Dick Barton – Special Agent is a radio thriller serial that was broadcast in the BBC Light Programme between 7 October 1946 and 30 March 1951. Produced and directed by Raymond Raikes, Neil Tuson, and Charles Lefaux, it was aired in 15-minute episodes at 6.45 (later 6.15) each weekday evening. From 11 January 1947 an additional "omnibus" edition repeated all of the week's programmes each Saturday morning between 11.00 and 12.00. In all, 711 episodes were produced and the serial achieved a peak audience of 20 million.James Chapman (2006) Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television Vol. 26, No. 4, pp. 537–559 "‘Honest British Violence’: Critical Responses to Dick Barton—Special Agent (1946–1951)" Its end was marked by a leading article in The Times.The Times, 31 March 1951, p. 7 "The Last Instalment"
The serial followed the adventures of ex-commando Captain Richard Barton MC (Noel Johnson, later Duncan Carse and Gordon Davies) who, with his mates Jock Anderson (Alex McCrindle) and Snowy White (John Mann), solved all sorts of crimes, escaped from dangerous situations, and saved the nation from disaster time and time again.
The series was replaced from time to time by one about the adventures of an explorer. One episode was entitled "Plague on the Plateau".
Beginning in 1948, the Hammer film company made three Dick Barton films and, long after the radio series had been replaced by The Archers, Southern Television made a television version in 1979. Dick Barton has also been adapted into a tongue-in-cheek stage play and a spoof radio comedy. Each version has featured the originals' memorable signature tune, "Devil's Galop" by Charles Williams.
Radio series Stories +Story No.Story nameProducerEpisode countEpisode numbersDate1Dick Barton and the Secret WeaponNeil Tuson201-2007/10/46 - 01/11/462Dick Barton and the Paris AdventureNeil Tuson2021-4004/11/46 - 29/11/463Dick Barton and the Cabatolin DiamondsNeil Tuson2041-6002/12/46 - 27/12/464Dick Barton in South AmericaNeil Tuson2061-8030/12/46 - 24/01/475Dick Barton and the SmugglersNeil Tuson2081-10027/01/47 - 21/02/476Dick Barton and the Smash and Grab RaidersNeil Tuson20101-12024/02/47 - 21/03/477Dick Barton and the Tibetan AdventureRaymond Raikes20121-14024/03/47 - 18/04/478Dick Barton and the Canadian AdventureRaymond Raikes18141-15819/04/47 - 09/05/479Dick Barton and the Affair of the Black PantherRaymond Raikes19159-17710/05/47 - 31/05/4710Dick Barton and the VultureNeil Tuson20178-19729/09/47 - 24/10/4711Dick Barton and the Production ReportNeil Tuson20198-21727/10/47 - 21/11/4712Dick Barton and the Bonazio GangNeil Tuson20218-23724/11/47 - 19/12/4713Dick Barton and the Li-Chang AdventureNeil Tuson23238-26022/12/47 - 23/01/4814Dick Barton and ehe Case of Conrad RudaDavid H. Godfrey20261-28026/01/48 - 20/02/4815Dick Barton and the Jewel ThievesNeil Tuson20281-30023/02/48 - 19/03/4816Dick Barton and the Firefly AdventureNeil Tuson10301-31022/03/48 - 02/04/4817Dick Barton and the J.B. CaseNeil Tuson20311-33020/09/48 - 15/10/4818Untitled SerialNeil Tuson20331-35018/10/48 - 12/11/4819Dick Barton and the Secret FormulaNeil Tuson20351-37015/11/48 - 10/12/4820Dick Barton and the VoiceNeil Tuson19371-38913/12/48 - 07/01/4921Dick Barton and Jordan's FollyNeil Tuson & Frank Hauser20390-40910/01/49 - 04/02/4922Untitled SerialNeil Tuson & Frank Hauser20410-42907/02/49 - 04/03/4923Dick Barton and the Betts PlanNeil Tuson15430-44407/03/49 - 25/03/4924Dick Barton and the Vallonian AdventureDavid H. Godfrey20445-46426/09/49 - 21/10/4925Dick Barton and the Colonel's CavemanCharles LeFeaux20465-48424/10/49 - 18/11/4926Dick Barton and the Black RockCharles LeFeaux20485-50421/11/49 - 16/12/4927Dick Barton and the House of WindowsArchie