Dick Barton, Detective

ALMOST INSUFFERABLE...JUVENILE COMEDY-ADVENTURE...FROM POPULAR BRITISH RADIO Very Early Hammer Cheapie when the Newly-Born Studio was Floundering About in a Number of Genres. In this one Hammer Dumbs-Down Popular Radio Hero Barton to a Comedy-Adventure with Copious Amounts of Slapstick and Bad Mugging. Certainly Made for a Juvenile Audience. It's Lively, if Nothing Else, and Manages a Fast-Pace both in Montage and Dialog. This Type of Speedy Line-Delivery is Reminiscent of Screw-Ball Comedies from Hollywood. They also Borrow the Style and Tone of the Serials. Most of the Action is Fisticuffs with a Couple of Car Romps and Bit on the Sea. The Studio Saw the Error of Their Ways and the Sequels are Much Better. Not Much to Offer Except Nostalgia for those that Lived Through the Early Years of the Brit. Hero. Most of those Fans will be Disappointed with this Entry but can Look Forward to Better Movies Ahead.

The maiden episode of a short-lived trio of Dick Barton movies made by Hammer is a jaunty period piece from the days when the dastardly villains were still nazis rather than commies. It's amateurish technique, period detail and use of actual locations today gains it considerable interest viewed purely as a documentary.

I am not old enough to remember the original radio series.So i don't know if it was done tongue in cheek.this film seems to have an element of that.However the film is let down by a silly plot awful acting and almost invisible production values.It is probably one of the worst British films that i have ever seen.I haven't yet watched the other 2 in the series but they have to be an improvement on this load of tripe.It is a mercy for most of the actors that the credits only list a handful of the leading actors.Usually i find no difficulty in writing the mandatory 10 lines that are required for a review but the sheer awfulness of this film has left my usual nimble fingers frozen in sheer disbelief.