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Product Description
Product Description
Douglas Kelly stars as 'Dick Barton - Special Agent' in another thrilling adventure for radio's greatest hero. Heralded by an instantly memorable signature tune, the adventures of special agent Dick Barton and his friends Jock and Snowey, were essential listening for an entire generation. Originally starring Noel Johnson, Duncan Carse and Gordon Davies, in an exciting world of criminal masterminds, espionage and adventure, it ran on the BBC Light Programme between 1946 and 1951. Sadly very few original recordings still survive. However, in 1949 a number of early Barton tales were re-recorded for transmission overseas. Starring Douglas Kelly, these re-stagings found new audiences in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. These recordings were rediscovered in the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia in 2009 and allow listeners to finally relive the escapades of the great Dick Barton. In this recording from Spring 1949, Dick's plans for a Mediterranean cruise are cancelled, when the Home Office ask him to help them crack a gang of international diamond smugglers. Can Dick thwart the evil Henri De Flambeau, before it's too late? Find out in "Dick Barton - Special Agent!" Guidance: as this contains archive material the sound quality may vary. The language reflects the era of the first broadcast.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
The fact that this Dick Barton series exists at all is mystery in itself, and a bit of a miracle. Since few of these recordings from the 1940s survived ~ who knew they would ever be so popular and much needed forty years on?! ~ some brilliant archivist discovered that many of these early series were re recorded for audiences in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa ~ all outposts of all things English 60 years ago. Due to this foresight we, modern audiences, can experience these stories that may well have become otherwise lost.
To try and give a précis of this current CD "Dick Barton and the Cabatolin
Diamonds " would be pointless and anyway each episode is introduced with a "the story so far..." recap just as each episode finishes with the famous cliff-hanging questions, "Will Dick Barton be in time to rescue the ladies?" " Who is the man in the taxi? " "Is this the beginning of another adventure?" "Will they be in time to find the antidote to the poison?" etc
Dick and Jock and Snowey get in to more scrapes and end up in more perilous torture situations than even the mindless airheads in the "Saw" films. Trapped in mines, lifts and creepy basements, chained and tied and tricked until the writers run out of ideas, though that rarely happens. A rat on a treadmill that will release a poisonous gas unless stopped in time is just one example of the intriguing near-death experiences undergone by our intrepid team.
I confess that my favourite clue to the whereabouts of the artificial diamonds being manufactured by the baddie Henri Flobo (sic Fleurbeau) is found by Jean in a knitting pattern when knitted up; another highlight is Dick's impersonation of a "Macnoon" apparently a mad Arab.
This is so charming and it is impossible to listen to without a smile or two creeping to your lips. In a time before the telly families used to gather around the radio every night waiting for the ever-familiar signature tune heralding the next episode of "Dick Barton"
To a contemporary audience, if there is one for the radio, this sounds like those retro sketches from the Armstrong & Miller shows.
I think, though that the people who will listen to this splendid piece of radio history will be those grown ups who listened to these broadcasts 60+ years ago
To try and give a précis of this current CD "Dick Barton and the Cabatolin
Diamonds " would be pointless and anyway each episode is introduced with a "the story so far..." recap just as each episode finishes with the famous cliff-hanging questions, "Will Dick Barton be in time to rescue the ladies?" " Who is the man in the taxi? " "Is this the beginning of another adventure?" "Will they be in time to find the antidote to the poison?" etc
Dick and Jock and Snowey get in to more scrapes and end up in more perilous torture situations than even the mindless airheads in the "Saw" films. Trapped in mines, lifts and creepy basements, chained and tied and tricked until the writers run out of ideas, though that rarely happens. A rat on a treadmill that will release a poisonous gas unless stopped in time is just one example of the intriguing near-death experiences undergone by our intrepid team.
I confess that my favourite clue to the whereabouts of the artificial diamonds being manufactured by the baddie Henri Flobo (sic Fleurbeau) is found by Jean in a knitting pattern when knitted up; another highlight is Dick's impersonation of a "Macnoon" apparently a mad Arab.