Campbell18505-52219/12/49 - 13/01/5028The Night of the Twenty-SeventhMartyn C. Webster1Special27/12/4929Untitled SerialCleland Finn20523-54216/01/50 - 10/02/5030Untitled SerialCharles LeFeaux15543-55713/02/50 - 03/03/5031Dick Barton and the Big Fight RacketDavid H. Godfrey15558-57206/03/50 - 24/03/5032Dick Barton and the Lucky Gordan AffairCharles LeFeaux13573-58527/03/50 - 14/04/5033Dick Barton and the S.S. Golden Main StoryCharles LeFeaux20586-60502/10/50 - 27/10/5034Untitled SerialCharles LeFeaux & Archie Campbell20606-62530/10/50 - 24/11/5035Dick Barton and the BridgeDavid H. Godfrey & Ayton Whitiker20626-64527/11/50 - 22/12/5036Untitled SerialArchie Campbell18646-66327/12/50 - 19/01/5137Untitled SerialCharles LeFeaux15664-67822/01/51 - 09/02/5138Dick Barton and the Green Triangle GangDavid H. Godfrey20679-69812/02/51 - 09/03/5139Dick Barton and the Trail of the RocketCharles LeFeaux13699-71112/03/51 - 30/03/51
Style The series was devised by producer Norman Collins. The scripts were written by Edward J. Mason and Geoffrey Webb, and produced and directed by Raymond Raikes. The programme gave rise to a popular catchphrase of the late 1940s "With one bound, Dick was free!" which made light of the fact that no matter how dangerous the cliffhanging situation Dick found himself in every evening, he would always escape easily.
Early ideas for the character's name included "Bill Barton" and "Rex Drake". However, the production team finally settled on the more dynamic Dick Barton. After the series had been on the air for some time, the BBC (conscious that the biggest audience for the programme was schoolboys) wrote a strict code of what Dick and his chums could and couldn't do, one clause famously stating "Sex plays no part in his adventures."
Cast (British) Noel Johnson as Dick Barton (Story 1 - 23) Duncan Carse as Dick Barton (Story 24 - 32) Gordan Davies as Dick Barton (Story 33 - 39) John Mann as Snowy White Colin Douglas as Inspector Burke William Fox as Colonel Gardiner Alex McCrindle as Jock Anderson Margaret Robertson as Jean Hunter
Cast (Australian)
Douglas Kelly as Dick Barton William Lloyd as Snowy White Patricia Kenedy as Jean Hunter Moira Carleton as Betsy Horrock
* With John Morgan, Robert Peach, Clifford Cowley and Richard Davies.
Cancellation In 1951 The Archers was first broadcast at 11.45 am on the Light Programme. BBC management, led by drama head Val Gielgud, had never felt comfortable with the sensationalism of Dick Barton. The Archers, which they considered more 'suitable', took Dick Barton place in the schedules from Easter 1951.
Revivals In 1972 as part of the BBC's Golden Jubilee, the BBC broadcast a new, abridged, 10-episode version of the first Barton serial - "The Secret Weapon". The cast included many members of the original cast, including Noel Johnson, John Mann, William Fox, Alex McCrindle, and Margaret Robertson.
From October 1997 to May 1998, BBC Radio 4 broadcast a six-part sequel/pastiche called Richard Barton: General Practitioner!, in which Dick Barton's son Richard is a country doctor caring for his apparently senile father, who retreats into fantasies based on his past adventures, believing that there are devilish enemies lurking around him. The series was written by Edward Mason's son Lol Mason, and featured Moray Watson as old Dick Barton, Robert Bathurst as his son Richard, Matilda Ziegler as Richard's wife Sally, Julian Dutton as young Dick Barton and Iain Cuthbertson as Jock Anderson. The series was rebroadcast on BBC Radio 4 Extra in 2015 and again in 2019.
In 2009, BBC Audiobooks released Dick Barton and the Mystery of the Missing Formula (), a reading of a novel based on the radio serials written by Mike Dorrell and read by Toby Stephens.
