The Ipcress File (film)
Encyclopedia
The Ipcress File is a 1965 British espionage film directed by Sidney J. Furie
and starring Michael Caine
, Guy Doleman
, and Nigel Green
. The screenplay by Bill Canaway and James Doran was based on Len Deighton
's 1962
novel, The IPCRESS File
. It has won critical acclaim and a BAFTA award for best British film. In 1999 it was included at number 59 on the BFI
list of the 100 best British films
of the twentieth century.
(Guy Doleman
), sends for Harry Palmer
(Michael Caine
), who up to that point has been engaged in a tedious stakeout
.
Ross tells Palmer that he is being transferred to a department headed by Major Dalby (Nigel Green
). Radcliffe's disappearance appears to be part of a brain drain
; seventeen top British scientists have been taken, then returned with their minds somehow wiped of technical knowledge. Ross introduces Palmer to Dalby as a good man but insubordinate. His file records that he had been court-martial
ed for black market activities, but offered a job as a spy as an alternative to jail. Ross tells Dalby that his position is precarious, and that "the people upstairs" will close Dalby's department down if it can't get Radcliffe back. Dalby is told not to complain since he's got a very good job for a major repeatedly passed over for promotion. Dalby tells Palmer that his criminal tendencies may be of use, but that if he gives any trouble, he will go straight to prison.
At his first departmental meeting, Palmer befriends a young woman, Jean Courtney (Sue Lloyd
) and a Scotsman, Jock Carswell (Gordon Jackson
). Dalby briefs his agents on the Radcliffe kidnapping, saying that they suspect "Bluejay" (Frank Gatliff). Palmer contacts Bluejay, who is willing to arrange the return of Radcliffe in exchange for £25,000. Palmer organises an expensive and unauthorised raid that yields nothing but a piece of audio tape, marked "IPCRESS", that produces a meaningless noise when played.
Radcliffe is bought back from his captors, but proves to have forgotten everything about his research. Just after the exchange, Palmer spots and shoots an armed man lurking nearby, but is chagrined to learn that he has just killed a CIA agent. He finds himself under CIA surveillance.
Carswell finds a book titled "Induction of Psycho-neuroses by Conditioned Reflex under Stress": IPCRESS. He tells Palmer, but is killed when he goes to report his discovery.
Palmer is caught up in a power struggle between Ross and Dalby. He becomes involved with Courtney, but suspects that she is watching him for Ross. The IPCRESS file disappears from Palmer's desk, leading Palmer to suspect he is being framed. This is confirmed when he finds the body of the CIA agent who was following him in his flat.
While leaving London by train, Palmer is kidnapped. Waking up in a cell, he finds that Bluejay is his captor, also being told that he is in Albania
. Bluejay subjects Palmer to intense brainwashing, apparently over the course of weeks. Palmer secretly uses a nail from his cell to inflict distracting pain on himself during the sessions. Overpowering his guards, Palmer escapes from his prison to find that he is still in London.
Suspecting both Ross and Dalby, Palmer separately arranges for both to meet him at the apparently disused warehouse that had been his prison. After getting off the phone with Palmer, Dalby is shown to be speaking with Bluejay, with whom he'd been working the entire time. Palmer confronts Dalby and Ross as they arrive in the warehouse. Ross admits testing Palmer but insists that Dalby is the double agent. Dalby cooly faces Palmer down, addressing him with the code phrase used during Palmer's brainwashing to make him kill Ross. Palmer narrowly breaks the spell by smacking his hand against metal, inflicting pain on himself as he did while being subject to conditioning. Killing Dalby, Palmer is told by Ross that he had been counting on Palmer's insubordinate nature.
by Deighton, an accomplished cook and cookery writer. In a scene where Palmer prepares a meal, the hands in close-up
are Deighton's.
pioneered by Dr. D. Ewen Cameron
, originally on unwitting mental hospital patients, and utilised and funded by the U.S.
CIA
's MKULTRA program in Canada
.
films - even though one of the producers and others in the production team were in fact also responsible for the latter franchise. In contrast to Bond's public school
background and playboy lifestyle, Palmer is a Cockney who lives in a Notting Hill
flat and has to put up with red tape and inter-departmental rivalries. When appointed to a new post, one of his first questions is whether he will get a pay rise. (Bond's salary is hardly mentioned and he only goes to the best hotels, often using the Presidential suite
.) The action is set entirely in London
with humdrum locations. Nevertheless, Palmer is, like Bond, a gourmet.
