Simon Templar
Simon Templar is the hero of a crime novel series by the English writer Leslie Charteris , which is originally called The Saint ( The Saint ).
Overview
Templar is known as The Holy ( The Saint ) because his initials (ST) is the abbreviation of the English term for this. He is known for his fight against evil, but also quite notorious for his methods. Templar also uses Sebastian Tombs and many others, which can be abbreviated with ST , such as Sullivan Titwillow or Sugarman Treacle , as a cover name . Templar has a somewhat childish sense of humor at times. Every now and then he leaves business cards in the scenes of his activities, which show a stick figure with a halo. This became the logo of the book series and also the identification mark of the later television series in the 1960s.
Originally, Templar began his career as a criminal, and theft is also often mentioned in the books. From the texts, however, it becomes clear that he only draws his income from the pockets of villains who have a lesser moral code than himself. There are some stories in which he either gives a 10% fee back to his owners or donates it to charity from the huge sums of his sacrifices. The “unworthy” he steals include corrupt politicians, warmongers, and other forms of criminal life. " He claims to be a Robin Hood to be ," said one of his victims, complained " for me it is only a predatory dog ."
Templar has several partners in the novels, but they do not appear in all of the books in the series. In addition to Patricia Holm , the earliest stories also include Norman Kent , Archie Sheridan , Roger Conway and Dicky Tremain (a character who later appears in the series Twin Peaks - Coincidence?). After these minor characters were omitted from the books, the nasty but reliable villain Hoppy Uniatz appeared at Templar's side from time to time.
Of the law enforcement officers, Inspector Claude Eustace Teal tries to put him behind bars the most often, although both of them also act as partners against the bad guys from time to time in later books.
The narrative of the books begins in the 1920s and continues into the 1940s. In the early of the 45 books, Templar's actions are clearly illegal, even if the acts he commits are directed against persons clearly worse than himself. In the novels that take place during the Second World War, Templar, like many of the other fictional book and film heroes, is recruited by the government to fight against evil public enemies, spies, etc. Charteris' writing style also changed at the time, from fresh to cynical. Some of the stories now even borrow from science fiction and fantasy motifs. From 1960 Charteris slowly began to withdraw from the business. The last novels still bear his name, but he no longer wrote them himself. The last novel with his name was published in 1973, but Simon Templar novels continued to appear, especially after the 1997 film The Saint with Val Kilmer . Charteris died in 1993.
The Saint - The books
Unless otherwise noted, all novels are by Leslie Charteris. Most of the books were collections of short stories. Various stories have also been published under other titles over the years. This list represents the most popular book titles.
| year | German title | Title of the first edition (possibly different author) |
Stories | Alternative title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1928 | Encounters with the tiger | Meet the tiger | novel |
The Saint Meets the Tiger Crooked Gold The Saint in Danger Scoundrels Ltd. (abridged version) |
| 1930 | Do you know the saint? | The Last Hero | novel |
The Creeping Death / Sudden Death (in two parts) The Saint Closes the Case The Saint and the Last Hero |
| 1930 | The appearance of the Saint | Enter the Saint | "The Man Who Was Clever" "The Policeman With Wings" "The Lawless Lady" |
- |
| 1930 | The vengeance of the 'saint' | Knight Templar | novel | The Avenging Saint |
