The Saint's Double Trouble

1940 "Master criminal meets his match! All-new thrills on the double-quick as he tricks slick sleuths."
The Saint's Double Trouble
6| 1h8m| NR| en| More Info
Released: 26 January 1940 Released
Producted By: RKO Radio Pictures
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
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Synopsis

Reformed jewel thief Simon Templar lands in hot water when a look-alike smuggles stolen goods out of Egypt.

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RKO Radio Pictures

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utgard14 Fourth film in the Saint series from RKO has George Sanders playing dual roles: Simon Templar and his evil doppelganger, Duke! The Saint has 48 hours to prove it was Duke and not he that committed a murder. Guess what? He'll only need 47. This is a good entry in the series with Sanders having fun playing bad. It's very amusing to hear him say things like "You mugs," even if he makes little effort to hide his accent. Bela Lugosi is also in this but, unfortunately, he's not given much to do. He's just an associate of the evil double. Still it's cool seeing Lugosi playing in a non-horror role with an actor you don't normally see him with. Pretty Helene Reynolds is the obligatory would-be love interest. The camera is in love with her. After being absent in the last film, Jonathan Hale returns as the likable police inspector frenemy of the Saint. The rest of the cast includes Donald MacBride, Byron Foulger, Thomas W. Ross, John F. Hamilton, and Elliott Sullivan. Those last two play the evil double's henchman. They have some funny lines.An enjoyable movie, mostly due to Sanders. The story isn't much to get excited about. It's never really explained why Saint has a double or what led Duke to know about him in the first place. Also, the Saint not seeming upset about the killing of the kindly old man who was a friend of his didn't sit right with me. Oh, and how cool is it that apparently back in the old days a guy could mail a mummy to another guy halfway around the world. And we think we have progress!
Prismark10 George Sanders was suave as the not quite wholesome gentleman adventurer The Saint but this B movie took the biscuit with its lacklustre, silly and confusing plot.Things start of well with Bela Lugosi popping up in Egypt and it seems an exact double has been smuggling diamonds involving a mummy from Egypt.We are unsure when Sanders pops up whether he is the Saint or the double. One plot point is that the Mummy has been to sent to his old lecturer who and his daughter have been friends with the real saint but who is this man who looks and sounds like him. How convenient.It might be that the real saint whistles his tune before he shows up or the villainous double has a tattoo.Jonathan Hale is Inspector Fernack who is just as confused as everyone else as. Nothing more is made of Lugosi who is wasted in a nothing roles and he is as confused as the audience and he no need to his stock of opium to get there.There is a nice sequence at the end as the Saint escapes from a leaking motorboat when he is all tied up but further silliness ensures that the Saint and his double swap places in his prison cell. This is not the best plotted or enjoyable of the Saint series.
robert-temple-1 I generally enjoy watching these old films with George Sanders because he was such a super-smoothie that one never tires of seeing him glide through a film with the effortless ease of a champion ice skater, carrying the very concept of urbanity to undreamt-of extremes. But sometimes the stories are just too silly! Of all the 'Saint' series where he plays Simon Templar the detective (the character invented by Leslie Charteris), this must be the weakest and most pathetic. (It is the fourth in a series of nine.) No efforts whatsoever were made to make the film even remotely believable, and the age level of the viewer must have been calculated to be about six, since after that even a child would refuse to believe this ludicrous story. Essentially, we are meant to believe that George Sanders has a lookalike (hence the 'double trouble' of the title, i.e., he has a double and that is trouble). The only difference between them is that they wear different suits. Otherwise they look and talk exactly alike. And there is not even the pretext that they are related. One is good and one is bad. Well, it's as simple as that really. It is sad to see Bela Lugosi here relegated to the status of a bit player. The pretty girl in the film is 23 year-old Helene Whitney, in one of only two credited roles which she played in films; she retired the same year, married, or died, one doesn't know which. What happens to people who disappear from the screen? Do they go to some celluloid paradise? If so, they will leave this silly film behind, that's for sure.
Albert Ohayon This really is the worst Saint film starring George Sanders. The whole idea of the Saint having an exact double is not too credible but the filmmakers milk it for all it is worth. This results in a confusing film that is short on mystery and long on ridiculous coincidences. The crooks are a very stupid lot in this film. Even the presence of Bela Lugosi does nothing to help the film. He just turns out to be as stupid as the others. George Sanders does what he can with the limited script. He is as suave as ever as Simon Templar but flat as the head of the criminal gang. The scenes pairing Simon with Inspector Fernack(Jonathan Hale) are easily the best in the film. Sanders and Hale click well together as they did in their previous Saint films together. Too bad the story is such a let-down. Only worth seeing for Sanders and Hale. I give it 3 halos out of 10.