After now seeing all five films, 'The Saint Strikes Back' was a decent film though had somewhat of a finding-its-feet feel, 'The Saint in London' while not perfect was an improvement, 'The Saint Takes Over' was the best of the series and 'The Saint's Double Trouble' the weakest.'The Saint in Palm Springs' is bang in the middle when ranking all five films. Like all the films, it's not great, but like 'Takes Over' and 'London' it's good ('Strikes Back', as said, was decent, while 'Double Trouble' was disappointingly average). The pros do outweigh the cons, but 'The Saint in Palm Springs' does suffer from a lack of suspense ('Takes Over' is the darkest of the five, despite the high body count here, and adheres closest to the tougher edge when Louis Hayward was in the role).As well as an ending that is far too confused and comes far too suddenly with little build up. The screen projection agreed is obvious at times.On the other hand, the sets are atmospheric and the photography doesn't look hasty or low-budget. Scripting is smart and with the right balance of fun and mystery, while the music is jaunty but also atmospheric. The direction is suitably brisk, as well as a story, that although lacking in suspense, is paced in a lively way and diverting, never dull at least.George Sanders himself, as said with my previous reviews of his Saint outings, is super-suave, sophisticated and wonderfully caddish, while also giving a charming and humorous edge and delivering some cutting lines with aplomb. Jonathan Hale is fine support, while Wendy Barrie gives one of her better performances of her three appearances in the Saint films. Paul Guilfoyle comes very close to stealing the film in an amusing performance, and Linda Hayes is charming.In conclusion, good fun and bang in the middle of the five Saint film starring Sanders. 7/10 Bethany Cox

This film is very typical of the Saint films starring George Sanders--offering few major surprises but also providing sold B-movie entertainment. As usual, the Saint is his dapper and entertaining self and he's assisted by Paul Guilfoyle as "Pearly Gates", his sidekick.The film concerns trying to get some super-valuable stamps which to their rightful owner in Palm Springs. It seems that the person with the stamps in New York was killed by someone wanting the stamps for themselves. Why the stamps were smuggled out of Europe in the first place is quite interesting, though it's sad that RKO didn't want to offend the Nazis by ever mentioning that the country in question must have either been Germany or one of the nations conquered by Germany. This is because Hitler refused to allow anyone to take anything of value out of the country. Jews and other "undesireables" were forced to choose to leave with nothing or remain behind with their possessions and hope for the best. The film ALLUDED to this but never mentioned Germany or the Nazis. And, when agents of this unnamed country come to America to try to recover these stamps at any cost, once again Germany is never mentioned--even when this included murder. You must remember that this film came out just before the US entered WWII and a few film makers were still hedging their bets--not wanting to offend the Nazis. Sad, indeed, but this should help explain why this aspect of the plot is so vague. After all, it wasn't like the British or Portuguese or Swiss would send agents to another country to kill in order to recover property! The only other objection I have to the script is that with $200,000 in stamps, you'd THINK they'd come up with a better way to get them to their rightful owner than just having Simon Templer carry them all the way from New York to Palm Springs! Maybe arrange to have a police escort, or leave them in a safe in New York and then wire the heir about them--something other than to rely on one person to make it safely to California AND prevent the heir from also being murdered.Now if you ignore all this, the film is entertaining. The dialog is the usual great dialog, the plot interesting and the conclusion very good indeed. While far from perfect, it's about what you'd expect from a B-movie of the era--watchable and exciting.

George Sanders again plays "The Saint" Simon Templar, in the murder mystery series, helping to solve some crime, while whistling and trying to avoid jail time himself. (Roger Moore would play the title character in the very successful TV Series in the 1960s). Sanders, with his quick, proper British accent, is probably best known for his roles in "All About Eve", or "Rebecca". Good story, but WHY do they keep taking the valuables that everyone is after out of the hotel safe ?? It gets a little confusing later in the story on who actually has the coveted valuables, but maybe that's part of the mystery. Also some competition over Templar on the parts of Elna Johnson (Wendy Barrie) and Margaret Forbes (Linda Hayes). It would be interesting to know if ANY of it were filmed in the Palm Springs area, as there is liberal use of stills and backdrops. Pretty good story, some clever scriptwriting, but the ending is a little silly. --- note that many of the actors in the background were also used in "The Falcon" films, another Sanders mystery murder series from RKO.

George Sanders has often been quoted as calling the Saint and Falcon films the "nadir" of his career. Looking at "The Saint's Double Trouble" it is easy to see why he felt that way (badly scripted, poor supporting cast, etc, etc) but his four other Saint entries, at least, are well up to scratch. If this one is a little slack in the chase and gun play departments, never mind. It is an old-fashioned "whodunnit" and Sanders and Paul Guilfoyle (as Pearly Gates, a series regular) seem to enjoy themselves in this tale of missing stamps (worth a fortune) and suspicious characters at a luxury Palm Springs hotel. The plot may bear absolutely no resemblance to Leslie Charteris's short story, but never mind; it is a pleasant little cocktail with which to waste an hour or so. By the way, you're guaranteed not to guess whodunnit, although the chief suspects are shown quite often. No one except Sanders would think of this amiable film as a career low-point; it's a pity he didn't make a few more like this as his career went on.