Leslie Charteris - The Man Behind the Saint

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American mystery-adventure writer, born in Singapore on May 12, 1907, is best-known for his highly popular "The Saint" stories, depicting the adventures of Simon Templar, a hero outside the law, who hunted down criminals and con artists whom the law could not or would not touch. The first screen adaptation was made in 1938; the TV series started in 1962 with Roger Moore as the Saint. Simon Templar's return to the big screen was seen in 1997, this time with Val Klimer in the title role.

"It is truly said that adventures are to the adventurous. Simon had about him that indefinable atmosphere of romance and adventurousness which is given to some favored men in every age, and it attracted adventure as inevitably as a magnet attracts iron filings." (from "Enter the Saint", 1930)

Leslie Charteris was born Leslie Charles Bowyer Yin. His father, Dr. S.C. Yin, was a wealthy Chinese surgeon, a direct descendant of the emperors of China during the Shang dynasty. His mother, Florence Bowyer, was English. Charteris learned Chinese and Malay from native servants before he could speak English. He was educated at private schools, and was keen to run the school magazines. At the age of seventeen Charteris sold his first fiction story. He attended Cambridge University, where he studied law. After the success of his first books, "X Esquire" (1927) and the Simon Templar story, "Meet the Tiger" (1928), the young author abandoned his studies, and changed his name to Leslie Charteris. Experiments with other detective-protagonists were not fruitful, and he brought back the Saint in his sixth book, "Enter the Saint" (1930). "We Saints are normally souls of peace and goodwill towards men. But we don't like crooks, bloodsuckers, traders in vice and damnation..."

Despite the Saint's growing popularity in Great Britain, Charteris' income was meager. He worked at odd jobs in England, France and Malaya until 1935. He wrote a syndicated comic strip Secret Agent X-9 in the mid-1930s, and Saint from 1945 to 1955. In the 1930s Charteris moved to the United States and worked for many years as a Hollywood scriptwriter. "The Saint in New York" (1935) became a worldwide sensation, making its author an international celebrity. The film adaptation of the book was made in 1938, starring Louis Hayward, who was replaced by George Sanders in the second film. Charteris recovered the Saint movie rights back from RKO in 1941. Sanders and studio continued with a similar character, 'the Falcon', based on a forgotten mystery by Michael Arlen. Sanders made four Falcons.

"The Saint films tended to resemble one another too closely, but they were fairly well produced and had the advantage of the suavity of George Sanders, who said he disliked the role intensely. If choice were to be made, "The Saint Takes Over" (1940) is probably the best, or the closest to the original conception of the Robin Hood-like character. RKO discontinued the series in 1941, although their English counterpart produced two of their own under William Sistrom, with Hugh Sinclair in the role." ("B Movies" by Don Miller, 1973)

The 1940s saw Simon Templar in several versions, interpretations, and adaptations at the same time - books, movies, comic books, newspaper strip, and radio. In 1942 Charteris became a US citizen. World War II created a new Saint, sardonic, and more mature. After his marriage to the movie beauty Audrey Long he focussed on short stories, tales that played upon the Saint's self-referential history. A new Simon Templar novel, "Vendetta for the Saint", co-written by Harry Harrison, appeared in 1964. The TV series, which started in 1962, did not at first impress Charteris. When the shows improved, the author started to change his mind.

From 1947 to 1948 Charteris edited Suspense magazine; and The Saint Detective Magazine (later The Saint Mystery Magazine) from 1953 to 1967. He also wrote for Gourmet Magazine (1966-68), published a Spanish grammar book, and as a devoted fan of bull-fighting translated Juan Belmonte's Autobiography of a Matador. After his retirement in the 1970s Charteris lived in England and France. He was married four times. Charteris died in Windsor, England on April 15, 1993 at age 85.

