In the novel Sparkling Cyanide, George Barton was the husband of Rosemary. He was a typical "city gentleman" and a wealthy businessman but also considered among his acquaintances as someone who was dull and uninteresting. An old neighbour Colonel Johnnie Race thought of him as "the essence of stodginess—cautious, practical, unimaginative". Iris Marle, the sister of Rosemary, thought of him as "kindly, pleasant but definitely dull". She wondered her sister had married George, given that he was fifteen years older than her.
The main plot of the novel centres around a dinner he had organised for his wife. When she died during the dinner it was commonly accepted that she had committed suicide. However some time later, he received anonymous notes claiming that she had been murdered. Wanting to find out the truth, George organised a second dinner on the anniversary of his wife's death but also ended up dying in fairly similar circumsances. Finding out what happened constitutes the main plot of the story.
Portrayals[]
Sparkling Cyanide (1983)[]
In the 1983 Warner Bros adaptation, George Barton is portrayed by Josef Sommer. Here he is the corporate lawyer of the business empire of Eric Kidderminster (who has a larger role in the plot). Barton's role and actions in this adaptation are largely similar to that in the original novel.
Sparkling Cyanide (2003)[]
In ITV's 2003 adaptation of the novel, George Barton is portrayed by Kenneth Cranham. Here is a a self-made millionaire who had made his fortune in scrap metal and also the owner of a football club. Here, the first dinner was really to celebrate his acquisition of a new striker for his club Carl 'Fizz' Fitzgerald (a parallel of Anthony Browne). In this adaptation, Barton is portrayed as slightly more unpleasant and ruthless than elsewhere, but he is genuinely affectionate about Rosemary.
Les Petits Meurtres d'Agatha Christie[]
In Meurtre au champagne, the 2012 French adaptation by Escazal Films, the parallel character is Georges Leroy.