Overview
The Saint Takes Over, released in 1940 by RKO Pictures, was the fifth motion picture featuring the adventures of Simon Templar, a.k.a. "The Saint" the Robin Hood-inspired crimefighter created by Leslie Charteris. This film focuses on the character of Inspector Henry Farnack. When Farnack is framed by a gang he is investigating, it is up to The Saint to clear his name.
Reviews
When a police inspector is suspended on suspicion of fraud, it falls to his eponymous friend (George Sanders) to get to the bottom of things. It seems "Fernack" (Jonathan Hale) was found with $50,000 in his safe! Conclusive? Well soon our sleuth discovers that there is a cabal of five hoodlums determined to ruin his friend. Well they are, until, suddenly they themselves start dropping like flies. Are they betraying each other or is someone on the outside seeking revenge? "Templar" assisted by his police buddy, the not entirely trustworthy safecracker "Gates" (Paul Guilfoyle) and the slightly enigmatic "Ruth" (Wendy Barrie) who has penchant for roses must now identify and expose the culprit. Sanders was always good as the debonair, considered, detective who uses the minimum of brute force to apprehend his foes. Here the story is quite well written with a few red herrings and just enough intrigue to keep it interesting for just over an hour. Of course there's no jeopardy, but the denouement has a degree of sophistication to it that I found quite fun.