The Saint "The Latin Touch" #1.2 (1962) (TV)

"A death for a death", 29 March 2017

Simon Templar meets a young American woman named Sue Inverest while on vacation in Italy. During their tour of the coliseum, Templar is knocked out and Sue is kidnapped. Templar learns that Sue is the daughter of an American Governor (Indiana, I think). The head kidnapper has a brother on death row in Governor Inverest's state. He wants his brother's sentence commuted in exchange for Sue's life. Being The Saint, Templar intercedes to help secure Sue's release.

I'm going to have to disagree with the only other review (as of 3/29/17) on IMDb for The Latin Touch. I really enjoyed this episode. The tension in the episode came through for me. This is television, so you just know everything will be alright in the end, but the tension was still there. I could feel the governor's pain as he struggled with what to do – keep a killer locked-up or save his daughter. And, the trick Templar plays on the baddie was a pretty sweet scene. I suppose the fact that there was someone working for the mob from the inside was a given, it was still fun to watch events unfold. And, once again, I'm impressed with the acting. After just two episodes, Roger Moore continues to be something of a revelation to me. In the supporting cast, Alexander Knox, as usual, gives a good performance. And Warren Mitchell is an out-and-out scene stealer. His cabbie, Marco Di Cesari, is a hoot. Overall, a 7/10 from me.

7/10