Dick Barton: Special Agent (released in the USA as Dick Barton, Detective) is a 1948 British spy film about special agent Dick Barton adapted from the hugely popular radio drama of the same name produced and directed by Raymond Raikes.[1] It was the first of three films that Hammer Film Productions made about the British agent, followed by Dick Barton at Bay and Dick Barton Strikes Back.[2]
Dick Barton: Special Agent | |
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Directed by | Alfred J. Goulding |
Written by | Alfred J. Goulding Alan Stranks |
Based on | the BBC radio serial |
Produced by | Henry Halstead |
Starring | Don Stannard George Ford |
Cinematography | Stanley Clinton |
Edited by | Eta Simpson |
Music by | John Bath |
Production company | Hammer Film Productions |
Distributed by | Exclusive Films |
Release date | 10 May 1948 |
Running time | 71 minutes |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
Dick Barton (Don Stannard) 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.
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.[3][4]
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."[5] DVD Talk wrote "the picture has an Ed Wood-like ineptitude."[6] and Allmovie blamed "too much comic relief and terrible pacing."[2]
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