The Saint's Double Trouble

Saint's Double Trouble, The (1940)

** (out of 4)

Fourth film in the popular RKO series is perhaps the weakest. This time out The Saint, aka Simon Templar (George Sanders), is wanted by the police for a string of robberies. He didn't actually commit the crimes and must prove his innocence by tracking down the thief who is his double. I made a major mistake by watching this film first from the series and I say mistake because after watching this many might not want to try the others out, which would be a shame as the series actually delivered some pretty good movies. This one here is without question one of the weakest as even Sanders appears to be bored out of his mind. The biggest problem is that the actual story is just too far fetched to be believed. Yes, I know all of these detective films require some wild things to happen but what goes on here, in terms of the double, is just silly and will have your rolling your eyes. Helene Whitney is also quite boring in her part but Jonathan Hale delivers some nice work. He also gets the best scene in the movie when The Saint is daring him to shoot him. The payoff here is quite nice. Bela Lugosi is wasted in his fourth-billed role. It's a shame they couldn't have spiced his part up just a bit. If you're new to the series you certainly won't want to start here. If you're a Lugosi nut just wanting to see him, forget about it because he isn't here long enough to do much. An all around disappointing entry.

Snappy mystery with perhaps a far-fetched premise but George Sanders at his suave and wry best. George Sanders is ahead of the police all of the way and he again manipulates them into succeeded despite their best efforts. The Saint, remarks Professor Horatio Bitts, "has never been convicted of a crime, has he?" OK, perhaps it is a bit much that we all have a double that so resembles us that even our most close confidants would not recognize us. OK, so from time to time it is difficult to tell on a black on white screen whether George is playing the Saint or his look-alike jewel thief "Boss Duke Bates." OK, so what does the "ST" ring really have to do with anything and which character had it in his possession? But consider that in this entry into the series, we have George Sanders cross-dressing and leaping fearlessly on the back of moving vehicles from which he is poised to save a damsel in distress! Not the greatest film, but certainly not the worst of the Saint lot if you include the group done with Sanders brother. The Saint's Double Trouble is better than most of the one hour produced for TV mysteries that we are subjected to today. Jonathan Hale is perfect as Inspector Fernack and Donald MacBride does yeoman service as the Philadelphia police chief of detectives. Bela Lugosi must have needed the work. One of two of Helene Whitney's credited films. Her most memorable line is the closing line of the film: "Long live the Saint."

This really is the worst Saint film starring George Sanders. The whole idea of the Saint having an exact double is not too credible but the filmmakers milk it for all it is worth. This results in a confusing film that is short on mystery and long on ridiculous coincidences. The crooks are a very stupid lot in this film. Even the presence of Bela Lugosi does nothing to help the film. He just turns out to be as stupid as the others. George Sanders does what he can with the limited script. He is as suave as ever as Simon Templar but flat as the head of the criminal gang. The scenes pairing Simon with Inspector Fernack(Jonathan Hale) are easily the best in the film. Sanders and Hale click well together as they did in their previous Saint films together. Too bad the story is such a let-down. Only worth seeing for Sanders and Hale. I give it 5 halos out of 10.

Fourth film in the Saint series from RKO has George Sanders playing dual roles: Simon Templar and his evil doppelganger, Duke! The Saint has 48 hours to prove it was Duke and not he that committed a murder. Guess what? He'll only need 47. This is a good entry in the series with Sanders having fun playing bad. It's very amusing to hear him say things like "You mugs," even if he makes little effort to hide his accent. Bela Lugosi is also in this but, unfortunately, he's not given much to do. He's just an associate of the evil double. Still it's cool seeing Lugosi playing in a non-horror role with an actor you don't normally see him with. Pretty Helene Reynolds is the obligatory would-be love interest. The camera is in love with her. After being absent in the last film, Jonathan Hale returns as the likable police inspector frenemy of the Saint. The rest of the cast includes Donald MacBride, Byron Foulger, Thomas W. Ross, John F. Hamilton, and Elliott Sullivan. Those last two play the evil double's henchman. They have some funny lines.

An enjoyable movie, mostly due to Sanders. The story isn't much to get excited about. It's never really explained why Saint has a double or what led Duke to know about him in the first place. Also, the Saint not seeming upset about the killing of the kindly old man who was a friend of his didn't sit right with me. Oh, and how cool is it that apparently back in the old days a guy could mail a mummy to another guy halfway around the world. And we think we have progress!

George Sanders, in fact two George Sanders, arrive in the City of Brotherly Love to investigate a nice little diamond smuggling racket. But what a place to smuggle diamonds, in the sarcophagus of a long dead Egyptian mummy. What interests Simon Templar however is the fact that the head of the racket is a dead ringer for him and also played by George Sanders. He might well be responsible for the unsavory reputation the Saint has in some quarters.

Jonathan Hale as Inspector Fernack is in from New York and as the most authoritative expert on the activities of Simon Templar is drafted by the Philadelphia police in the person of Donald MacBride. In fact Fernack knows of a telltale scar on the wrist of the real Templar and can tell them apart. That fact proves most handy.

Bela Lugosi has an inexplicably small role as 'the partner' in the smuggling activities. I'm betting the editors at RKO probably left a lot of Lugosi on the cutting room floor. The film would have been better had Lugosi been left in.

As it is it's an OK B programmer and a plus for fans of Leslie Charteris's modern Robin Hood.