Dick Barton: Special Agent (1948)

User Rating:

5.1/10   

Director:

Alfred J. Goulding

Writers:

Alfred J. Goulding (writer)
Alan Stranks (writer)

Release Date:

March 1948 (UK)

Plot:

Government agent Dick Barton battles a ring of Nazi spies who are planning to poison the entire London water supply. |

Plot Keywords:

Detective Hero | First Part | Undercover Agent | Based On Radio Show | Character Name In Title

Cast

Don Stannard	...	Dick Barton
George Ford	...	Snowey White
Gillian Maude	...	Jean Hunter
Beatrice Kane	...	Betsy Horrock
Ivor Danvers	...	Snub
Geoffrey Wincott	...	Dr. Casper
Arthur Bush	...	Schuler
Alec Ross	...	Tony Burton
Farnham Baxter	...	Roscoe
Morris Sweden	...	Regan
Ernest Borrow	...	Gilpin
Jack Shaw	...	Jock
Campbell Singer	...	Sir George Cavendish
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Colin Douglas
Janice Lowthian

Also Known As:

Dick Barton at Bay (UK) (video title)
Dick Barton, Detective (USA)

Runtime:

70 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Filming Locations:

Marylebone Studios, Marylebone, London, England, UK

Company:

Henry Halstead Productions

Movie Connections:

Followed by Dick Barton at Bay (1950)

Soundtrack:

The Devil's Galop

One of the great 'clinkers' of all time.....PART ONE

This is, without doubt,one of the best of 'bad' films, so cheaply and amateurishly conceived and made, and the acting so awful, it is quite hilarious and thoroughly diverting. Dick Barton is a tall,dark,handsome and utterly pompous hero given to saying things like "You swine" to his foes, and "Take a tip,everybody.When somebody takes a potshot at you,play possum" to his pals. He can drive,fight and swim with the best of them, and can knock people out without actually touching them, all valuable attributes when battling evil Nazi spy rings who plan to poison Britains water supplies with poison capsules, jewels and stockings smuggled inside lobsters.Exactly who put them in the lobsters, and why the Nazis needed the jewels and stockings is not made clear. Dick has two chums,the ageing,balding ,chubby Snowy and the aged,bald, emaciated Jock, whose roles in life are to make Dick Barton look good in all respects. They do this by being thoroughly stupid,forever telling bad jokes, playing juvenile tricks,licking their lips at the prospect of a beer,and taking a long time to remember their lines. The chief villains have no trouble remembering their lines, they just have great difficulty in delivering them with the two leading Nazis seemingly auditioning to understudy Bela Lugosi. Their chief henchman , a man who keeps saying "I never miss " before once more missing Hero Dick,is, we are told, not British, but quite what accent the actor is attempting is not decipherable.