Dick Barton: Special Agent

Being repeated on Talking Pictures at the moment his is an absolute delight. Of course you have to be in the mood to accept the outlandish situations, predicaments and suchlike. Not to mention attitudes that will give the PC brigade a heart attack! With a clipped, no-nonsense BBC accent Tony Vogel has Barton down perfectly. Likewise the fawning Snowey (unusual spelling!) White, played by Anthony Heaton, is the epitome of the "Righty-oh guvnor" chirpy cockney sidekick typical of British sleuth novels and films from the thirties to the fifties. Abounding with sinister foreign villains, alluring femme-fatales and English-rose damsels in distress, it's an affectionate send-up of a bygone age when Britain ruled the World. I've been a fan ever since I bought a book which was a complement to the original radio series. As a ten-year-old I was captivated by the thrilling stories where any peril could usually be dealt with by a straight left to the jaw of a hulking henchman. And, when being pursued by eastern european secret police , Barton simply steers his car under the low-flying rescue plane, grabs the dangling rope ladder and hauls himself to safety, resisting the urge to thumb his nose at his adversaries. Immerse yourself and enjoy!