| 1931 | - | Featuring the Saint | "The Logical Adventure" "The Wonderful War" "The Man Who Could Not Die" |
- |
| 1931 | Alias the Saint | Alias the Saint | "Story of a Dead Man" "The Impossible Crime" "The National Debt" |
- |
| 1931 | The 'Saint' and Lady Jill | She was a lady | novel |
Number One / The Second Victim / The Third Victim (in three parts) The Saint Strikes Back The Saint Meets His Match Angels of Doom |
| 1931 | - | Wanted for Murder | US edition, includes Featuring the Saint and Alias the Saint | The Saint Wanted for Murder |
| 1932 | The 'saint' against Scotland Yard | The Holy Terror | "The Inland Revenue" "The Million Pound Day" "The Melancholy Journey of Mr. Teal" |
The Saint Vs. Scotland Yard |
| 1932 | The 'saint' gets away | Getaway | novel |
The Saint's Getaway The Property of the Deceased / Two Men From Munich (in two parts) |
| 1933 | The 'Saint' and Mr Teal | Once More the Saint | "The Gold Standard" "The Man From St. Louis" "The Death Penalty" |
The Saint and Mr. Teal |
| 1933 | The saint is smarter | The Brighter Buccaneer | "The Brain Workers" "The Export Trade" "The Tough Egg" "The Bad Baron" "The Brass Buddha" "The Perfect Crime" "The Unpopular Landlord" "The New Swindle" "The Five Thousand Pound Kiss" "The Blind Spot " " The Unusual Ending " " The Unblemished Bootlegger " " The Appalling Politician " " The Owner's Handicap " " The Green Goods Man " |
- |
| 1934 | The 'saint' in London | The Saint in London | "The Simon Templar Foundation" "The Higher Finance" "The Art of Alibi" |
The Misfortunes of Mr. Teal The Saint in England |
| 1934 | The 'saint' intervenes | Boodle | "The Ingenious Colonel" "The Unfortunate Financier" "The Newdick Helicopter" "The Prince of Cherkessia" "The Treasure of Turk's Lane" "The Sleepless Knight" "The Noble Sportsman" "The Damsel in Distress" "The Loving Brothers" " The Tall Timber " " The Art Photographer " " The Man Who Liked Toys " " The Mixture as Before " " The Uncritical Publisher "(only in the US edition) |
The Saint Intervenes (US edition) |
| 1934 | The 'saint' continues | The Saint Goes On | "The High Fence" "The Elusive Ellshaw" "The Case of the Frightened Innkeeper" |
- |
| 1935 | The 'saint' in New York | The Saint in New York | novel | - |
| 1936 | The 'saint' overboard | The Saint Overboard | novel | The Pirate Saint |
| 1937 | - | The Ace of Knaves | "The Spanish War" "The Unlicensed Victuallers" "The Beauty Specialist" |
The Saint in Action (US title) |
| 1937 | - | Thieves' picnic | novel |
The Saint Bids Diamonds The Saint at the Thieves' Picnic |
| 1938 | - | Prelude for War | novel |
The Saint Plays with Fire The Saint and the Sinners |
| 1939 | - | Follow the Saint | "The Miracle Tea Party" "The Invisible Millionaire" "The Affair of Hogsbotham" |
- |
| 1939 | - | The First Saint Omnibus | Compilation of various short stories | Arrest the Saint |
| 1939 | - | The Happy Highwayman | "The Man Who Was Lucky" "The Smart Detective" "The Wicked Cousin" "The Well-Meaning Mayor" "The Benevolent Burglary" "The Star Producers" "The Charitable Countess" "The Mug's Game" "The Man Who Liked Ants " |
- |
| 1940 | - | The Saint in Miami | novel | - |
| 1942 | - | The Saint Goes West | "Arizona" "Palm Springs" "Hollywood" |
- |
| 1942 | - | The Saint Two in One | Compilation of various short stories | - |
| 1943 | - | The Saint Steps In | novel | - |
| 1943 | - | The Saint at Large | Compilation of various short stories | - |
| 1944 | - | The Saint on Guard | "The Black Market" "The Sizzling Saboteur" |
- |
| 1945 | - | Paging the Saint | Compilation of various short stories | - |
| 1946 | - | The Saint Sees It Through | novel | - |
| 1948 | - | Call for the Saint | "The King of the Beggars" "The Masked Angel" |
- |
| 1948 | - | Saint Errant | "Judith: The Naughty Niece" "Iris: The Old Routine" "Lida: The Foolish Frail" "Jeannine: The Lovely Sinner" "Lucia: The Homecoming of Amadeo Urselli" "Teresa: The Uncertain Widow" "Luella: The Saint and the Double Badger " " Emily: The Doodlebug " " Dawn: The Darker Drink " |
