- Government agent Dick Barton battles a ring of Nazi spies who are planning to poison the entire London water supply.
- Doctor Sigmund Casper [Geoffrey Wincott] is a German Nazi pretending to be a Swedish biologist at Echo Bay in England. He has integrated himself in the local community but he is involved in a smuggling operation with Roscoe [Farnham Baxter] and Regan [Morris Sweden], the local fish suppliers. He is joined by a compatriot, Schuler [Arthur Bush] going under the name of Johansson, also pretending to be Swedish and Casper's new assistant. Casper has a hidden underground store room beneath his cottage. Casper's secretary Adele [Janice Lowthian] is unhappy working for Casper but her boyfriend Tony [Alec Ross] is one of Casper's gang.
Dick Barton [Don Stannard] and his travelling companions Jock [Jack Shaw] and Snowey [George Ford] are on their way to Echo Bay to investigate the illegal smuggling between England and Europe. The smugglers learn of his impending arrival so Roscoe and Regan try to shoot Barton en-route. Barton survives by pretending he has been shot but is in fact unharmed.
At dinner that evening, Barton and his friends along with their host Jean [Gillian Maude] find jewellery, perfume and nylons hidden inside the lobsters they are eating. They discover the shellfish delivery was supposed to go to Casper instead, so Barton goes to the fish suppliers to investigate the mix-up. Roscoe and Regan have to admit to Casper that they failed in their attempt to kill Barton.
In the pub later, Roscoe and Regan try again to kill Barton using a poisoned dart but again Barton foils their attempt and knocks them out. Casper and Schuler arrive to try and ascertain why Barton is in Echo Bay but leave quickly after Barton reveals he received the fish delivery intended for them.
Barton, Jock and Snowey go out into the bay in a boat to try and find the smugglers merchandise, watched closely from the shore by Casper and his gang. However, Barton and the others accidentally capsize their boat, much to Casper's amusement. Jock and Snowey go to the pub to warm up but Roscoe and Regan get the barman to put knock-out drops in their drinks. Due to a mix-up with the glasses, the barman drinks one of the spiked drinks and loses consciousness instead. Jock and Snowey recognise Roscoe and Regan as the attempted murderers on their journey to Echo Bay and a fight breaks out, during which Snowey drinks the other drink with knock-out drops in it and also passes out. Jock continues to fight but is eventually knocked out by Casper and Schuler.
Barton arrives at the pub to look for Jock and Snowey but is met with resistance from Casper and the others. A policeman arrives to break things up. Casper and his gang meet to revise their plans while Barton and local schoolboy and Dick Barton fan Snub [Ivor Danvers] searches their house for Jock and Snowey. Snub discovers the secret trapdoor in Casper's house and finds Jock and Snowey locked in wooden crates in the underground room.
Tony has reservations about continuing to work for Casper but is dependent on Casper due to a murder Tony apparently previously committed for him.
Barton is apprehended by Schuler and tied to a wall. Schuler reveals to Barton that he and Casper have been developing a biological weapon which a team of saboteurs will distribute around England to poison the entire water supply of the country with cholera. Schuler places a small cylinder of the cholera agent inside Barton's suit and mentions he will leave a similar cylinder at Jean's house and that the cylinders will soon break and poison them. After Schuler leaves, Barton struggles against his rope binds, causing a bottle of acid on the shelf above him the tip over and drip out. The acid burns through his ropes, freeing him. He quickly telephones Adele to warn her of Casper and Schuler's plans.
Casper and Schuler find Jock and Snowey have escaped. Casper sends Roscoe and Regan to catch Adele but she has also got away. Jock and Snowey are reunited with Barton and he explains the Germans' plans. Casper and Schuler decide to disperse, with Washington being their next target. The gang mistakenly kidnap Jean instead of Adele and put her on Casper's boat as they prepare to escape. On the boat, Jean struggles with Casper as Barton swims out to it and overpowers Casper and his crewman. He ties Casper up in the wheelhouse. Meanwhile Schuler and the rest of the gang start clearing up their operation in the fishery warehouse. Barton and Jean swim back ashore and Barton rushes to the warehouse to capture the gang. A large fight breaks out, during which Tony is shot, and Schuler flees while Barton tries to fight off the others. Jock and Snowey arrive to help and Barton chases after Schuler, climbing aboard the back of his van as he drives off. Snub is also in the back of the van. After a prolonged fight in the warehouse, the police arrive and capture the gang. Barton eventually overpowers Schuler in the van while Snub desperately tries to steer and prevent the van from crashing.
Tony survives and Barton reveals Casper had blackmailed him, framing him for a murder Regan actually committed, so Tony is free to stay with Adele and recover.
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Top Gap
By what name was Dick Barton, Detective (1948) officially released in Canada in English?
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