What did you think of the very first "Saint" that Roger starred in, "The Talented Husband?"

Did you know that originally Simon was going to dress as Mrs Jafferty? Those in charge of production decided against it. They didn't want Simon to be seen as anything less than masculine. Have to agree with their decision.

Connie, I remember the episode well, but will have to watch it again to be sure. Mrs. Jafferty was the bad guy in the story, the husband who dressed up like a housekeeper to do away with his wife, right? Why did the show makers want Simon to dress up as Mrs. Jafferty? Did they plan to include an extra scene in the episode? Please tell us more.  :smt024

Yes Sunny, the baddie was also "Mrs Jafferty" the housekeeper. I read that Roger was supposed to dress as her right at the end of the story, maybe to confront the baddie, and make him confess.

Nice start of series. Episode is really good, plot is interesting, I think more interesting than in novel (thought it was superb also). I like actress who played "good girl from insurance company" - few years later she became Bond girl in Goldfinger (as a Pussy Galore).

you are thinking of shirley eaton. she played jill masterson in goldfinger, the girl spray painted with gold paint. honor blackman played pussy galore in goldfinger and also appeared in the saint the arrow of god episode.

Right! My mistake :) Both girls were pretty :)

Very interesting to see how Roger looked in that first episode. Shirley Eaton was to star in two more later episodes. Before she became well known in the Bond movie "Goldfinger"she played a variety of roles in British comedy movies. Patricia Roc, who played the wronged wife used to be a top British movie star of the 40's, and was very beautiful in her day.

I liked this story, but why did the wife have to say to Simon about her husband "I loved him, you should have let me die?" After Simon had saved her life too.

Great to see Roger in that very first "Saint."

I read that initially Roger thought each show was only going to be 30 minutes, instead of 60 minutes, which he found out at a news conference with Lew Grade. I hope he managed to re-negotiate his contract!

Who would have guessed that the show would run for so long?

Hi Solitaire,
I forgot about the original plan to have a 30 minute episode instead of a regular one hour show. I remember reading about it somewhere, maybe in Roger's biography or some article...don't recall where Anywho, it got me wondering how they would have managed to squeeze a meaningful story into 30 minutes. I'm so glad they decided to go with one hour. I agree, hope Roger had a chance to re-negotiate his contract, though at that time they had no idea how popular the show would become.It is amazing!
The Talented Husband is one of my favorite episodes, because it gave the show a strong start. It was also dramatic and right away gave the audience an idea of what the show was going to be like and what the main character would be like. Shirley Eaton was a good choice for the Saint's first lady friend. The whole story was excellent, the bad guy's idea of dressing up as a woman, his weird motive for killing his wives and going forward with his attempt to kill his present wife despite developing feelings toward her. The man was obviously sick in the head, which made it that much more intriquing. Thanks for the pics, Amber! I'm gonna have to watch this one again.