"THE SAINT" Volvo P-1800. Leslie Charteris, the creator of the character, wrote the very f

Elegance, fast cars, beautiful women and an inexplicable fortune surrounds the life of Simon Templar, “The Saint”.

The authentic gentleman, a true “Robin Hood” with the only difference that he always decides to keep a part of the spoil without asking for permission. Little is known about Templar’s past.

Leslie Charteris, the creator of the character, wrote the very first novel about “The Saint” in 1928 and the logo was also his creator, at the age of 9. When he was writing for his school magazine.

A professor asked to him what he would do to turn a man into a saint, and Charteris replied:” It’s simple, all you have to do is place a halo above his head and it’s done!”.

In 1961, Charteris sold the rights of The Saint to the prolific British producer Robert S. Baker, who got associated with Lew Grade, also known as “Mr. Television” in United Kingdom, thanks to his many abilities.

Both of them, along with ITC (Incorporated Television Company) produced 71 episodes in black and white and 41 in color.

The TV show had not been conceived, as we know it, since the first actor who was requested to play the leading role was not Sir. Roger Moore, but Patrick Mc Goohan (The Presioner). An agreement with Mc Goohan couldn’t be reached, so Moore was finally choosen for the role, as he was already popular on the TV screen for his previous works both in Ivanhoe and Maverick.

From that moment on, popularity on Sir Roger Moore grew stronger and definitely made him one of the most popular faces in the show business.

In fact, the idea in Leslie Charteris mind has always been to give to Gary Grant the privilege of playing the part, thought, he was never requested for that by the producers.

As a coincidence, the same would happen with the chosen vehicle for the Leading role, as from the very beginning, the producers wanted a car that should exhibit a pure British legendary brand, and the new “E” Type Jaguar was the perfect fit .

Nobody could understand why Jaguar did not accede to the show producers with the request to provide them with the car. Rumors said that they were selling the cars much faster than they could manufacture them so there was no need of additional publicity.

This terribly wrong decision was not to be taken again when the Moore era of the show was over, the producers started to work with a new series “The Return of The Saint”, this time with Ian Ogilvy, for which Jaguar handed straight away their new model XJ-S.

The second option was the new Volvo P-1800 and immediately the Swedish headquarters provided to their London representative all the instructions to authorize in order to immediately supply the car.

This Volvo P-1800 had license plate “71 DCX”, but for the show, they would provide a new”ST1”, with the initials of Simon Templar.

Both the show and the car, which pierced the London mist, became an instant success since the very first episode (The Talented Husband).

In addition to this, Volvo agreed to the producer’s request to provide an open cockpit for shooting dialogues and close-ups whenever Templar had to be seen while driving.

There is an interesting piece of trivia that can be noticed in the “Goldfinger” movie of the James Bond saga. While Sean Connery appears driving his unforgettable Aston Martin DB-5 BMT 216-A, there is a shot in which he is actually sitting on Simon Templar’s Volvo.

Paradoxically, after starring in “The Persuaders” with co-star Tony Curtis, Roger Moore would be at the role of James Bond in “Live and Let Die” in 1973. Moore was the most prolific James Bond ever, starring in seven bond’s saga, being the last one “A View to a Kill” in 1985, that’s during 12 years, when he wad already 58 years old.

The Volvo P-1800 was introduced at the Brussels motor show 1960 and since the Olofstrom and Torsland facilities did not have enough room to make it, the assembly of the P-1800 started in the Jensen facilities in England but later it was moved to Sweden. With the move, came a series of minor changes to the car both in the interior and exterior and in order to update the image, Volvo sent a brand new vehicle to the production (the 77 GYL) for the shooting of the show.

Roger Moore also adopted the P-1800 for his private use. He would drive the car to the Elstree Studios at Shenley road, Borehamwood, where the show was filmed.

In fact, cars, the previously mentioned and the 1963 one, were used for the show in the same episode, “The Miracle Tea Party”, when Templar drove one of them, while the other was shown in a parking lot.

In 1965 the most significant change in the design of the P-1800 was the grille and in order to justify the change to the new model in the screen, the old car was set on fire during the episode “The Frightened Innkeeper”(not in real life though , as a close up of the car on fire was never shown…).

At the beginning of 1967, and again due to touches in the design, two new units were sent to backstage, the NUV 647 E and the NUV 648 E, being the last cars to be used for shooting until the show’s finale in 1969.

During the shooting of the first episodes, Sir Roger Moore would drive the Volvo himself when exterior takes were shot, but later, due to the popularity of the show, it became impossible for Moore to keep driving through the London streets, since his fans would obstruct the takes.

Nowadays, Peter Nelson, the creator of “Cars of the Stars” in Keswick, Cumbria, owns the “77 GYL” while the “NUV 648 E” is in hands of Bill Krzastek.

The Saint has become a cult TV Show all around the world. The adventures of the mythical character will remain forever in the memory of viewers that are in their fifties today.

Sir roger Moore himself kept the character close to his heart. Simon Templar undoubtedly made him one of the most famous stars in entertainment. Later he would have the chance to star in “Persuaders” as Lord Brett Sinclair, another cult TV show, together with talented Tony Curtis, but finally he would land n what would be his definitive leading role: Bond, James Bond.

Article Copyright Sergio Goldvarg.