The Saint in Palm Springs

This film or possibly the Leslie Charteris book from which the Saint is derived might very well have been the inspiration over 20 years later for the film Charade. If you remember the Hitchcockian McGuffin in that film were rare postage stamps.

In what would turn out to be George Sanders last appearance as Simon Templar, the Saint is asked by his good friend Inspector Fernack played in the series by Jonathan Hale to guard an old friend on his way west with a fortune that was smuggled out of occupied Europe. And like the fortune in Charade it is contained in three priceless postage stamps.

Sanders proves too late to save Hale's friend, but the stamps are saved and he couriers them to Palm Springs to give to Wendy Barrie who is the daughter of the late friend. Of course news of this kind of loot gets out and all kinds of people are trying for them.

It must have been deja vu all over again for Sanders. In addition to Hale, two members of the cast of the previous Saint film, The Saint Takes Over return. Wendy Barrie died in the last film, but apparently the movie-going public liked her and Sanders together. So she came back as the damsel in distress whom the Saint must aid.

And Paul Guilfoyle repeats his same role as the luckless crook who is determined to go straight in this film. As in the last he's on Simon Templar's side, but his help is somewhat dubious.

The Saint In Palm Springs is a nice entry in the Saint series and a good one for Sanders to go out on.