Jun 18, 2022
The Saint: Sophia (2.24, ITC, 1964)
"Professor, what is the meaning of this? What is going on?"
"It's rather an elaborate plot, I'm afraid."
#the saint#sophia#itc#1964#leslie charteris#roger moore#robert banks stewart#oliver reed#imogen hassall#tommy duggan#peter kriss#john wentworth#hal galili#wolfe morris#andreas malandrinos#raymond ray#tony arpino#donna pearson#Reed's second episode gives him a meatier role than his first but true to form (at least according to popular legend) he managed to get#injured again; where King of the Beggars (2.9) had seen him with a full concussion‚ here he received a lesser head injury in the scene#where his character is menaced by Greek locals. yes we're in Greece‚ for another sort of morality tale‚ as Simon tries to teach Olly not to#be a horrible crook or to pay his debts or something... it doesn't really work‚ unless threats and blackmail are a good teaching tool. this#ep marked Moore's debut as a director; he'd continue to dabble with it throughout The Saint and later with The Persuaders. actually he#proves a very competent first time director; fond of close up‚ there's a lovely unspoken bit of business of Simon noticing Oliver is#carrying a pistol which is very effectively done. later another character will say that only dishonest men carry guns (no mention made of#Simon's habit for carrying). John Wentworth plays a Scots archaeologist but he's very clearly dubbed (and in fact i recognise the voice of#the dubbing artist‚ another character actor‚ but I just can't place it). his real voice can be heard only once‚ an excited exclamation as#he enters the inn having discovered a golden statuette. the ep is named for Hassall's character but she alas doesn't have a great deal to#do in the plot (and is offscreen for much of the second half)#sadly this was to be a consistent theme in her short and rather sad career (she took her own life in 1980 aged 38)
