People are voting emotionally.

Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Granted this is a B picture from RKO so there will be less care taken, but I could hardly wrap my mind around the concept that British people in 1941 were going on holiday to Switzerland. The continent was a bit hostile at the time.Hugh Sinclair becomes Simon Templar the Saint in this entry in the series which was made in Great Britain by an RKO subsidized division. This film was a slapdash affair, it looks like the writers took their inspiration from Alfred Hitchcock's The Lady Vanishes and The 39 Steps with a bit of Sherlock Holmes thrown in. Two women are involved in the plot, eager beaver reporter Sally Gray a British Lois Lane and government agent Leueen McGrath. The villain is mysterious count Cecil Parker and everybody wants a musical box that is some kind of code.I watched all 61 minutes of this and I swear I still don't know what it was all about.

All the Saint wants to do is take a little trip abroad…but the gang of reporters tracking him down to the pier just won't believe he's not on a case. Among those reporters is Mary Langdon (Sally Gray), the only girl reporter in the bunch, determined to catch a big scoop to launch her career.Along with his friend Monty, Simon tries to convince Mary he's on vacation, but suddenly things start to happen all at once: a mysterious parking lot meeting, a pursuit by automobile, a foot chase through the woods, a fight in a darkened clearing in which even our heroine assists, stomping a prone tough guy's wrist and taking away his knife just in time…. Simon Templar may be on vacation, but a case certainly finds him. Gradually he learns that all the to-do concerns a small, mysterious package that multiple parties seek (and Templar soon has). Gray and Sinclair work well together, and exchange some enjoyably clever repartee. (Mary: "I suppose you realize we stand an excellent chance of being sent to jail for a couple of years." Simon: "Well, you can't expect to have your fun for nothing, can you.")The picture really gets interesting when veteran English actor Cecil Parker comes on the scene as villain Rudolph Hauser, a spy who—like everyone else—badly wants that little box. Parker and Sinclair are excellent together—two experienced operators who maintain an exceedingly polite surface while playing a deadly game.Hugh Sinclair is actually a quite pleasing Simon Templar—he captures the character's polished and polite exterior as well as the cool alertness and ready athleticism lurking just beneath. The picture's strong cast and a plot that presents a few surprises help to make this a very entertaining series entry. Only the resolution seems a bit weak…but that may be because the buildup was so good.Best dialog exchange: In a highly tense moment, Templar bursts into Hauser's living room to find the owner ready to confront and presumably trap him. Templar plays it suave: "You don't mind me….butting in like this?" To which the reply is equally civil: "Oh, on the contrary, I…I'm always pleased to see you."

As well as showing several Falcon movies recently, BBC2 also shown The Saint's Vacation, so I set the video and was pleased I did.The Saint goes on a vacation to Switzerland and gets involved to solve the mystery of a music box. After getting into several fights, the mystery is solved at the end.The movie is rather fast paced throughout.The Saint is played well by Hugh Sinclair and is joined by Cecil Parker, Sally Gray and Arthur Macrae.A nice way to spend an hour one evening.Rating: 3 stars out of 5.

One of the better entries in a series that was starting to tail off. Sanders had left the part of the Saint to become "The Gay Falcon" for the same studio, RKO, and production was transferred to war-torn Britain. Unbelievably this film shows little signs of the conflict as it's a tale of a race across Europe (with train footage apparently dragged out of Hitchcock's "The Lady Vanishes") to solve the mystery of a strange music box. Hugh Sinclair is slightly wooden as Simon Templar, although he gets into his stride during the action sequences and promises to shape up well (actually his one sequel is slightly disappointing as he doesn't get the chance to display his athleticism in the same way again). Sally Gray, who popped up as the romantic interest in "The Saint in London" is reporter Mary Langdon, out to get a story whether the Saint wants her to or not -- she was easily the prettiest co-star of the series and could easily have outshone a dozen similar Hollywood actresses. Arthur Macrae is a fine comic Monty Hayward and Ealing Comedies regular Cecil Parker an excellent, hissable villain as Crown Prince Rudolph. Gordon McLeod makes the second of three appearances as Chief Inspector Teal, though sadly his is only a guest appearance right at the end of the film. Again, he is easily the best of the screen/TV Teals. The story is faithfully adapted (if shortened) from "Getaway", one of Saint creator Leslie Charteris's best books. Forget the Val Kilmer "Saint" film effort (which has nothing in common with Charteris's character, and doesn't even credit the author) and curl up and enjoy.