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Nineteen actors have portrayed Simon Templar, the gentleman
adventurer created by Leslie Charteris in 1928. Among the most memorable
incarnations were George Sanders (in a series of 1930s films) and Vincent Price
(who voiced the character on radio in the 1940s). But for baby boomers, there is
only one Simon: Roger Moore, who starred in this classic 1960s British TV
series. Moore makes a better Templar than he did a Bond (and he is certainly
better than Val Kilmer, who stared in the 1997 feature film), and the inside
jokes include guest appearances by Lois Maxwell, best known to 007 fans as Miss
Moneypenny. Except for the gadgets, The Saint has all the pleasures of
the Bond films: a real international man of mystery impeccably dressed (these
entertaining adventures are "more cloak than dagger"), exotic locations, cold
war intrigue, sparkling bons mots, and beautiful (albeit chaste) women, and the
highlight of any episode is the devilishly funny prologue, in which, no matter
where he is, someone always identifies our hero as "the infamous" Simon Templar,
prompting him to cast his eyes heavenward as he is crowned by his signature
animated halo.
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