Another SAINT episode with an exotic setting, this time Marseilles. The presence of Templar in a white tuxedo makes this feel more like a Bond movie than ever, and Moore even makes a few quips along the way. There the similarities end, however. THE DEATH PENALTY is one of the weaker episodes of the show, saddled with a too-familiar tale of criminals falling out. Templar heads to the south of France and finds the beautiful Wanda Ventham (SPACE 1999) the object of a battle between rival gangsters. There's the requisite action and snarling villains, but it's all a bit passe and back-and-forth, and didn't really appeal.
2 Reviews
The Death Penalty
Prismark108 April 2023
Wanda Ventham plays Laura Stride, a spoilt stupid rich girl in the south of France. Unaware that her father Galbraith Stride (Brewster Mason) is the head of the Latini crime family.
The syndicate is being taken over by ruthless Abdul Osman. The Saint is warned about him by Colonel Latignant in Marseilles.
Laura comes to the Saint's attention when she is walking home after a helter skelter ride by her boyfriend Toby.
With Galbraith under pressure to cede control by Osman. Laura falls for him, unaware that he is using her as her pawn.
It really is for Simon Templar to come to the rescue.
The French Riviera might be a destination for the rich and famous. I was surprised that the Saint did not smell something suspicious when Laura boasted of her father's art collection.
The story is rather routine. Galbraith is too urbane to come across as a vicious head of a crime family. He seems to have no foot soldiers to call upon when things get desperate.
The character of Laura is so badly written, Ventham had a thankless task to bring some life into her.
The syndicate is being taken over by ruthless Abdul Osman. The Saint is warned about him by Colonel Latignant in Marseilles.
Laura comes to the Saint's attention when she is walking home after a helter skelter ride by her boyfriend Toby.
With Galbraith under pressure to cede control by Osman. Laura falls for him, unaware that he is using her as her pawn.
It really is for Simon Templar to come to the rescue.
The French Riviera might be a destination for the rich and famous. I was surprised that the Saint did not smell something suspicious when Laura boasted of her father's art collection.
The story is rather routine. Galbraith is too urbane to come across as a vicious head of a crime family. He seems to have no foot soldiers to call upon when things get desperate.
The character of Laura is so badly written, Ventham had a thankless task to bring some life into her.
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