blanche-2 "The Saint's Double Trouble" is a 1940 entry into the series starring George Sanders.Simon has sent a mummy of a Pharaoh to a friend, an archeology professor named Bitts. Jewel thief Duke Bates has used the mummy to smuggle illegal diamonds into the country.Bates is a Templar lookalike who uses his resemblance to kill as The Saint and leave his Saint calling card. So in order to clear himself, Simon has to find out what's going on.These second features were usually made in a few days with very little in the way of rehearsal. Therefore, to have George Sanders play a double role under those conditions had to be very difficult.In fairness to Sanders, he was a very good actor and given more time, he could have differentiated a little more between Simon Templar and his double, Duke Bates.However, it became very confusing as to which one was The Saint and which one was Duke Bates. After awhile, I gave up. Duke Bates spoke a little more roughly than Simon, but it wasn't consistent.Not the best film in an otherwise enjoyable series.

bkoganbing George Sanders, in fact two George Sanders, arrive in the City of Brotherly Love to investigate a nice little diamond smuggling racket. But what a place to smuggle diamonds, in the sarcophagus of a long dead Egyptian mummy. What interests Simon Templar however is the fact that the head of the racket is a dead ringer for him and also played by George Sanders. He might well be responsible for the unsavory reputation the Saint has in some quarters.Jonathan Hale as Inspector Fernack is in from New York and as the most authoritative expert on the activities of Simon Templar is drafted by the Philadelphia police in the person of Donald MacBride. In fact Fernack knows of a telltale scar on the wrist of the real Templar and can tell them apart. That fact proves most handy.Bela Lugosi has an inexplicably small role as 'the partner' in the smuggling activities. I'm betting the editors at RKO probably left a lot of Lugosi on the cutting room floor. The film would have been better had Lugosi been left in.As it is it's an OK B programmer and a plus for fans of Leslie Charteris's modern Robin Hood.

masercot I'm seeing some complaints about this movie that I don't think are warranted. Plenty of movies use the "exact double" angle...most don't pull it off very well. I think that this one did.Sanders delivers a subtle performance as the Saint's double; then, as the Saint, he lets the personality of the Saint out. It is very effective. The movie doesn't have the clichés one tends to see in this type of movie. Sanders not only outsmarts the bad guy, but he gets his revenge as well.Bela Lugosi is in this movie. Unfortunately, his role could've been played by any competent actor.This is a short, fun little movie. If you've got an hour and are in the mood for an enjoyable black and white, with a suave hero and a few thrills, this is your movie...

Neil Doyle You have to be willing to suspend disbelief whenever you watch films like THE SAINT'S DOUBLE TROUBLE, in which GEORGE SANDERS (as "The Saint") discovers that the police are really looking for his exact double who's been committing a number of crimes involving diamond smuggling and a mummy from Egypt. To make sure that audiences know which man we're watching, they have "The Saint" whistling his famous tune as a sort of identification bracelet...but unless you're a fan of the series, you may be missing the clue.JONATHAN HALE is a nice addition to the cast as Inspector Fernack who, for awhile, is just as confused as everyone else as to the identity of the real criminal. HELENE WHITNEY makes a bland leading lady as the blonde damsel in distress and BELA LUGOSI has a nothing role as a man called The Partner, a colorless part that could have been filled by any nondescript actor in search of work.There are plenty of escapes for Sanders who is seen narrowly drowning when tied up in a motorboat, leaping onto the back of moving autos to keep track of the kidnapped heroine and making various narrow escapes from the law by devious means. It's his third time as Simon and he looks comfortable enough in the double role, although all the plot twists and turns are a bit hard to swallow with the police and the criminals being unbelievably dumb.Summing up: Despite obvious drawbacks, it's a fun caper to watch and moves briskly toward a satisfying ending if you're a fan of the series.