Special Agent Dick Barton (Don Stannard) and his buddy, Snowey White (Bruce Walker), are at the airport to pick up one of Barton’s associates, Robert Creston (Morris Sweden), who is returning from Prague. He brings news about a new weapon that is supposed to be more destructive than the atomic bomb. Also on the plane is Alphanso Fouracada (Sebastian Cabot). Creston identifies him as dangerous. The three agents meet later at a nightclub. While waiting for Creston to show up, Barton sees Fouracada at the bar. He follows the man into the back room, sees the body of the now dead Creston, and gets ambushed. Snowey is lured to the back room, and he too is tied up and left to be blown up by an opened gas jet. The guys escape.
Not long after that Baron finds out that in the small village of High Glen in the north of England, all the residents died of some mysterious ailment that caused their brains to shrink. Barton and Snowey meet, and are invited to stay with, Lord Armadale (James Raglan) while they investigate. Armadale is the local mucky muck. Armadale’s secretary, Tina (Jean Lodge) arouses Barton’s suspicions, but she manages to disappear. Soon after that they hear about another small village where everyone in it died all at once.
Barton’s investigation eventually centers on a traveling carnival. While looking for clues Barton is captured by Fouracada. The arms dealer explains to Barton about sonic waves and how sound can be used as a weapon. He admits that a weapon of great magnitude exists and that it was used on the villages that were destroyed. Barton then learns that Fouracada is not the master mind and that plans are in the works to release the effects of the weapon on the citizens of London.
“Dick Barton Strikes Back” was released in 1949 and was directed by Godfrey Grayson. It is a British crime thriller with science fiction undertones. The film is one of three Dick Barton films produced by the Hammer Film Studios. It was the third film produced but the second one released. The other two films in the series were “Dick Barton: Special Agent” 1948 and “Dick Barton At Bay” 1950. Hammer bought the rights to a bunch of old BBC radio shows, one of them being Dick Barton.
The first film of the series is basically a hot mess. With over-the-top slapstick comedy it ended up being a silly children’s story. This sequel, however, drops a lot of the comedy and pratfalls and pulls in some actual spy thriller aspects. Although the film is more sophisticated than the first film, it’s still geared toward a younger audience than other crime films. It ended up being a decent come back after the first disappointing film. The producers believed this film was the best of the three, so it was released out of order to make up for the lackluster response to the first film.
The highlight of the film is a death-defying battle at the top of Blackpool Tower in Blackpool, England. These scenes were actually filmed atop the tower.
Don Stannard died in a car accident not long after the release of the film. Sebastian Cabot had been in the car with Stannard but came out of it with only minor injuries. Hammer had plans to create a fourth Dick Barton film, “Dick Barton in Africa”. Stannard’s death ended any plans for another sequel.