In this respect, it is a tribute to the complexity and flexibility of the mind of Harry Saltzman
, who was an acknowledged master of proposing "bigger and more extravagant ideas" for Bond films according to the MGM Home Entertainment documentary Harry Saltzman: Showman. Five prominent members of the production team - producer Harry Saltzman, executive producer- Charles Kasher (who also produced the sequel-"Funeral In Berlin", film editor Peter R. Hunt
, composer John Barry
(who produced a distinctive and innovative score) and production designer Ken Adam
- also worked on the James Bond film series, and projects like this ultimately led to Saltzman's departure from Eon Productions and his sale of Danjaq, LLC to United Artists
in 1975.
The film had two immediate sequels: Funeral in Berlin
(1966) and Billion Dollar Brain
(1967). Decades later Michael Caine returned to his Harry Palmer character in Harry Alan Towers
' Bullet to Beijing
(1995) and Midnight in Saint Petersburg
(1996).
from the Mystery Writers of America
for Best Foreign Film Screenplay.
The film won the BAFTA Award for Best British Film, and Ken Adam
won the award for 'Best British Art Direction, Colour'.
The film was entered into the 1965 Cannes Film Festival
.
Sidney J. Furie
Sidney J. Furie is a Canadian film director. Furie is perhaps best known for directing American Soldiers, The IPCRESS File, The Entity, Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, Lady Sings the Blues, The Boys, Gable and Lombard, Sheila Levine Is Dead and Living in New York and the Iron Eagle films.Also...
and starring Michael Caine
Michael Caine
Sir Michael Caine, CBE is an English actor. He won Academy Awards for best supporting actor in both Hannah and Her Sisters and The Cider House Rules ....
, Guy Doleman
Guy Doleman
Guy Doleman was a New Zealand actor.He is perhaps best known for his role as "Count Lippe" in the 1965 James Bond film Thunderball, and as "Colonel Ross" in the three film adaptations of Len Deighton's "Harry Palmer" novels, starring Michael Caine, in the 1960s...
, and Nigel Green
Nigel Green
Nigel Green was a South African-born English character actor. Because of his strapping build and commanding demeanour he would often be found playing military types and men of action in such classic sixties films as Jason and the Argonauts, Zulu, Tobruk and The Ipcress File.-Early life and...
. The screenplay by Bill Canaway and James Doran was based on Len Deighton
Len Deighton
Leonard Cyril Deighton is a British military historian, cookery writer, and novelist. He is perhaps most famous for his spy novel The IPCRESS File, which was made into a film starring Michael Caine....
's 1962
1962 in literature
The year 1962 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*January 7 - In an article in the New York Times Book Review, Gore Vidal calls Evelyn Waugh "our time's first satirist."...
novel, The IPCRESS File
The Ipcress File
The IPCRESS File was the first spy novel by Len Deighton, published in 1962.It was made into a film in 1965 produced by Harry Saltzman and directed by Sidney J. Furie, starring Michael Caine as the protagonist....
. It has won critical acclaim and a BAFTA award for best British film. In 1999 it was included at number 59 on the BFI
British Film Institute
The British Film Institute is a charitable organisation established by Royal Charter to:-Cinemas:The BFI runs the BFI Southbank and IMAX theatre, both located on the south bank of the River Thames in London...
list of the 100 best British films
BFI Top 100 British films
In 1999 the British Film Institute surveyed 1000 people from the world of British film and television to produce the BFI 100 list of the greatest British films of the 20th century. Voters were asked to choose up to 100 films that were 'culturally British'...
of the twentieth century.
Plot
A top scientist called Radcliffe (Aubrey Richards) is kidnapped from a train and his security escort killed. A senior British intelligence officer, Colonel RossColonel Ross
Colonel Ross is a fictional character in the Harry Palmer series of novels by Len Deighton and the film adaptations of the books where he was portrayed by New Zealand actor Guy Doleman. A senior officer in British military intelligence Ross oversees a department whose activities are similar to...
(Guy Doleman
Guy Doleman
Guy Doleman was a New Zealand actor.He is perhaps best known for his role as "Count Lippe" in the 1965 James Bond film Thunderball, and as "Colonel Ross" in the three film adaptations of Len Deighton's "Harry Palmer" novels, starring Michael Caine, in the 1960s...
), sends for Harry Palmer
Harry Palmer
Harry Palmer is the name of the protagonist of a number of films based on the main character from the spy novels written by Len Deighton. Michael Caine played Harry Palmer in the films based on three of the first four of the published novels featuring this character, and also later in two films not...
(Michael Caine
Michael Caine
Sir Michael Caine, CBE is an English actor. He won Academy Awards for best supporting actor in both Hannah and Her Sisters and The Cider House Rules ....