- |
| 1951 | - | The Second Saint Omnibus | Compilation of previously unpublished stories | - |
| 1953 | - | The Saint in Europe | "Paris: The Covetous Headsman" "Amsterdam: The Angel's Eye" "The Rhine: The Rhine Maiden" "Tirol: The Golden Journey" "Lucerne: The Loaded Tourist" "Jaune-les-Pins: The Spanish Cow" "Rome: The Latin Touch " |
- |
| 1955 | - | The Saint on the Spanish Main | "Bimini: The Effete Angler" "Nassau: The Arrow of God" "Jamaica: The Black Commissar" "Puerto Rico: The Unkind Philanthropist" "Virgin Islands: The Old Treasure Story" "Haiti: The Questing Tycoon" |
- |
| 1956 | - | The Saint Around the World | "Bermuda: The Patient Playboy" "England: The Talented Husband" "France: The Reluctant Nudist" "Middle East: The Lovelorn Sheik" "Malaya: The Pluperfect Lady" "Vancouver: The Sporting Chance" |
- |
| 1957 | - | Thanks to the Saint | "The Bunco Artists" "The Happy Suicide" "The Good Medicine" "The Unescapable Word" "The Perfect Sucker" "The Careful Terrorist" |
- |
| 1958 | - | Señor Saint | "The Pearls of Peace" "The Revolution Market" "The Romantic Matron" "The Golden Frog" |
- |
| 1958 | - | Concerning the Saint | Compilation of various short stories | - |
| 1959 | - | The Saint to the Rescue | "The Ever-Loving Spouse" "The Fruitful Land" "The Percentage Player" "The Water Merchant" "The Gentle Ladies" "The Element of Doubt" |
- |
| 1959 | - | The Saint Cleans Up | Compilation of various short stories | - |
| 1962 | - | Trust the Saint | "The Helpful Pirate" "The Bigger Game" "The Cleaner Care" "The Intemperate Reformer" "The Uncured Ham" "The Convenient Monster" |
- |
| 1963 | - | The Saint in the Sun | "Cannes: The Better Mousetrap" "St. Tropez: The Ugly Impresario" "England: The Prodigal Miser" "Nassau: The Fast Women" "Florida: The Jolly Undertaker" "Lucerne: The Russian Prisoner" "Provence: The Hopeless Heiress " |
- |
| 1964 | - |
Vendetta for the Saint ( Harry Harrison ) |
novel | - |
| 1968 | - |
The Saint on TV ( Fleming Lee , John Kruse ) |
"The Death Game" "The Power Artist" |
- |
| 1968 | - |
The Saint Returns (Fleming Lee, John Kruse, DR Motton , Leigh Vance ) |
"The Dizzy Daughter" "The Gadget Lovers" |
- |
| 1968 | - |
The Saint and the Fiction Makers (Fleming Lee, John Kruse) |
novel | - |
| 1969 | - |
The Saint Abroad (Fleming Lee, Michael Pertwee ) |
"The Art Collectors" "The Persistent Patriots" |
- |
| 1970 | - |
The Saint in Pursuit (Fleming Lee, Leslie Charteris) |
novel | - |
| 1971 | - |
The Saint and the People Importers (Fleming Lee, Leslie Charteris) |
novel | - |
| 1974 | - | Saints Alive | Compilation of various short stories | - |
| 1975 | - |
Catch the Saint (Fleming Lee, Norman Worker ) |
"The Masterpiece Merchant" "The Adoring Socialite" |
- |
| 1976 | - |
The Saint and the Hapsburg Necklace ( Christopher Short ) |
novel | - |
| 1977 | - |
Send for the Saint ( Peter Bloxsom , John Kruse, Donald James ) |
"The Midas Double" "The Pawn Gambit" |
- |
| 1978 | - |
The Saint in Trouble ( Graham Weaver , John Kruse, Terence Feely ) |
"The Imprudent Professor" "The Red Sabbath" |
- |
| 1979 | - |
The Saint and the Templar Treasure (Graham Weaver, Donne Avenell ) |
novel | - |
| 1979 | - | The Saint: Good as Gold | Compilation of various short stories | - |
| 1980 | - |
Count on the Saint (Graham Weaver, Donne Avenell) |
"The Pastors' Problem" "The Unsaintly Santa" |
- |
| 1982 | - | The Fantastic Saint | Compilation of previously unpublished stories | - |
| 1983 | - |
Salvage for the Saint (Peter Bloxsom, John Kruse) |
novel | - |
| 1997 | - |
The Saint (Burl Barer, Jonathan Hensleigh) |
Novel version of the film material | - |
| 1997 | - |
Capture the Saint (Burl Barer) |
novel | - |
Most of the stories were sooner or later republished under different titles.