This is so charming and it is impossible to listen to without a smile or two creeping to your lips. In a time before the telly families used to gather around the radio every night waiting for the ever-familiar signature tune heralding the next episode of "Dick Barton"
To a contemporary audience, if there is one for the radio, this sounds like those retro sketches from the Armstrong & Miller shows.
I think, though that the people who will listen to this splendid piece of radio history will be those grown ups who listened to these broadcasts 60+ years ago
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
Look, this is Dick Barton, not War and Peace. I think some reviewers are imposing their own views of what 'entertainment' should be. This is radio entertainment from the 1940's. (These are actually re-recordings of the original, British, productions, made in Australia, though you would hardly know it). Very much aimed at youngsters of the time (and their dads), the sort of Ripping Yarns that the Monty Python team would later take the Mickey out of.
Although the story is not as well written as Dick Barton and the Paris Adventure, approach it in the right frame of mind and you may well find this an enjoyable four hours of stiff upper lip, tongue-in-cheek Britishness, although it has an astonishing, even frightening level of violence (quite sadistic at times) by today's standards.
I found it an enjoyable listen; the sound quality does distort at times, but the ear adjusts.
Certainly worth a try for fans of Dick Barton, and for anyone interested in the history of radio entertainment.
Although the story is not as well written as Dick Barton and the Paris Adventure, approach it in the right frame of mind and you may well find this an enjoyable four hours of stiff upper lip, tongue-in-cheek Britishness, although it has an astonishing, even frightening level of violence (quite sadistic at times) by today's standards.
I found it an enjoyable listen; the sound quality does distort at times, but the ear adjusts.
Certainly worth a try for fans of Dick Barton, and for anyone interested in the history of radio entertainment.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
One word. Brilliant!
This CD set dazzled me. I was amazed at just how good the episodes were.
Let me explain further. I'd heard of Dick Barton but had never actually heard the series being too young when they were first transmitted.
This set of episodes fairly rattles along at a brisk pace and not a moment is wasted by the full dramatic cast on Geoffrey Webb's, the writer, story.
The series was written for radio and lasts a full 4 hours over 4 CDs.
Each CD has 4 episodes of the show split in to 3 parts and each one ends with a brilliant cliff hanger where the listener is asking themselves will Dick and his cohorts escape this time?
I can only imagine the tension and expectation of the original listeners when each exciting episode came to its shattering close. Of course Dick does and how he escapes is often a wonderful piece of writing and plot. I say original but this is not quite the case for the series has an interesting history.
The original series although never transmitted live was not saved by the BBC think of the original Dr Who and Patrick Trough ton's reign for examples of short sightedness. The series rights were bought under licence by an Australian company and then a South African one and rerecorded. (Don't worry about the accents they are all stiff British upper lips and the North African baddies and residents sound authentic.) The series were left secure in vaults to be rediscovered and about 340 of the original 360 survive so more releases should be on their way. I for one would love to hear more.
Now back to the CD set. I must I admit I was expecting to be amused at how twee the series was but I was really pleasantly delighted with how much I enjoyed them.
Written in simpler times when Britain ruled the waves and waived the rules too judging by Barton and his crew's cavalier attitude to international law.
The writer, Geoffrey Webb wrings every chance to move the scene from England, London and Wales to the then exotic North Africa of French Algiers. Dick has been employed to track down and destroy a counterfeit diamond producing and smuggling ring.
What amused me in all senses was how Dick extracted himself from dastardly plots and traps.
I won't give spoilers away but these ranged from Killer Apes and petrol soaked airplane hangers to poisoned nosegays and hidden plans in knitting patterns! I kid you not! Thank goodness Jean, Barton's aide is a fast knitter!!
As I said earlier the pace fairly rattles along and the supporting actors really convey the thrills and spills of the series.
Can children listen to it? Yes. No gratuitous sex nor violence.
Will they enjoy it? Yes Brilliant stuff.
Is it still PC in today's times? I would say yes. True the baddies are foreigners but not overtly racist IMHO.
A brilliant CD set in a satisfying 4 hours of sheer pleasure and escapism!
This CD set dazzled me. I was amazed at just how good the episodes were.
