The Ipcress File

A fantastic 60s spy thriller. No flashy special effects, just dark alleys, edge of the seat suspense and high quality acting and screenplay.

It's Michael Caine at his best. It's probably the best of the Harry palmer series, but I haven't seen the whole set yet.

Definitely recommended.

9/10

London, in the early 60s, was captured by Sidney Furie in all its splendor. One of the best things in the movie is the fantastic camera work by its cinematographer, Otto Heller. The director and his cameraman place the camera as a sort of "peeping Tom" device. Mr. Furie and Mr. Heller takes us along to spy on Harry Palmer in this satisfying adaptation of Len Deighton's novel. The musical score by John Barry is another element that works well with one is witnessing.

Harry Palmer came alive the way Michael Caine played him. Palmer is a man from humble origins, in sharp contrast with the rest of the people he works for, who are clearly highly educated and who look down on this man because he is different. Mr. Caine is versatile actor whose take on Harry was right on the money. We can't do anything but admire him for making this man so approachable and believable.

The film was blessed with an excellent cast. Nigel Green, who plays Major Dalby makes his character come true with little effort. So does Guy Doleman as Col. Ross. Sue Lloyd, Gordon Jackson, and the rest of the actors give amazing performances.

"The Ipcress File" shows us what London looked like in the sixties. It hasn't changed that much, but all the exteriors used in the film is a joy to watch. That speaks volumes of Otto Heller who had an eye for what to photograph, as everything fit nicely into the context of the film.

Although conceived and produced by Harry Salzman and scored by John Barry, this is a film which deliberately positions itself miles away from the up until this time familiar James Bond espionage ethos. Palmer is a short sighted, class-ridden, form-signing petty criminal, co-opted into the spy service to avoid a year in jail. He lives in a bedsit and wakes up with an alarm call and not a stunning sexual conquest. Unlike Bond too, he operates in an environment which is recognisable and totally believable: big echoing offices ruled by "passed over Majors", where filling out forms is as important as tedious leg work and the idea of a Aston Martin as a company car would be ridiculous. The glamorous stereotypes of 007 have been replaced by the grinding, self effacing reality of the civil service, with its believable day to day grind. In short Ipcress has roots in the contemporary wave of 60's kitchen-sink drama, and not garish Bond fantasies.

This is a film taking a fresh look at what has passed for a spy film before. It's fitting then that a lot of the imagery revolves around sight and seeing. Palmer's glasses are an obvious symbol of imperfect vision (exemplified by a couple of 'blurred vision' special effects in the film). The camera in turn plays avant garde tricks, shooting alternately through the crowded window of a phone booth, through glasses, ornaments and other objects and so on. This is a film in which vision, or *comprehension* - deciphering 'Ipcress' or identifying 'Albania' as really London, for instance - is finally of paramount importance. Palmer has to both see, then understand, the web that surrounds him before he identifies the traitor. At the most basic level this 'knowing' extends to his own self, through the psychological trauma he undergoes.

Class, too, is an important element. Whereas the public school educated Bond would be at home conversing with Palmer's superiors, Palmer is the working class staff man, insubordinate perhaps and cocky, but one who ultimately knows his place. Even the main villain is fairly aristocratic. This makes Palmer's final choice of shot all the more relishable. In the class-ridden snobbery of the secret service it proves to be one of the elite who is suspect and must be killed. Palmer is the better man - and not just morally either: his appreciation of Mozart ('proper' Mozart, too, not the appalling bandstand variety pushed on him by Daulby) and fine cooking, marks him out as a man of taste, in contrast to the surrounding snobbery and elitism.

This theme of class, as well as the locations chosen for 'The Ipcress File' mark it out as a very British spy film - possibly the best one ever in contrast to the Bond cycle, which represented an attempt to create a deliberate trans-Atlantic product. One parallel serves to illustrate this difference: Bond has an American agent friend (Felix Leiter), an occasional minor character in the series. In contrast Palmer shoots an American agent dead by mistake and they tail him in revenge, while another dies in his flat. There is no camaraderie here, and the snug special relationship is nowhere in sight.

Over the years 'The Ipcress File' has lost none of its edge (with the possible exception of the dated 60's psychedelia which confronts Palmer in his torture chair) or punch. Utterly compulsive as a spy drama, it remains one of Caine and Furie's best films, an example of a contemporary fresh approach that still remains a classic.

This adaptation of the Len Deighton novel gave a big boost to the career of Sir Michael Caine, who stars as a reluctant secret agent named Harry Palmer. Palmer is brought on board a particularly strange case. A fair number of Western scientists are being kidnapped, then reappearing days later, brainwashed and completely useless. Palmer, a calm, unflappable, unemotional type, is also known for being insubordinate, insolent, and larcenous. He tends to think that he was selected for this mission because he's seen as expendable.

In sharp contrast to the James Bond films of the time, there are few major action set pieces here; as directed by the Canadian-born Sidney J. Furie, this is played much more low-key. But it can boast a respectable amount of suspense & atmosphere (especially during the sinister finale), and is fundamentally a solid story related in an entertaining manner. It's extremely well shot in Techniscope by Otto Heller, with especially good use of Dutch angles and camera placement. (Indeed, some of the shots take on a voyeuristic quality.). The score by John Barry is very memorable.

Caine is absolutely perfect in the lead: his Palmer is a relatable, average-Joe type of guy who feels outclassed by his superiors. And he's surrounded by top British talent: Nigel Green, Guy Doleman, Sue Lloyd, Gordon Jackson (a particular favorite of this viewer, playing the cheery "Jock" Carswell), Frank Gatliff, Aubrey Richards, Stanley Meadows, etc.

Although some of you may be able to figure out some of the developments, the twists that this yarn delivers are still quite entertaining. Overall, this sizes up as one of the best offerings in this genre, and it would lead to the sequels "Funeral in Berlin" & "Billion Dollar Brain", and, decades later, the follow-ups "Bullet to Beijing" & "Midnight in St. Petersburg".

Eight out of 10.

Although there are elements most of viewers know from James Bond movies, it is not a clone of them; it was just a mode or manner how spy films in Europe were directed and produced in the 1960ies and later on as well. Rude and drinking cops with poor "kinderstube" or questionable education started to appear in the U.S. films in the 1970ies.

At present, the issue of scientists changing sides or engaging them in creating armament, hacking systems, false objects etc. is still actual, most of it is done through money or promotion, but kidnapping or threats are still available in pariah countries. In the 1960ies, Albania had similar reputation than North-Korea today...

Recommendable to admirers of Michael Caine and/or thrillers without constant chases, bursts or awkward fooling. It is pleasant to recognise that the 2011 Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy bears the same nice traditions.