing village. That is enough to send the Saint rushing down to Baycombe in search of another of the dying man's words: 'gold'. Much is made of the history of Baycombe as an old smuggler's port, with mysterious smugglers' caves said to be in the vicinity, though no one is sure where. It becomes clear that Baycombe contains numerous villains, but who are they? The Saint is accompanied by a humourous and formal butler named Horace whom he has brought with him from London. Horace is very amusingly played by the character actor Wylie Watson, who is famous for playing Mister Memory in the original 1935 film of THE 39 STEPS. (A greater contrast between the Saint's butler and Mister Memory cannot be imagined, so Watson was amazingly versatile. He last appeared as Herb Johnson in Fred Zinnemann's Australian epic, THE SUNDOWNERS in 1960.) The dying man had also mentioned 'the Tiger', who turns out to be the code name for the leader of a criminal gang. There is no actual tiger in the film. Discovering who 'the Tiger' is makes for good watching. We get some nice filming in a genuine Cornish fishing village. I recognised one of the streets, but cannot remember which of the towns it is in. The film is very amusing, being a semi-comedic mystery film. So it is fun to watch.

George Sanders added the word debonair to Simon Templar and when he left the series and got replaced with Hugh Sinclair and the films got shot in Britain with a lower budget, the decline in script and quality is obvious.

Simon Templar finds a dead man on his doorstep and finds himself mired in murder, smuggling and a South American gold mine.

The film is all rather silly with a runaround mess set on board a ship, although the Sander's films were shot in the USA there was some love on display, there is little love to show here and this was Sinclair's last appearance as the Saint and frankly he never convinced me in the role.

The action starts quickly: Simon Templar receives a phone call from a nervous stranger who mentions a million pounds. The doorbell rings. Templar opens the door and a man falls into his arms. The dying man hangs on just long enough to say something about "the Tiger" and the city of Baycombe….

The pace never slows down much from there, as the Saint takes a cottage in Baycombe and digs into a mystery involving a shipment of stolen gold bars, a mysterious mastermind known as the Tiger, and a group of ordinary-looking Baycombe residents mixed up in it all.

A game cast maintains a lively pace and a light tone in this enjoyable adventure. Wylie Watson is Horace, the Saint's new butler, a mystery lover looking for some excitement in a job. Jean Gillie is Pat Holm, the girl on the case, also eager for adventure and sporting a hairdo that's always falling across her face so she has to keep shaking it out of her eyes. Horace and Pat team up, thinking they'll catch the crooks on their own while the Saint is off working with…

Gordon McLeod, returning as Inspector Teal, also in Baycombe on the missing gold case (and trying unsuccessfully to work undercover as a vacationing professor). As usual, Teal is torn between arresting the Saint and asking for his help.

Hugh Sinclair is more than passable in his second and final go-around as Simon Templar. Sinclair's Saint is breezy, lanky and a fast talker. And confident—like when he's working a roomful of suspects and a policeman tells him, "I'll have to ask you to come along with me, Mr. Templar," and he just says, "Oh, I think not," and goes right on talking….

Overall, there's not a whole lot to it but it's certainly pleasant enough.

Note: I always like watching movie thieves handle stolen gold bricks. Movie gold bars are really heavy!

This entry begins with an intriguing opening--a man is found dead on Simon's doorstep and immediately Simon calls an inspector who, as usual, suspects Simon is holding out and knows more than he cares to reveal about the murder of a well-known bookie. Inspector Teal also has a confrontational moment with Simon's innocent butler.

"But I don't know anything," says Simon's butler.

"If you say that again, I'll arrest you on suspicion." Simon refers to his butler as a man who "sees the world through crime-colored glasses." The attempts at humor are as dull as the script.

Unfortunately, HUGH SINCLAIR as "The Saint", has none of the charisma of either a George Sanders or a Tom Conway, which is a huge drawback and JEAN GILLIE is so-so as the romantic interest. Her instant dislike of Simon is a bit overdone. "I didn't recognize you without your halo," she tells him by way of apology.

Nothing much happens that hasn't happened in a dozen other "Saint" movies as Simon attempts to find stolen gold and expose a crime boss called The Tiger. "Crooks work in the most select circles these days," he says, on the trail of gold thieves, while he moves through upper crust society.

Once again, Inspector Teal comes close to arresting Simon for murder in a cat-and-mouse game. All the other familiar ingredients are here too, with Simon making escapes from the bad guys in incredible fashion. But I was already weary of the plot by the time it got to the smuggler's cave of gold. The revelation of The Tiger is only a modest surprise.

Summing up: Moves quickly, but only moderately satisfying for "Saint" fans.