Figure 1.--The Lone Wolf was a popular mystery character. He is not well known today, but may have been the inspiration for "The Saint. Here is the Lone Wolf in "The Lone Wolf in Paris". Francis Lederer played the thief turned detective. Child actor Pio Peretti played the boy monarch.

Mystery writer Louis Joseph Vance created the Michael Lanyard or Lone Wolf character in 1914. Many books and films followed, bith silent and talkies. While not well known today, he was an important character for many years and many see him as the inspiration for Leslie Chartis' "The Saint". The Lone wolf was depicted as a charming rogue. He began as a crafty European jewel thief, but chilvarous when it came to ladies in distress. He received his criminasl trainng from the an Irishman named Bourke who is never fully explained. The Lone Wolf morphed over time, the original thief became a reformed thief and then spy and private eye. Columbia made a series of Lone Wolf films. Francis Lederer stared as the thief turned detective. Lanyard on vacation in Paris finds the of course beautiful Princess Thania (Frances Drake) in his hotel bedroom. The Princess is attempting to retrieve her country's crown jewels which have been stolen by the villinous Grand Duke Gregor (Walter Kingsford) and his scheming minions. The Lone Wolf takes on the case, but he and Thania are kidnapped by Gregor's henchmen. Child actor Pio Peretti played the boy monarch, Princess Thania's brother.

Created: 6:04 PM 10/22/2006
Last updated: 6:04 PM 10/22/2006