Simon Templar has been able to maintain his suave sleuthing manner for almost a 100 years. He was originally a literary character in the ’20s from Leslie Charteris. He found himself becoming an international sensation as a TV series in the ’60s. Roger Moore’s portrayal of Simon Templar on The Saint became his training ground for transforming into James Bond. The Saint wasn’t through with TV. In 1989, The Saint returned with six made for TV movies shot all over the world. Simon Dutton (Dangerous Beauty) looks the part of they mysterious man with all the connections. The Saint: Set 2 includes the last of the three movies which brought The Saint to Paris, Berlin, Los Angeles and the English countryside.
“Wrong Number” is an old fashioned tale of people actually calling hotel phones. Who does that anymore? You call their cellphone and avoid being put on hold by the lazy front desk clerk. But this was 1989 so naturally the Saint picks up the phone in his Berlin hotel room. He gets a wrong number, but he’s intrigued since the right caller gets murdered in the hotel. This leads to him getting involved in a tangled terrorism plot. “The Big Bang” is a popper. A business woman kills herself except the Saint isn’t buying it. He thinks this is a murder triggered by a hostile takeover. But who will believe him? “The Software Murder” takes us back the glory of 1989 computers. A pal of the Saint gets killed while sending him a computer file. Be amazed at the glory of the “internet” nearly 25 years ago. What’s cool about this episode is that he is assisted on the case by Pamela Sue Martin. The Saint has teamed up with Nancy Drew.
The Saint movies do a fine job of keeping up the mystery as he roams across Europe. The fashion is the height of the ’80s. The theme song just screams ’80s with the sax taking lead. The Saint: Set 2 wraps up a fine revival of the character.
The video is 1.33:1 full frame. The movies appear to have been shot on film and edited on standard definition video. There’s a softness to the image. The audio is Dolby Digital Mono. The mix is just right to bring out the glory of the ’80s soundtrack. The movies are subtitled in English.
No bonus features.
The Saint: Set 2 wraps up the 1989 movies that allowed Simon Templar to once more solve mysteries in his suave fashion. He was a slick guy.
Acorn Media presents The Saint: Set 2. Starring: Simon Dutton. Boxset Contents: 3 movies on 3 DVDs. Released: Feburary 10, 2015.
