Watch The Saint Strikes Back For Free

the audience applauded

Perfect cast and a good story

Just perfect...

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

The first film was a full feature. This one is more the length of a B Double Feature under card. This one introduces George Sanders to the title role. It is interesting the control that even RKO had over casting.The creator of The Saint character did not like George Sanders playing the role of the character he created. Still, from this film forward, he would become the Saint for film goers everywhere.This edition has more action than the first film. It goes at a much quicker pace and plays like an early film noir detective film. It sold a lot of tickets and it even does a great job giving the series new star a lock on his role.Overall a smashing success for Saint fans everywhere. The plot twists are here for all to see, and the killers are caught with style. More films to come.

I like George Sanders as the saint. I have them on DVD, and watch them from time to time.Sadly, the plots of some of the movies are their weak spot. I find I can simply ignore the plot for the most part, and enjoy the ride. If you can't do that, you will probably be disappointed in most of these old saint movies.In this movie, Fernack (sp?) lends some comic moments. How he always perpetually mistrusts the saint, I will never know. Seeing how much the saint has done for him, it comes across as positively ungrateful. But it's a device used in a number of the movies.The leading lady isn't bad. I like her acting, but there's more inconsistencies here. Is she an avenging angel, a seeker of truth or a homicidal er...B____ (aka female dog) ? I wasn't sure.In spite of the plot issues, and inconsistent behavior of some of the characters I still enjoy watching George Sanders Saint. He's usually in control, sometimes suave and sometimes, in his own words, a cad.

George Sanders steps into the shoes of Simon Templar for the first time and beds himself in for a further four movies. The Saint Strikes Back is a complex little tale that takes The Saint to San Francisco and pitches him against a supposed female mob boss. John Twist's screenplay is tailor made for Sanders, ensuring he gets to play up the caddish rogue act with a tongue as sharp as a serpent. It's this aspect that lifts the film above average, the blend of comedy and mystery is deftly handled by Sanders. Support is good from Wendy Barrie, Jonathan Hale, Jerome Cowan and Barry Fitzgerald, while director John Farrow, without adding any stylish flourish, at least keeps the picture nice and brisk. 6/10

Maybe you can figure out the plot, I couldn't. Looks to me like somebody put the ingredients into a mix-master and then poured the goulash onto the screen. Characters sort of drift in and out minus the connecting threads that bind a narrative into anything coherent. I guess the result here is intended to be a mystery since the lighting bill couldn't total more than 10-bucks. Whatever it is, it's certainly not a whodunit. I think I recognized Sanders since he does escape the dark now and then. Now I'm as big a fan of the old smoothie as anyone; however, the script's one big accomplishment is to make Sanders' Templar the absolute master of every situation and the predictability does get tiresome. Perhaps that's one reason gentleman detectives of the 30's gave way to blue-collar private- eyes of the 40's. At least Marlowe and Spade stumble around and get clobbered now and again like regular mortals. Anyway, skip this entry in an otherwise decent series, unless, that is, you have a taste for goulash.