Extracts are posted with kind permission from Ian Dickerson.
The Saint It Ain't
For almost a decade Ian Dickerson has run "The Saint Club," the Charteris-endorsed organisation which publishes the official "Saint" magazine, "The Epistle." In a nutshell, he's the leading expert on all things "Saint," keeping in close contact, from his base in Paris, with Leslie Charteris' widow Audrey and generally standing guard over the flame of the twentieth century's brightest buccaneer.
At present he has any number of "Saint" projects coming out of his ears, including the authorised Charteris biography, "A Saint I Ain't," due for publication this summer, and a proposed "Saint" novel from "The Return Of The Saint," an old Charteris outline sent to Paramount which tells a tale of how "The Saint" got to meet his son.
When did you first become aware of "The Saint?"
I have always watched television and I used to love "The Return Of The Saint" when I was eight years old. I watched it religiously - that's an interesting word to use - and then I discovered that my elder brother had a "Saint" book called "Saint Errant," which appeared to be about the same guy. So I read it, and as you can imagine if you've ever read a "Saint" book, I was hooked. I discovered he had another one. And another ...so I went round collecting them over a period of years and one day I decided I wanted to know more, so I wrote to "The Saint Club" at the address in the back of one of "The Saint" books. Much to my astonishment, I got a reply a few weeks later from the guy who ran it, Norman Turner.
So everything was great, then Norman passed away in the late 1980's and the club passed into the hands of someone who wasn't really that interested in it. I suggested doing a news-letter, as the Simon Dutton series was on at that time, and one day I was at home from college, the phone rang and it was Leslie Charteris. Once I picked the phone up off the floor we had a chat and hit it off. I became good friends with him and Audrey.
Reading his memos to Bob Baker, and the editorials in "The Saint Mystery Magazines," he seemed to have a wonderfully dry sense of humour.
But I don't think it was just his sense of humour. It was his command of the language. Even in the shortest letter he would concoct these beautiful phrases. There is a curious dichotomy because he always said he wrote for money - he made no bones about the fact. But he loved writing. In a reply to Michael Avelone, asking him to contribute to an anthology of his, he wrote, 'Appart from my addiction to eating and many other indulgences, my distaste for writing increases in geometrical proportion with every job I do. It has now reached such magnitude that my output has dwindled to close to microscopic proportions.'
That was it, you see. He did like writing, but his flippant laziness over-rode it, so he didn't write much in his later years. Also, he'd wanted to retire since 1948. There were various projects that then persuaded him otherwise. He spent a lot of the 1950's trying to get "The Saint" on tv, and then when Bob Baker and Monty Berman came on the scene, it finally happened.
When Leslie fell ill (he died on April 15 1993, aged 85), did you feel that then you were becoming curator to "The Saint," with a responsibility to guard his memory?
Well, I wouldn't do this if I didn't enjoy it. People frown that they've updated "The Saint" again, but although "The Saint" belongs in his own time, I also believe that somebody with "The Saint's" philosophies and attitudes - always looking for adventure in life - can exist nowadays. Having spent the last 20 years reading these books, I guess I've even adopted these philosophies myself.
So has your opinion of the Paramount movie, from the early scripts to the final product changed?
No. It was fairly obvious all along that they weren't going to make a Charteris "Saint." I've got to be honest, once they ditched Charteris' four page proposal - his outline called "The Return Of The Saint" - I hadn't a lot of faith. All I would say about the final product is that it's a darn sight better than some of the early scripts I read.
I share what I think is Bob Baker's view of it, which is that it's a very good action adventure movie, if a bit too Bond-like. I guess it has to be that to compete. But "The Saint" it ain't.
Who would you cast as a "Saint" for the 1990's?
Pierce Brosnan. I don't think he's physical enough to be Bond, but he'd make a perfect "Saint."
Three Favourite Episodes by Ian Dickerson
The Better Mousetrap
It's a light-hearted story, as only "The Saint" could do it. A wonderful tongue-in-cheek, eyebrow-raising performance from its star and a delightful comedic turn from Ronnie Barker as the bumbling Alphonse. Quite simply, an episode that leaves you wanting to see more - more comedy from Roger, the return of Alphonse and more of Alexandra Stewart.
The Fiction Makers
With the somewhat "Saint"-inspired Bond movie phenomenon in full swing, "The Fiction Makers" provided "The Saint," aided and abetted by John Kruse, with the opportunity to poke fun at the whole genre. An ingenious plot with crisp, sparkling dialogue, alongside top notch performances from Roger Moore and Sylvia Syms, making a thoroughly entertaining movie.
The Saint Plays With Fire
Alongside the light comedy of "The Better Mousetrap," the straight thriller is also something I think the show did well. And there's probably no better example than this. Tight direction, an excellent script and spot-on casting make for an outstanding 50 minutes, and it's also an excellent adaptation and updating of the original novel.
