The Saint Lies in Wait (French title Le Saint prend l'Affût) is a 1966 French spy comedy film directed by Christian-Jaque and written by Jean Ferry. It is (rather loosely) based on Leslie Charteris' The Saint.
Oscar Chartier is an international scammer who sells false informations to West German and American secret services during the Cold War, until the day he gets exposed and caught. His friend, British adventurer Simon Templar, a.k.a. "The Saint", has sworn to protect his (quite bratty) daughter Sophie.
It starred Jean Marais as Simon Templar, Jean Yanne as Mueller-Strasse, Jess Hahn as Hoppy Uniatz, Danièle Evenou as Sophie Chartier, Henri Virlogeux as Oscar Chartier and Raffaella Carrà as Anita Pavone.
The Saint Lies in Wait provides examples of:
- The Ace: Simon Templar is so good at getting anywhere he wants that he's The Dreaded to people like Slimane. He doesn't even need to use violence given how he scares the shit out of Slimane.
- As Long as It Sounds Foreign: Some of the Italian spoken in the film is genuine, and some of it is just rubbish for padding.
- Badass in a Nice Suit: Simon's attire in the first 15 minutes or so rivals that of John Steed.
- Battle Butler: Hoppy Uniatz, Simon's assistant/sidekick/chauffeur. He's quite The Big Guy, being played by Jess Hahn, who thrived on such roles.
- Blatant Lies:
- Tonio Cotoni pretending he didn't sell out fellow Mafiosi to the Carabinieri.
- Anita Pavone pretending the guy who just left her bedroom in underwear was giving her "a lesson of physical education".
- Brainwashed: Oscar Chartier is brainwashed by the Germans with hypnosis circles with seamless loops... while all they wanted was to torture him to get the location of the money he swindled out of them. He has forgotten who he is and who his daughter and friend are, and his IQ is now close to that of a toddler.
- Bratty Teenage Daughter: Oscar Chartier's daughter, Sophie. She is, to put it plainly, a pain in the butt to Simon.
- Comedic Spanking: Simon spanks Sophie at one point, and she thoroughly deserves it.
- Crushing Handshake: Uniatz crushes Agatino's hand when shaking it.
- Dashingly Dapper Derby: This incarnation of the Saint wears a bowler hat.
- Deer in the Headlights: Slimane is so scared shitless of Templar that he can't do anything, which gives Templar ample opportunity to bring a pie to his face and free Sophie.
- Does Not Know His Own Strength: Uniatz, who crushes the old Agatino's hand and destroys a chair the very second he sits on it.
- Hollywood Silencer: Silenced guns emit sounds akin to a whip.
- Insistent Terminology: Even as he dies, the German agent who confronted Oscar Chartier insists his name is Schmutz and not Schmul.
- Italians Talk with Hands: Used in spades in the Sicily scenes.
- Living MacGuffin: Sophie is the only possible lead to the money her father swindled and thus she is targeted by several spy agencies and Slimane.
- The Mafia:
- Slimane calls the Mafia for help against the Saint in Sicily.
- The Saint and Sophie go to a Mafia contact, Tonio Cotoni, who's quite the Bad Liar and turncoat and got himself under death threats for denouncing fellow gangsters to the Carabinieri. Which gives us this hilarious exchange:Tonio: I can't die now, I have guests at home!Gangster: We're gonna smash the door if you don't come!Tonio: My God, don't let them do this to me! I never talked to the Carabinieri!Other gangster: Don't talk about God like that! You know well he's in the Mafia too!
- Man in a Kilt: Simon and Uniatz wear kilts at the beginning of the film.
- Pie in the Face: Simon smashes a cream cake in Slimane's face as he comes to the rescue of Sophie.
- Really Gets Around: Anita Pavone is described by Slimane as "one of the most famous volcanoes in Italy, always in activity".
- Shout-Out: In Sicily, Sophie finds the place so boring that "Even James Bond would go unemployed".