Let me explain further. I'd heard of Dick Barton but had never actually heard the series being too young when they were first transmitted.
This set of episodes fairly rattles along at a brisk pace and not a moment is wasted by the full dramatic cast on Geoffrey Webb's, the writer, story.
The series was written for radio and lasts a full 4 hours over 4 CDs.
Each CD has 4 episodes of the show split in to 3 parts and each one ends with a brilliant cliff hanger where the listener is asking themselves will Dick and his cohorts escape this time?
I can only imagine the tension and expectation of the original listeners when each exciting episode came to its shattering close. Of course Dick does and how he escapes is often a wonderful piece of writing and plot. I say original but this is not quite the case for the series has an interesting history.
The original series although never transmitted live was not saved by the BBC think of the original Dr Who and Patrick Trough ton's reign for examples of short sightedness. The series rights were bought under licence by an Australian company and then a South African one and rerecorded. (Don't worry about the accents they are all stiff British upper lips and the North African baddies and residents sound authentic.) The series were left secure in vaults to be rediscovered and about 340 of the original 360 survive so more releases should be on their way. I for one would love to hear more.
Now back to the CD set. I must I admit I was expecting to be amused at how twee the series was but I was really pleasantly delighted with how much I enjoyed them.
Written in simpler times when Britain ruled the waves and waived the rules too judging by Barton and his crew's cavalier attitude to international law.
The writer, Geoffrey Webb wrings every chance to move the scene from England, London and Wales to the then exotic North Africa of French Algiers. Dick has been employed to track down and destroy a counterfeit diamond producing and smuggling ring.
What amused me in all senses was how Dick extracted himself from dastardly plots and traps.
I won't give spoilers away but these ranged from Killer Apes and petrol soaked airplane hangers to poisoned nosegays and hidden plans in knitting patterns! I kid you not! Thank goodness Jean, Barton's aide is a fast knitter!!
As I said earlier the pace fairly rattles along and the supporting actors really convey the thrills and spills of the series.
Can children listen to it? Yes. No gratuitous sex nor violence.
Will they enjoy it? Yes Brilliant stuff.
Is it still PC in today's times? I would say yes. True the baddies are foreigners but not overtly racist IMHO.
A brilliant CD set in a satisfying 4 hours of sheer pleasure and escapism!
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Pure archive gold!
My Father used to talk about Dick Barton Special Agent and so I was fascinated to see this collection deep from the archive come available. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Doug
Very good, particularly if you're a fan of 40's radio
Let me begin by saying that the original recording is over 60 years old. To many, Dick Barton was in the 1940's who Dr. Who and Merlin are today. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Paul
Another Dick Barton Classic
If you like Dick Barton then this is must have listening. This is a quality recording with full dramatisation. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Robert Hardie
dick barton and the cabatolin diamonds
i really enjoyed listening to Dick barton again it took me back 60 years,thank the Aussies for saving it,i`ve just discovered there are more dick bartons and i`ve just aquired Dick... Read more
Published 7 months ago by norm
Excellent stuff.
Well, you know what to expect, but this is still good stuff. It's got enough twists and turns to keep you guessing, and many are non-obvious, and it moves along at a good pace too. Read more
Published 8 months ago by AlanMusicMan
An excellent period radio drama that now sounds a bit dated
Dick Barton and the Cabatolin Diamonds is a quartet of audio CDs totalling four hours of original BBC recordings from 1949. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Mr. P. HAIGH
Very dated, but not without charm
In spite of the fact I am by no means young anymore, the Dick Barton radio shows are way before my time. Read more
Published 10 months ago by M. D. Harris
Poor story that relies far too much on contrivances
Customer Video Review
Length:
9:59
Mins
Published 11 months ago by BS on parade
ripping yarns and daring do!
First rate stuff if you like your upper lip stiff, your moustache's pencil thin and your action brought in a civilised manner via the radio. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Ed F
Back to the past
I enjoyed the story both in terma of interest and nostalgia for the days of my childhood. Those were the days. My only criticism is the number of times the theme tune is included. Read more
Published 11 months ago by F. Manning
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