For the radio serial, see Dick Barton.

Dick Barton: Special Agent (released in the USA as Dick Barton, Detective) is a 1948 British second feature ('B')[1] spy film directed by Alfred J. Goulding and starring Don Stannard.[2] It was written by Goulding and Alan Stranks, adapted from the BBC radio serial Dick Barton – Special Agent. It was the first of three films that Hammer Film Productions made about the British agent, followed by Dick Barton at Bay 6and Dick Barton Strikes Back.[3]

Plot

Dick Barton and his colleagues Snowy and Jock are investigating smuggling when attempts are made on his life. It turns out there is a neo-Nazi plot to contaminate Great Britain's water supply.

Cast

  • Don Stannard as Dick Barton
  • George Ford as Snowey
  • Jack Shaw as Jock
  • Gillian Maude as Jean
  • Beatrice Kane as Mrs Horrock
  • Ivor Danvers as Snub
  • Geoffrey Wincott as Dr Caspar
  • Arthur Bush as Schuler
  • Alec Ross as Tony

Release

Though critically unpopular, the film's commercial success prompted Hammer to make a number of movies based on radio and/or TV shows. It was released in the USA as Dick Barton, Detective.[4][5]

Critical reception

Sky Cinema noted "schoolboy shenanigans from slick Dick and his (badly miscast) aides Jock and Snowy. More laugh-a-minute than thrill-a-minute, this was British 'B'-film making at its grimmest."[6]

DVD Talk wrote "the picture has an Ed Wood-like ineptitude."[7]

Allmovie blamed "too much comic relief and terrible pacing".[3]

References

  1. ^ Chibnall, Steve; McFarlane, Brian (2009). The British 'B' Film. London: BFI/Bloomsbury. p. 74. ISBN 978-1-8445-7319-6.
  2. ^ "Dick Barton: Special Agent". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 2 December 2024.
  3. ^ a b "Don Stannard - Biography, Movie Highlights and Photos". AllMovie.
  4. ^ Pitts, Michael R. (10 March 2019). Famous Movie Detectives III. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 9780810836907 – via Google Books.
  5. ^ Dick Barton Special Agent Archived 17 May 2012 at the Wayback Machine at Hammerfilms.com
  6. ^ "Dick Barton - Special Agent". Find and Watch.
  7. ^ "The Dick Barton Trilogy - Dick Barton, Special Agent / Dick Barton at Bay / Dick Barton Strikes Back (Region 2)". DVD Talk.
Allikas: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Barton:_Special_Agent
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