), who up to that point has been engaged in a tedious stakeout
Stakeout
Stakeout is a 1987 film directed by John Badham and starring Richard Dreyfuss, Emilio Estevez, Madeleine Stowe, Aidan Quinn, and Forest Whitaker...
.
Ross tells Palmer that he is being transferred to a department headed by Major Dalby (Nigel Green
Nigel Green
Nigel Green was a South African-born English character actor. Because of his strapping build and commanding demeanour he would often be found playing military types and men of action in such classic sixties films as Jason and the Argonauts, Zulu, Tobruk and The Ipcress File.-Early life and...
). Radcliffe's disappearance appears to be part of a brain drain
Brain drain
Human capital flight, more commonly referred to as "brain drain", is the large-scale emigration of a large group of individuals with technical skills or knowledge. The reasons usually include two aspects which respectively come from countries and individuals...
; seventeen top British scientists have been taken, then returned with their minds somehow wiped of technical knowledge. Ross introduces Palmer to Dalby as a good man but insubordinate. His file records that he had been court-martial
Court-martial
A court-martial is a military court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the armed forces subject to military law, and, if the defendant is found guilty, to decide upon punishment.Most militaries maintain a court-martial system to try cases in which a breach of...
ed for black market activities, but offered a job as a spy as an alternative to jail. Ross tells Dalby that his position is precarious, and that "the people upstairs" will close Dalby's department down if it can't get Radcliffe back. Dalby is told not to complain since he's got a very good job for a major repeatedly passed over for promotion. Dalby tells Palmer that his criminal tendencies may be of use, but that if he gives any trouble, he will go straight to prison.
At his first departmental meeting, Palmer befriends a young woman, Jean Courtney (Sue Lloyd
Sue Lloyd
Sue Lloyd was an English model turned actress with numerous film and television credits.-Biography:...
) and a Scotsman, Jock Carswell (Gordon Jackson
Gordon Jackson (actor)
Gordon Cameron Jackson, OBE was a Scottish Emmy Award-winning actor best remembered for his roles as the butler Angus Hudson in Upstairs, Downstairs and George Cowley, the head of CI5, in The Professionals....
). Dalby briefs his agents on the Radcliffe kidnapping, saying that they suspect "Bluejay" (Frank Gatliff). Palmer contacts Bluejay, who is willing to arrange the return of Radcliffe in exchange for £25,000. Palmer organises an expensive and unauthorised raid that yields nothing but a piece of audio tape, marked "IPCRESS", that produces a meaningless noise when played.
Radcliffe is bought back from his captors, but proves to have forgotten everything about his research. Just after the exchange, Palmer spots and shoots an armed man lurking nearby, but is chagrined to learn that he has just killed a CIA agent. He finds himself under CIA surveillance.
Carswell finds a book titled "Induction of Psycho-neuroses by Conditioned Reflex under Stress": IPCRESS. He tells Palmer, but is killed when he goes to report his discovery.
Palmer is caught up in a power struggle between Ross and Dalby. He becomes involved with Courtney, but suspects that she is watching him for Ross. The IPCRESS file disappears from Palmer's desk, leading Palmer to suspect he is being framed. This is confirmed when he finds the body of the CIA agent who was following him in his flat.
While leaving London by train, Palmer is kidnapped. Waking up in a cell, he finds that Bluejay is his captor, also being told that he is in Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
. Bluejay subjects Palmer to intense brainwashing, apparently over the course of weeks. Palmer secretly uses a nail from his cell to inflict distracting pain on himself during the sessions. Overpowering his guards, Palmer escapes from his prison to find that he is still in London.
Suspecting both Ross and Dalby, Palmer separately arranges for both to meet him at the apparently disused warehouse that had been his prison. After getting off the phone with Palmer, Dalby is shown to be speaking with Bluejay, with whom he'd been working the entire time. Palmer confronts Dalby and Ross as they arrive in the warehouse. Ross admits testing Palmer but insists that Dalby is the double agent. Dalby cooly faces Palmer down, addressing him with the code phrase used during Palmer's brainwashing to make him kill Ross. Palmer narrowly breaks the spell by smacking his hand against metal, inflicting pain on himself as he did while being subject to conditioning. Killing Dalby, Palmer is told by Ross that he had been counting on Palmer's insubordinate nature.
Harry Palmer character
The protagonist of Deighton's novel was nameless, but in Chapter 5 he remarks, "My name isn't Harry, but in this business it's hard to remember whether it ever had been." In the opening scenes of the film, Palmer is shown to care little for authority, to indulge in quick repartee and to have an interest in good food. Newspaper cuttings shown in Palmer's kitchen are actually cookery articles written for The ObserverThe Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
by Deighton, an accomplished cook and cookery writer. In a scene where Palmer prepares a meal, the hands in close-up
Close-up
In filmmaking, television production, still photography and the comic strip medium a close-up tightly frames a person or an object. Close-ups are one of the standard shots used regularly with medium shots and long shots . Close-ups display the most detail, but they do not include the broader scene...
are Deighton's.
