Theo Robertson Based upon the long running Dick Barton series from radio DICK BARTON STRIKES BACK is not without interest if only to give a view of British immediate post war austerity and mentality . Britain was quite rightly proud of the fact that from the Summer of 1940 through to most of 1941 she stood alone against German Nazism and Italian fascism . Her reward for winning the war was losing the subsequent peace . It was also obvious in the aftermath of the war that the standard of living in Britain had actually fallen compared to the times when the U-Boats patrolled the Atlantic and the Luftwaffe had bombed British cities This is reflected in DBSB right from the opening scene where Dick and Snowey go in to a nightclub and foreign cultural influences abound . Snowey can't get a pint of bitter and if that isn't bad enough the waiting staff who are all foreign are in league with another bunch of foreigners led by a villain with the name of Fouracada . You can't help noticing that these criminals aren't of traditional Anglo Saxon stock and while you can accuse the film of a xenophobic mindset this would merely reflect the average British experience of other cultures . Europeans would be fascists , Zionists would be terrorists , Arabs would be rabid nationalists with new found power via oil and even an erstwhile ally such as America would be a cynical fair weather friend . Perhaps most sadly of all the Soviet Union would be on a par with Hitler's Germany #For a film that uses a radio series as its source this is a B movie that deserves some credit for trying to be cinematic in feel .What I did notice is that its outlandish plot featuring a death ray controlled by a bunch of nasty foreigners does have a lot in common in the James Bond franchise but their are important differences . There's no exotic locations and a climax set around Blackpool pleasure beach isn't something you'd get in a Fleming story . Don Stannard as Barton might be square jawed but he's not a dirty fighter and when he gets in to a punch up with one of the bad guys it's unexpected he doesn't throw him out of the lift door . I'm guessing in those days it was only Johnny Foreigner who would do something unsporting like that ?

malcolmgsw this was the second film in the Dick Barton boxed set.It is better than Dick Barton secret Agent because it would be virtually impossible for it to be worse.The location shots are a big plus but the silly plot is almost terminal boredom.What is worse the noise emitted by the machine at the climax sounds like a police siren and goes on and on.It gave me a headache so i had to double the disc speed so i could not its incessant wailing on the soundtrack.the fight scenes are not very well orchestrated.It is rather strange that apart from the 3 leads no other actors names are shown with the front credits.Perhaps they asked that this be done to spare their blushes.I have one more to view.I hope it gets better.

Spondonman Easily the best film in the Dick Barton trilogy, showing a cinematic professionalism the first two lacked. This was the last to be filmed but released second, sad to lose Don Stannard so young and promising in 1949. Apart from the Boys Own adventure storyline, and Barton speaking in capital letters, this was a good attempt at cheapo-noir, nice camera work and high production values being a constant source of surprise.Gang of evil musical gypsies (can I put that nowadays?) led by ruthlessly evil Englishman (that always OK nowadays) have developed an evil sonic beam that will eventually be used to wipe Britain out and put it out of its misery. They experiment first by destroying thousands of people in two quaint English towns, the beam "instantaneously shrivelling their brains" - the carnage and the bodies seemed to have been cleared away by the authorities in less than a day. Sebastian Cabot as Fouracada the evil second in command who was marvellously over the top, is warned by Barton that "The Indemnity For Murder Is Not A Slight One" to no avail - I wish the film would have run another 3 hours just for their melodramatic battle of wills. The location shots of the stricken emptied town and later Blackpool and its Tower were very good and used efficiently. All I could remember of the film after last seeing it on TV in 1981 were the scenes in and up the Tower, I think that idea was a winner! During the climax the boss appeared to be using his suitcase in much the same way as a laptop would be - but he couldn't be - could he?There are the usual silent stretches with background music for company as a reminder this was a cheaply made film, but Hammer did brilliantly well in disguising it.

cloisterbell-1 I was finally able to see this in a VERY nice three-film boxed DVD set of Dick Barton Hammer films from the late 40s. The first two (D.B. Special Agent, and D. B. At Bay) were both pretty bleak. So, I went into the final film with no great expectations. I was REALLY shocked by how good it was. The film is greatly strengthened by some incredible location filming, especially the extended scenes atop the Blackpool tower. My personal favorite moment was the bandleader directing a real packed dance hall full of revelers. It gave the "Dick must save the world!" storyline a bit of added significance to see a bit of documentary Humphrey Jennings-like texture thrown in. The story itself, about a new "sonic" weapon that can kill whole towns with pure sound, was clever too...Four stars! Oh, yes, and the villain has a harpsichord; this is always a nice touch!