As a world traveller in luxury surroundings always with a new hotel, a new heroine, and a new adventure, The Saint predated Ian Fleming's James Bond, but as an outlaw The Saint was a relative of Robin Hood, Maurice Leblanc's gentleman thief Arsčne Lupin, or Mickey Spillane's fascist Mike Hammer. The Saint's trademark was first a stick man with a halo, then came a distinctive whistle, devised for the films but also used on radio and television. The whistling theme was composed by Roy Webb. Generally The Saint was carefree and full of humor. The major supporting characters included Inspectors Claude Eustache Teal of Scotland Yard, who was introduced in a non-Saint story, "The Story of a Dead Man" (1929), and John Fernack of the NYPD. Patricia Holm was among the first of Templar's romantic attachments. The megalomaniac Crown Prince Rudolf and Dr Rayt Marius were memorable villains. In "The Saint in New York" (1935) Charteris presented a more hard-edged side of his personality, when he is basically hired as an assassin to kill mobsters who killed a millionaire's son. Many critics consider The Saint's pre-war adventure books more stylish than the hero's later appearances in movies, television, radio, and comic books. The earlier books were also more violent. Charteris' first credited collaborator was Fleming Lee; others succeeding him were Peter Bloxsom, Graham Weaver, and Christopher Short. Following Charteris's death his estate authorized Burl Barer to write new Saint adventures. "Capture the Saint" (1997) was well received by the critics.

The Saint novels by Leslie Charteris:

1. Meet the Tiger (1928)
2. The Last Hero/The Saint Closes the Case (1929)
3. Enter the Saint (1930)
4. Knight Templar/The Avening Saint (1930/1931)
5. Featuring the Saint (1931)
6. Alias the Saint (1931)
7. She Was a Lady/The Saint Meets His Match (1930/1931)
8. The Holy Terror/The Saint Vs Scotland Yard (1932)
9. The Saint's Getaway (1932/1933)
10. Once More the Saint/The Saint and Mr. Teal (1933)
11. The Brighter Buccaneer (1933)
12. The Misfortunes of Mr. Teal/The Saint in London (1934)
13. Boodle/The Saint Intervenes (1934)
14. The Saint Goes On (1934)
15. The Saint in New York (1934/1935)
16. The Pirate/Saint Overboard (1935/1936)
17. The Ace of Knaves (1937)
18. Thieves' Picnic (1937)
19. Prelude for War/The Saint Plays with Fire (1938)
20. Follow the Saint (1938/1939)
21. The Happy Highwayman (1939)
22. The Saint in Miami (1940/1941)
23. The Saint Goes On (1942)
24. The Saint Goes West (1942)
25. The Saint Steps In (1942/1943)
26. The Saint on Guard (1944)
27. The Saint Sees it Through (1946)
28. Call for the Saint (1948)
29. Saint Errant (1948)
30. The Saint in Europe (1953)
31. The Saint on the Spanish Main (1955)
32. The Saint Around the World (1956)
33. Thanks to the Saint (1957)
34. Senor Saint (1958)
35. The Saint to the Rescue (1959)
36. Trust the Saint (1962)
37. The Saint in the Sun (1963)
With Harry Harrison
38. Vendetta for the Saint (1964)
With Fleming Lee
39. The Saint in Pursuit (1970)
40. The Saint and the People Importers (1971)

The Saint novels by other authors:

1. The Saint on TV (F.Lee/J.Kruse, 1968)
2. The Saint Returns (F.Lee/D.R.Motton/J.Kruse/L.Vance, 1968)
3. The Saint and the Fiction Makers (F.Lee/J.Kruse, 1968)
4. The Saint Abroad (F.Lee/M.Pertwee, 1969)
5. Catch the Saint (F.Lee/N.Worker, 1975)
6. The Saint and the Hapsburg Necklace (Ch.Short, 1976)
7. Send for the Saint (P.Bloxsom/J.Kruse/D.James, 1977)
8. The Saint in Trouble (G.Weaver/J.Kruse/T.Feely, 1978)
9. The Saint and the Templar Treasure (G.Weaver/D.Avenell, 1979)
10. Count on The Saint (G.Weaver/D.Avenell, 1980)
11. Salvage for The Saint (P.Bloxsom/J.Kruse, 1983)
12. Capture the Saint (B.Barer, 1997)

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