The Saint – Simon Dutton Telefilm DVD Set (1989/Umbrella Entertainment/Region Four/4/PAL)
Picture:
C+ Sound: C+ Extras: D Telefilms: C
PLEASE NOTE: This DVD can only be operated on
machines capable of playing back DVDs that can handle Region 4 PAL format
software and can be ordered from our friends at Umbrella Entertainment at the
website address provided at the end of the review.
The Saint, Simon Templar, is a forerunner of James Bond
and while the commercial and often critical peak of the character is often
considered the massively successful Roger Moore TV series (links below) of the
1960s, many actors have played the role, from several when RKO had their movie
series, to foreign actors to Ian Ogilvy in the underrated, short-lived late 1970s
series Return Of The Saint (reviewed
elsewhere on this site/link below) that did not survive behind the scenes
troubles beyond the show’s control.
Since then, several revivals have been launched and none with any great
success.
Besides a one shot hour-long U.S. pilot with Andrew Clarke
and Val Kilmer feature film that fizzled, the actor who managed to do better by
default was Simon Dutton, who logged up six TV movies (the ninth Saint) as the
Leslie Charteris hero. He was fair in
the role, but no matter what this series tried from guest stars to minimalism,
these films never worked. Gone were the care and production values Sir Lew
Grade was able top provide as the original producer of the Moore and Ogilvy
shows. Some fans of the book liked the
changes, but the films barely made a showing the U.S. and overseas had limited
success. Now, The Saint – Simon Dutton Telefilm DVD Set (1989) has been released
on DVD in Australia by Umbrella Entertainment after the successful launch of
the Ogilvy series a few years ago and we can take a closer look at what did and
did not work.
Dutton is
not a disaster as Templar and was not totally miscast, yet I felt he never
totally filled out the role despite the sense it made to some extent to cast
him. Of course, like George Lazenby as
James Bond, he could have grown into the role had he lasted long enough, but
playing his as older and grayer did not mesh.
Having him drive around in a Jensen Interceptor, produced by the company
that helped make Volvo’s great P1800 speedster as driver by Moore in the 1960s
show. Add the fact that Dutton was named
after the character and that is just one too many in jokes and not enough up
front new ideas and energy. Energy is
something the show also lacked.
Then here
is the manner in which the shows are made.
They look more like detective shows for an older audience form their
credits to their pacing and in the tired tradition of one too many U.S. and
U.K. mystery shows, often flaunt guest star appearances that feel more like
desperation that surprise. The films are
as follows with the key guest stars noted:
The Brazilian
Connection (Gayle
Hunnicut, who appeared in the only two-parter Return Of The Saint show.)
The Big Bang (Morgan Brittany)
The Software Murders (Pamela Sue Martin (Nancy Drew) and Georgia Allen)
The Blue Dulac (John Astin)
Fear In Fun Park (Rebecca Gilling, Richard
Roxburgh, Anthony Wong)
Wrong Number (Vince Edwards)
That
reads more like a cast list for Murder,
She Wrote for the most part than the kind of action series previous Saint
series represented. I had seen some of
the telefilms after much effort to find them on U.S. TV and was not impressed
or found them particularly memorable. If
anything, I went into shock at the mistakes that were being made left and
right. Like the Clarke pilot and Kilmer
feature, the approach is all wrong and not faithful to the punch of the books
(I have actually read all 45+) or the best film versions. A new feature is being made for release soon
with James Purefoy taking over the role in a Roger Moore/Barry Levinson
production. Obviously, the makers of
this version wanted to have this out in advance so people could judge for
themselves.
Some may
enjoy this take, but Dutton’s version never seems totally witty, able-bodied,
worldly or as exceptionally competent as the character should be. Still, this may have a few fans, but in
remains more of a curio than anything else and as much as I wanted to like it
and it to work, the Simon Dutton Saint did not get better as the films went
along and the plug was finally pulled.
The 1.33
X 1 color PAL image look good for a show that was filmed then finished on
analog videotape as these copies apparently were with the aliasing errors and
issues of detail, depth, plus dull colors in places. That they do not look better than the copies
of the Return Of The Saint
episodes on DVD from the same company says that the company will need to redo
the transfers and then some when Blu-ray versions roll around. Finishing on video was not an option that
worked at the time Return Of The Saint
was made, but sadly was when these were produce. The Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono also sounds good for its age
including the dialogue, but the new version of the theme is substandard and
forgettable, while the sound mixing in general has little character to speak
of. Shockingly, there are absolutely no
extras, despite all the Saint fans in Europe, et al, though there was no real
memorabilia connected to this version of the show either.
For more
on The Saint, try these links:
The
Saint MegaSet (A&E U.S. NTSC)
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/372/Saint+MegaSet+(color+shows)
The
Saint Set Five (A&E U.S. NTSC)
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/42/Saint+Set+5+(Roger+Moore)
The
Saint – The Early Years – Set One (A&E U.S. NTSC)
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/1927/The+Saint+-+The+Early+Years+(1962
The
Saint – The Early Years – Set Two (A&E U.S. NTSC)
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/2583/The+Saint+-+The+Early+Years+(1963
Return
Of The Saint (Umbrella PAL Set)
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/6250/Return+Of+The+Saint+–+25th+An
As noted above, you can order this Simon Dutton Saint PAL DVD import exclusively from
Umbrella at:
http://www.umbrellaent.com.au/
- Nicholas Sheffo
