Saints and Sinners is an American television drama that was broadcast on NBC September 17, 1962 - January 28, 1963. The program starred Nick Adams as newspaper reporter Nick Alexander. Saints and Sinners was created by Adrian Spies, who worked as a journalist before becoming a screenwriter.
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Overview
The character of Nick Alexander was first featured in The Dick Powell Show episode "Savage Sunday". The series featured the staff of a fictional newspaper, The New York Bulletin. The episodes' storylines had adult themes that featured moral dilemmas.
Cast
John Larkin co-starred as Nick's mentor, newspaper editor Mark Grainger. The series also starred Richard Erdman as Kluge, the staff photographer and office philosopher, and Robert F. Simon as copy editor Dave Tabak. Other cast members were Barbara Rush as Lizzie Hogan, Sharon Farrell as Polly, and Nicky Blair as Charlie.
Guest stars
Many stars and future stars had guest roles on the show. One episode featured the final screen appearance of Paul Muni, one of the most esteemed actors in the history of Broadway and Hollywood.
Philip Abbott
Leon Askin
Red Buttons
Jack Albertson
James T. Callahan
Irene Dunne
Sharon Farrell
Tab Hunter
Barbara Eden
Ron Hagerthy
Harvey Korman
Robert Lansing
Cloris Leachman
Scott Marlowe
Elizabeth Montgomery
Paul Muni
Mike Ragan
Charles Ruggles
Barbara Rush
Frank Sutton
William Tannen
Lurene Tuttle
Ray Walston
Simon Scott
Production
Saints and Sinners was a production of Four Star Television with Hondo Productions, filmed at Republic Studios in Studio City, California. Dick Powell was the executive producer, and Marc Daniels was the producer. Elmer Bernstein composed the music.
Critical response
A review of the premiere episode in the trade publication Variety said that it was hampered by cliches that "had been established years ago in 'B' movies" and had been used in earlier TV shows. The review said that Adams's performance and some elements of the story were appealing, but they "as mixed by Spies seemed worn and tired".
Reception
Saints and Sinners was broadcast on Mondays 8:30-9:30 p.m. Eastern Time. It faced competition from Chuck Connors' The Rifleman and Jack Lord's Stoney Burke on ABC and The Lucy Show and The Danny Thomas Show on CBS. Due to low ratings, it was canceled after 18 episodes.