In addition, Charteris is said to have written some novels in French that have not yet appeared in English.
Film adaptations
Simon Templar was the hero in several films in the 1930s and 1940s, often portrayed by George Sanders . In the 1960s, he became known as the hero of the 118-part television series Simon Templar ( The Saint ), played by Roger Moore . In this series Templar drove a Volvo P1800 with the registration number ST1 . Of the book characters, inspector Claude Eustace Teal also survived in this series , who was portrayed sucking pastilles by the later Long John Silver Ivor Dean .
After this series there were a few other actors who played Templar less successfully. The most successful portrayal of Ian Ogilvy was in the 15-part television series Simon Templar - A Gentleman with a Halo ( Return of the Saint ) in the late 1970s (according to fans even better than Roger Moore). In 1978 there was a pilot film for a project The Saint in Manhattan with actor Andrew Clarke , who looked like an imitation of Thomas Magnum ( Tom Selleck ) with his mustache . But then the pilot film was everything. In 1989 six Simon Templar episodes were filmed in England with actor Simon Dutton .
The 1997 movie with Val Kilmer then moved away from the novels and presented a pure action film. While Templar used various pseudonyms with ST in the novels , Kilmer had to appear under different names of saints to justify the title The Saint .
Another adaptation appeared in 2017 with The Saint with Adam Rayner ( Tyrant ) in the title role. This film was originally intended to serve as the pilot of a possible series, which, however, did not go into production. Therefore, on July 11, 2017, it only appeared digitally on Netflix .
TV Shows
- Simon Templar (OT: The Saint ; 1962–1969), 118 episodes with Roger Moore of 50 minutes each, 1962–1965 still in black and white, from the fifth season in color.
- Simon Templar - A Gentleman with a Halo (OT: Return of the Saint ; 1978–1980), 24 episodes with Ian Ogilvy of 50 minutes each.
Films with and cast by Simon Templar
- The Saint in New York (1938 - Louis Hayward )
- The Saint Strikes Back (1939 - George Sanders )
- The Saint in London (1939 - Sanders)
- The Saint's Double Trouble (1940 - Sanders)
- The Saint Takes Over (1940 - Sanders)
- The Saint in Palm Springs (1941 - Sanders)
- The Saint Meets the Tiger (1941 - Hugh Sinclair )
- The Saint's Vacation (1941 - Sinclair)
- The Saint's Return (1953 - Hayward)
- The Saint's Girl Friday (1954 - Hayward)
- Le Saint mène la danse (1960 - Félix Marten )
- Le Saint prend l'affut ( The Lord with the MP , 1966 - Jean Marais )
- The Fiction Makers ( Hermetico - The invisible region , 1967 - Roger Moore ) - as a two-part episode of the television series The Saint published
- Vendetta for the Saint (Simon Templar and the Sicilian Mafia, 1968 - Roger Moore) - as a two-part episode of the television series The Saint published
- The Saint and the Brave Goose (1979 for television - Ian Ogilvy ) - compiled from a double episode of the television series Return of the Saint
- The Saint in Manhattan (1987 for television - Andrew Clarke )
- The Saint: Fear in Fun Park (1989 TV version - Simon Dutton )
- The Saint: The Big Bang (TV broadcast 1989 - Simon Dutton)
- The Saint: The Blue Dulac (TV broadcast 1989 - Simon Dutton)
- The Saint: The Brazilian Connection (TV 1989 - Simon Dutton)
- The Saint: The Software Murders (1989 TV version - Simon Dutton)
- The Saint: Wrong Number (TV broadcast 1989 - Simon Dutton)
- The Saint ( The Saint , 1997 - Val Kilmer)
- The Saint (2017 for TV - Adam Rayner )
comics
The first daily strips drawn were published in American newspapers beginning on September 27, 1948.
In 1967 the BSV Verlag published four comics in German-speaking countries.
Web links
- Simon Templar in the Internet Movie Database (English) (with Roger Moore)
- The Saintly Bible on Leslie Charteris and Simon Templar (English)
- Official Website for Leslie Charteris (English)
- "Pillar saint of mischievous seducers" story in EVOLVER.at
Individual evidence
- ^ The Saint in comics on liquidsearch, accessed January 12, 2020
- ↑ Simon Templar in the archive of the BSV, accessed January 12, 2020