In June 2013, The BBC produced a new live recording at the Y Theatre in Leicester of the original 1951 story Dick Barton and the Trail of the Rocket, starring Tim Bentinck and Terry Molloy. It was released on CD by BBC Audio in July 2014, along with a number of bonus features.
Films Beginning in 1948, the Hammer film company made three Dick Barton films, which were intended to be the beginning of a long-running series. Don Stannard, the star, was killed in a car crash in 1949, and Hammer decided to discontinue the series after the production of only three films. Hammer shelved plans to film the next Dick Barton film, Dick Barton in Africa written by John Gilling.p.59 Hearn, Marcus & Barnes, Alan The Hammer Story: The Authorised History of Hammer Films, 1997, Titan Books
Dick Barton: Special Agent (1948) Dick Barton Strikes Back (1949) Dick Barton at Bay (1950)
Television In 1979, Southern Television, one of the smaller ITV Network Companies, made a series of Dick Barton - Special Agent which ran in an early evening slot on the ITV Network. Like the original, it ran in 15-minute segments and was again accompanied by the familiar theme tune, the titles playing against an animated dagger and target motif. The production was blighted by financial troubles, though, and some critics said it was a mistake to try to resurrect the character.
The cast of the show was Tony Vogel as Dick Barton, Anthony Heaton as Snowy White, James Cosmo as Jock Anderson and John Gatrell as Sir Richard Marley. The 32x15 minutes episodes were transmitted by most of the ITV network on Saturdays and Sundays between January and April 1979. Southern, however, screened the show across consecutive nights from Mondays through to Thursday in the radio series's original timeslot of 6.45 to 7.00pm.
Adventure One written by Clive Exton, in ten parts. Demobbed after six years in the army, old friend Sir Richard Marley asks Barton to look into the disappearance of his daughter Virginia (Fiona Fullerton) and son Rex (Kevan Sheehan). They come up against master criminal, Melganik played by John G. Heller. Adventure Two written by Julian Bond, in eight parts. At a late night celebration at the "Blue Parrot", Barton and his colleagues rescue a young girl, Lucy Cameron (Debbie Farrington) from being attacked. She tells them that her father, George Cameron (Colin Rix) has been kidnapped by the evil Muller (Guy Deghy) who is after the deadly poison he has developed. Adventure Three written by Clive Exton, in six parts. Celebrating from the last adventure, Dick's Aunt Agatha (Stella Kemball) rings up and tells him that her house has vanished. A further phone call from Sir Richard Marley reveals that scientist, Harold Jenkins (Peter Godfrey) has perfected his ultimate weapon and Barton and comrades soon find themselves up against Melganik again. Adventure Four written by Julian Bond, in eight parts. Dandy Parkes (Terence Seward), a middle-aged playboy and Amanda Aston (Marsha Fitzalan), wife of a respected Whitehall official are threatened by the Drew Brothers (Ernie Drew by Bernard Kay).
The complete series was released on DVD in March 2009, and in 2010 re-runs of Dick Barton were shown on the British satellite television channel Film 24. By 2016 it had reappeared on Talking Pictures TV.
Stage musical A stage musical, Dick Barton Episode I, Special Agent, written by Phil Willmott, directed by Ted Craig. Musical direction was by Stefan Bednarczyk. It premièred at the Warehouse Theatre in December 1998 to great acclaim. It was revived in 1999 and productions then toured Britain between 1998 and 2001. Following its success, further "episodes" were written and performed at the Warehouse Theatre:
December 1999 was Dick Barton Episode II, The Curse of the Pharaoh's Tomb by Phil Willmott. Musical direction was by Stefan Bednarczyk. This was commissioned by and premièred at the Warehouse Theatre. December 2001 was Dick Barton Episode III, The Tango of Terror by Phil Willmott. Musical direction by Stefan Bednarczyk. Commissioned by and premièred at the Warehouse Theatre. It later toured to Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guilford & Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon. December 2002 was Dick Barton Episode IV, The Flight of the Phoenix by Duncan Wisbey and Stefan Bednarcxyk, directed by Ted Craig. Commissioned by and premièred at the Warehouse Theatre.