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Dick Barton Strikes Back
Dick Barton Strikes Back is a 1949 British second feature ('B')[1] spy film directed by Godfrey Grayson and starring Don Stannard.b[2] It was written by Elizabeth Baron and Ambrose Grayson and was the third of three films that Hammer Film Productions made about agent Dick Barton, although it was the second released.[3] PlotCaptain Richard 'Dick' Barton and his associate Snowey White, uncover a spyring of international psychopathic criminals with plans to dominate Great Britain, if not, the world, using a terrifying weapon of mass destruction. Cast
ProductionThe film's title during production was Dick Barton and the Silent Plague.[4] Critical receptionThe Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "A large cast, headed by Don Stannard as Barton, with Sebastian Cabot and James Raglan as the leading criminals, enter into the spirit of adventure with enthusiasm. Nerves would have to be strong to resist the fearful screaming of the mystery apparatus, though even an enthusiastic child might find some of the suspense almost beyond bearing."[5] Kine Weekly wrote: "A lot is left unexplained, but the zest with which the schoolboy hokum is put over, plus generous and colourful staging, amply atones for story shortcomings. Good fun, and an exhilitrating thriller, it will entertain most audiences and youngsters in particular."[6] In British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959 David Quinlan rated the film as "average", writing: "Enthusiastic juvenalia."[7] Mystery File wrote: "This is a little kid's idea of a Spy Movie, with transparent trickery, obvious "surprise" villains and character development just below the level of a CLUE game, but it was clearly also the precursor of the James Bond films, with the suave, hard-fighting hero flung in and out of the clutches of sinister villains and predatory females with equal aplomb. It's a time-waster, sure, but a fun thing, with death rays, a sinister carnival and a really gripping final set-to up and down a (rather unsettlingly phallic) tower."[8] The Spinning Image found "an excellent example of pure pulp cinema, Dick Barton Strikes Back is solidly entertaining and never flags, right up to the finish line."[9] TV Guide called it "the best of the three Dick Barton films".[10] References
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