Review of Saint, The: Volume 4

Introduction

Roger Moore is Simon Templar, better known as The Saint. The Saint out-swindles the swindlers for the good of the little guy: he`s handsome, charming, suave and sophisticated.

Episode 11: The Golden Journey
The spoilt and wealthy Belinda Deane is to marry Simons`s good friend Jack Easton. Simon decides some life lessons must be learnt and so the resistant bride decides to accept a useful lesson from The Saint.

Episode 12: The Romantic Matron
A security van containing gold bullion is hijacked by an illegal gangster movement with plans to overthrow the government. They use an unsuspecting matron in their plan and The Saint just happens to be caught in the middle.

Episode 13: The Man Who was Lucky
A bookmaker is threatened by a criminal gang and Simon, with the help of two girls must protect him.

Episode 14: The Invisible Millionaire
A dead millionaire apparently returns to life after being killed in a car crash. Simon must investigate just what is going on.


Well most people have heard of The Saint and of course are familiar with Roger Moore`s version of Simon Templar.
In fact he`s never really changed or threw off this character despite him trying other roles. His acting style being consistently the suave and whimsical man who can get the ladies.
I`ve never seen The Saint before, not even the film remake, so I was expecting the usual man of mystery, sent out to do good kind of series. Well you do get that I suppose, but it`s in such a light weight fashion that I found it a bit of a struggle just to get through the review. Maybe it`s because I`ve missed the first few episodes and so I don`t know the history of the character, but I found it incredibly shallow and not even Moore`s roving eyebrow action could save it from boredom.
I`m probably being a little to harsh, I admit. But from what I`ve seen here I wasn`t impressed at all.

Video

The video is presented in the original 4:3 ratio and is black and white.
Image quality is pretty decent with only a few small problems in an otherwise good print.
The picture does remain a little soft throughout, hiding detail and sometimes letting the whites get a little glarey.
This mostly happens on female close ups so it was more than likely intended when originally shot and not a mastering problem as such. Contrast and black values are usually good with only a small number of shots that are a little washed out or flicker in intensity.

Like all the ITC programmes, process shots fair the worst with more grain and dirt than the main feature, but overall the picture remains perfectly acceptable and clean. Digital artifacts were nowhere to be seen and only on the rare occasion did any real level of grain become apparent.
A very good print considering the age and source material.

Audio

Audio is presented in the original mono mix and does its just job just fine. Dialogue is always clear and free from distortion and the music is handled well with no pops or hiss detectable. A perfectly acceptable mix with no real problems.

Features

Features include a stills gallery with promotional and behind the scenes photos from the episodes.
A memorabilia section featuring an article on Roger Moore which only lasts two pages and an interview with Robert S. Baker in text form which lasts 8 pages. The usual Carlton insert is included which gives production information and scene selection details.
There are 8 chapters per episode and the menus are appropriately themed with music and animated scene selection windows.

Conclusion

The quality of the DVD is good and I don`t think fans of the series would be disappointed with this disk. Carlton has again provided another quality title to there long line of DVD`s. However these old series are an acquired taste and maybe not for everyone. If your familiar with the series then buy away, however if your new I would advise a viewing before spending your hard earned cash.