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Dick Barton

kevinburtonsmith

Created by Norman Collins

“With one bound Dick, was free!”

The beloved star of the BBC’s first daily radio serial was sometimes a private investigator, sometimes an adventurer, sometimes a “special agent”and sometimes–this is my favourite–a  “world-famous secret agent.”

But whatever his actual occupation was (it seemed to be dictated by the story), DICK BARTON was some kind of star. He appeared in a whopping 711 episodes between 1946 and 1951. With his two best mates by his side, Jock Anderson and Snowy White, and a slew of crime-busting gadgets that would make Dick Tracy envious, Dick managed to get into (and eventually out of) some pretty tight spots, much to the delight of thousands of British schoolboys (of all ages), and despite the stern disapproval of various “educationalists and clergymen” who demanded the scriptwriters follow 13 codes of conduct, such as: no sex, no booze, no bad language and all violence must be limited to “clean socks on the jaw.”

Nevertheless, the action-packed radio show was a huge success, and the former Captain Richard Barton of the Commandos became a national hero, right up there with Churchill. In post-war Britain, the fast-paced, tongue-in-cheek adventures were exactly what the doctor ordered. At his peak, over 15 million listeners tuned in to his adventures, broadcast in the early evening, right after the news.

Although Geoffrey Webb and Edward J. Mason wrote most of the radio scripts, Barton was actually created by BBC producer Norman Collins, who has visions of a “cloak and dagger soap opera” every evening.

Of course, success like that couldn’t be overlooked, and comics were produced, and three feature films were also made, as well as a slew of novels and shorts stories. But the films were strictly B, and what worked so well on radio looked awkward, and sometimes even silly on film. Although the films were moderately successful, it wasn’t enough to keep to keep the series going. Then, worst of all, the radio show itself was canned, a victim of its own success. Citing concerns over its popularity among young children, the BBC pulled the plug in 1951.

In 1979, ITV decided to revive Dick. Of course, these were modern times and no mamby-pamby codes of conduct had to be followed. And so viewers were treated to a tough-talking, no-nonsense, square-jawed private eye, complete with trench coat and fedora. The purists (and everyone else, it seemed) were not amused. The show only lasted a few months.

But such is the cult of Dick that his popularity continues, into the next millenium, with Dick, Snowy et al brought to the stage, and touring Great Britain, while collections of the old shows and live presentations and audio re-recordings of old scripts have proven quite successful with readers who remember when…

   

RADIO

FILMS

TELEVISION

BOOKS & NOVELIZATIONS

SHORT STORIES

COLLECTIONS

PLAYS

SCRIPTS

COMICS

FURTHER INVESTIGATION

Respectfully submitted by Kevin Burton Smith. Thanks to Al and John Mundey for putting me straight on this one. They’re men who I can proudly say know Dick. And thanks to Giancarlo Malagutti for his info on Dick Barton’s comic appearances. Giancarlo’s personal site about his comic work is currently under construction.

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