IPCRESS procedure
The brainwashing shown is similar to a shock technique called Psychic drivingPsychic driving
Psychic driving was a psychiatric procedure in which patients were subjected to a continuously repeated audio message on a looped tape, in order to alter their behaviour. In psychic driving, patients were often exposed to hundreds of thousands of repetitions of a single statement over the course of...
pioneered by Dr. D. Ewen Cameron
Donald Ewen Cameron
Donald Ewen Cameron , commonly referred to as "D. Ewen Cameron" or "Ewen Cameron," was a twentieth-century Scottish-born psychiatrist who was involved in the United States Central Intelligence Agency's research on mind control and served as President of the Canadian, American and World Psychiatric...
, originally on unwitting mental hospital patients, and utilised and funded by the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
CIA
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
's MKULTRA program in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
Cast
- Michael CaineMichael CaineSir Michael Caine, CBE is an English actor. He won Academy Awards for best supporting actor in both Hannah and Her Sisters and The Cider House Rules ....
as Harry Palmer - Guy DolemanGuy DolemanGuy Doleman was a New Zealand actor.He is perhaps best known for his role as "Count Lippe" in the 1965 James Bond film Thunderball, and as "Colonel Ross" in the three film adaptations of Len Deighton's "Harry Palmer" novels, starring Michael Caine, in the 1960s...
as Colonel Ross - Nigel GreenNigel GreenNigel Green was a South African-born English character actor. Because of his strapping build and commanding demeanour he would often be found playing military types and men of action in such classic sixties films as Jason and the Argonauts, Zulu, Tobruk and The Ipcress File.-Early life and...
as Major Dalby - Sue LloydSue LloydSue Lloyd was an English model turned actress with numerous film and television credits.-Biography:...
as Jean Courtney - Gordon JacksonGordon Jackson (actor)Gordon Cameron Jackson, OBE was a Scottish Emmy Award-winning actor best remembered for his roles as the butler Angus Hudson in Upstairs, Downstairs and George Cowley, the head of CI5, in The Professionals....
as Carswell - Aubrey Richards as Dr. Radcliffe
- Oliver MacGreevyOliver MacGreevyOliver MacGreevy was an actor who appeared in many films and television series from the mid 50s until retiring in 1984.Among his notable parts he played Housemartin in the The Ipcress File...
as Housemartin - Frank Gatliff as Bluejay
- Thomas Baptiste as Barney
- Freda Bamford as Alice
- Pauline Winter as Charlady
- Anthony Blackshaw as Edwards
- Barry Raymond as Gray
- David Glover as Chilcott-Oakes
- Stanley MeadowsStanley Meadows-Selected filmography:* The Mummy * Payroll * A Prize of Arms * Panic * The Main Chance * The Masque of the Red Death * Clash by Night * The Ipcress File...
as Inspector Keightley - Tony CaunterTony CaunterAnthony Peter "Tony" Caunter is a British actor best known for his role as Jack Shepherd in the Yorkshire TV sitcom Queenie's Castle and also his portrayal of Roy Evans in EastEnders from 1994-2003....
as O.N.I. man - Douglas BlackwellDouglas BlackwellDouglas Blackwell was an English actor with many television and film credits.Douglas blackwell is also the name pod many children it is the 17 most common first namee...
as Murray - Glynn EdwardsGlynn EdwardsGlynn Edwards is a British actor.Edwards was born in Malaya and trained as an actor at Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop. He is probably best known for his role as Dave 'the barman' Harris, owner of the Winchester Club in the TV show Minder...
as Police Station Sergeant
Production and contrast with Bond franchise
The film was intended as an ironically downbeat alternative portrait of the world of spies portrayed in the successful and popular James BondJames Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
films - even though one of the producers and others in the production team were in fact also responsible for the latter franchise. In contrast to Bond's public school
Independent school (UK)
An independent school is a school that is not financed through the taxation system by local or national government and is instead funded by private sources, predominantly in the form of tuition charges, gifts and long-term charitable endowments, and so is not subject to the conditions imposed by...
background and playboy lifestyle, Palmer is a Cockney who lives in a Notting Hill
Notting Hill
Notting Hill is an area in London, England, close to the north-western corner of Kensington Gardens, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea...
flat and has to put up with red tape and inter-departmental rivalries. When appointed to a new post, one of his first questions is whether he will get a pay rise. (Bond's salary is hardly mentioned and he only goes to the best hotels, often using the Presidential suite
Presidential suite
Presidential suite and royal suite are common names for the most expensive suite in a luxury hotel.It gained its name during the Woodrow Wilson presidency because on each of his political trips away from Washington, he would insist on having a hotel room conform to specific requirements for his...
