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A gem from manfromjapan:

The Saint, Roger Moore, and James Bond

Paul Rowlands shows there is more linking "The Saint" with James Bond than its star.

BRAVO, manfromjapan.

A very nicely researched and collated article.

It's also interesting to note that episode 3.21 "Sibao" contains an extra bit of Live and Let Die related trivia. On the back of Umbrella's The Saint boxset #4 the description of the ep reads as follows...

HAITI – The mysteries of voodoo magic confront THE SAINT when he encounters a beautiful girl with mystic powers.

And, on the inside cover of DVD #13 of that boxset there is a particular tidbit about the episode...

The voodoo numbers are staged and danced by Briscoe Holder.

It's actually Boscoe Holder and, yep, was the older brother of Geoffrey Holder.

Doesn't tell us much about how a Saint era Moore Bond would have differed form the Moore we know and love though. More about the trivia of which actors happened to be in the Saint and then Bond than discovering how Moore could have played the role "if he had taken it seriously". Disappointing read for me.

I enjoyed the read. I don't like though the reference to RM not taking the role seriously. That implies that he did not care about his performance nor the audience. I feel fairly certain that's not what the author meant.

I think if we want to see what a "serious" 12-year Moore "take" on James Bond would have looked like, we simply need to refer to FYEO.

As ever, thanks for the feedback!!

Blofeld's Cat - I am happy you enjoyed the article. It was indeed Geoffrey Holder's brother!!

avi - My intention for the article was to reveal and highlight the many links between the Saint series and 007. That's why the very first sentence starts off on that foot. And that's why I don't go into detail on the way Moore's Templar is different from his Bond. But I think my sentence - 'chain-smoking, heavy-drinking, tough as nails, womanising ex-criminal with quick wits and a good punch' - does at least give a strong idea. Perhaps the tagline is misleading... I am sorry you were disappointed! LOL.

Spurrier - I think Roger took the role as seriously as he could. But when I said he took it less seriously than The Saint, I think it's a fair assessment since Roger himself said he found the character ridiculous and that's why he couldn't take it seriously. I was referring to his own opinion of the character, and his own approach. I agree his performance in FYEO is excellent and quite serious, and there are quite a few great dramatic moments in his Bond films. But I think the script for FYEO dictated a more serious approach, and remember he had to be talked into kicking Locque's car off the cliff. I love Roger's portrayal of 007, hence all the money forked out to buy the Saint box sets, but I was honestly struck by how tough, dark and physically imposing his Saint was compared to his 007.

Nicely researched, manfromjapan. I knew there were alot of future Bond film actors in the series, but not quite that many.

manfromjapan, you did an excellent job. Thanks.

ManfromJapan, you forgot Jeanne Roland, who played Sibao in the Saint episode of the same name, played one of Tiger's girls in YOLT, and Edward DeSouza, who played Beau Ellington in "The Chequered Flag", was Sheikh Hosein in TSWLM. I think one can attribute so many actors being in both The Saint and the Bond films to the incestuousness of the British tv/film industry.

As for Fleming wanting Roger to play 007, Cubby was mistaken. As Doublenought can attest, Fleming was not exactly a voracious watcher of tv so, the odds of him catching Roger in an episode of "Ivanhoe" or "Maverick" are slim and none.

Otherwise, a good job.

Thanks Saint!! I seem to have forgotten to take note of De Souza - I remember noticing himl!! But Jeanne Roland definitely slipped through the net.

Glad a Saint fan enjoyed it. If you spot any other omissions LMK!!

Sorry about that - I was a little grouchy last night . I just wanted more along those lines - but good article! I always liked Ogilvy so I'm looking forward to your views on Return of the Saint in due course!

Fair enough, but I've seen interviews where he's said much the same about Simon Templar: that he was too much a boy scout to be believable, that he was a meddlesome busybody and an impossible hero, and so on.

Personally I found Roger's Templar to be more "serious" than his Bond, yes; more passionate about causes, more likely to show righteous indignation and anger, more impatient with villains. But at the same time he was less likely to, say, shoot an unarmed man four times as Bond does Stromberg, or casually toss a man to his death after getting the information he wants.

My take is that Templar (an extremely dangerous fellow in the books) had already been blunted enough by the need to placate TV censors, and Roger was savvy enough to realize what was needed was more gravity and seriousness to add weight to the proceedings. On the other hand, in Bond we have a character who in the wrong hands might easily come off as ruthless, callow and even despicable, so Roger added a bit of levity.

But maybe that's just me.

Great article.
One additional note is that in the episode "The Noble Sportsman" Lord Yearley (Anthony Quayle) drives an Aston Martin DB5 that happens to have the license plate BMT 216A

I think you and I must have seen different shows then. For the Simon Templar that I've seen portrayed by Roger Moore was never portrayed as a heavy drinker or an ex-criminal. And my dictionary defines a chain-smoker as someone who smokes non-stop. Granted Saint Roger smoked a lot but there were times when he didn't smoke.

Ian

I wouldn't say he did much "womanising," either. Sure a lot of pretty girls end up in his adventures (at least one a show! :-)), but things remain decidedly chaste with the vast majority of them, and I don't remember things ever progressing beyond the occasional kiss.

In fact, it can be jarring watching Roger act so much the gentleman as Templar, when we're used to his "dirty old man" spin on Bond. I remember when I first saw the titles for Ogilvy's "Return of the Saint," where the stick man's halo (rather suggestively) falls to the floor to be joined by the girl's boa, I thought, "Waitaminnit! Simon Templar doesn't have casual sex!"