Roger Moore gets new Post
How nice to see Roger Moore on television again, even though it’s simply in an advert for the Post Office. This ad takes the form of a sort of short comedy sketch where Roger is making fun of his suave persona and eyebrow lifting style of acting, for me it is very funny even though Roger appears to be held up by the two dolly birds alongside him, he is 82 now and looks to be having something of a good time.
You’ve got to admire Roger Moore, he’s considered a national treasure, the respected actor with an illustrious career behind him, the United Nations Goodwill Ambassador and a Knight of the Realm but he’s still able to make fun of himself and make an audience smile in the process.
He did play many heroic characters during his long acting career; Beau Maverick brother of Brett, Ivanhoe, Lord Brett Sinclair the better looking half of the Persuader’s team, James Bond and he also played one of my favourite fictional characters, though a sort of anti-hero Simon Templar, The Saint, created by Leslie Charteris way back in the nineteen twenties. Even Roger Moore’s portrayal of The Saint dates back to the nineteen sixties.
Roger Moore once said in an interview that part of the reason he liked to play The Saint was that as he was a anti-hero (though this wasn’t shown in the television series, just alluded to) he could now appear in public smoking with a drink in his hand as he didn’t have to be whiter than white all the time.
Roger Moore’s portrayal of The Saint seemed to me to fit the character described in the books, however I did like George Sanders suave portrayal which Roger did pull off in some scenes. His “mid-lantic” accent was more in keeping with Charteris’ description however.<;p>
Many episodes were adaptations of stories from The Saint books, one of my favorites is “Vendetta For The Saint”. In this two part adventure, also made in to a television film The Saint goes after an exiled Italian American Mafia boss Dino Cartelli played by Ian Hendry. The scene where The Saint confronts Cartelli in his Capri villa is classic Simon Templar.
When ever I see or hear Sir Roger Moore in his Post Office commercials I’ll be reminded of the great characters he’s portrayed throughout his career, especially The Saint.
For timeless entertainment take a look back at Roger Moore’s exploits as The Saint on DVD you won’t regret it I am sure. If you are a reader take a look at the newly released anthology series of stories available via Amazon.