.) The action is set entirely in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
with humdrum locations. Nevertheless, Palmer is, like Bond, a gourmet.
In this respect, it is a tribute to the complexity and flexibility of the mind of Harry Saltzman
Harry Saltzman
Harry Saltzman was a Canadian theatre and film producer best known for his mega-gamble which resulted in his co-producing the James Bond film series with Albert R...
, who was an acknowledged master of proposing "bigger and more extravagant ideas" for Bond films according to the MGM Home Entertainment documentary Harry Saltzman: Showman. Five prominent members of the production team - producer Harry Saltzman, executive producer- Charles Kasher (who also produced the sequel-"Funeral In Berlin", film editor Peter R. Hunt
Peter R. Hunt
Peter R. Hunt was an English film editor, television producer and director. Hunt was known for his work on the James Bond films with his innovative editing style.-Career:...
, composer John Barry
John Barry (composer)
John Barry Prendergast, OBE was an English conductor and composer of film music. He is best known for composing the soundtracks for 12 of the James Bond films between 1962 and 1987...
(who produced a distinctive and innovative score) and production designer Ken Adam
Ken Adam
Sir Kenneth Adam, OBE, born Klaus Hugo Adam , is a motion picture production designer most famous for his set designs for the James Bond films of the 1960s and 1970s.-Childhood in Germany:...
- also worked on the James Bond film series, and projects like this ultimately led to Saltzman's departure from Eon Productions and his sale of Danjaq, LLC to United Artists
United Artists
United Artists Corporation is an American film studio. The original studio of that name was founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charles Chaplin, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks....
in 1975.
The film had two immediate sequels: Funeral in Berlin
Funeral in Berlin (film)
Funeral in Berlin is a 1966 British spy film based on the novel Funeral in Berlin by Len Deighton. It is the second of three 1960s films starring Michael Caine that followed the characters from the initial film, The Ipcress File ...
(1966) and Billion Dollar Brain
Billion Dollar Brain
Billion Dollar Brain is a 1967 British espionage film directed by Ken Russell and based on the novel Billion-Dollar Brain by Len Deighton. The film features Michael Caine as secret agent Harry Palmer, the anti-hero protagonist of the film versions of The IPCRESS File and Funeral in Berlin...
(1967). Decades later Michael Caine returned to his Harry Palmer character in Harry Alan Towers
Harry Alan Towers
Harry Alan Towers was a British-born radio and film producer and screenwriter, regularly using the pseudonym Peter Welbeck. He produced over a hundred feature films and continued to write and produce well into his eighties...
' Bullet to Beijing
Bullet to Beijing
Bullet to Beijing is a 1995 made-for-television film that continues the adventures of the fictional spy Harry Palmer, who appeared in the 1960s films The Ipcress File, Funeral in Berlin, and Billion Dollar Brain, based on books by author Len Deighton...
(1995) and Midnight in Saint Petersburg
Midnight in Saint Petersburg
Midnight in Saint Petersburg is a 1996 thriller film starring Michael Caine for the fifth time as British secret agent Harry Palmer.It served as semi-sequel to Bullet to Beijing which had been released the year before, the two films having been shot back-to-back...
(1996).
Awards
Writers Bill Canaway and James Doran received a 1966 Edgar AwardEdgar Award
The Edgar Allan Poe Awards , named after Edgar Allan Poe, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America...
from the Mystery Writers of America
Mystery Writers of America
Mystery Writers of America is an organization for mystery writers, based in New York.The organization was founded in 1945 by Clayton Rawson, Anthony Boucher, Lawrence Treat, and Brett Halliday....
for Best Foreign Film Screenplay.
The film won the BAFTA Award for Best British Film, and Ken Adam
Ken Adam
Sir Kenneth Adam, OBE, born Klaus Hugo Adam , is a motion picture production designer most famous for his set designs for the James Bond films of the 1960s and 1970s.-Childhood in Germany:...
won the award for 'Best British Art Direction, Colour'.
The film was entered into the 1965 Cannes Film Festival
1965 Cannes Film Festival
-Jury:*André Maurois *Olivia de Havilland *Goffredo Lombardo *Max Aub *Michel Aubriant *Rex Harrison *François Reichenbach...
.