The IPCRESS File whom Caine knew at school. Caine described Palmer as: "the most boring boy I'd ever met". The given name "Harry" actually occurs in a short sequence in the book where the nameless hero is greeted by someone saying "Hello, Harry." This causes him to think, "Now my name isn't Harry, but in this business it's hard to remember whether it ever had been." The IPCRESS File The IPCRESS File is Len Deighton's first spy novel, published in 1962. It was made into a film in 1965 produced by Harry Saltzman, directed by Sidney J. Furie and starring Michael Caine. The
The Ipcress File (film) became the first of the nominally rival Harry Palmer film series and some aspects are reminiscent of film noir. In contrast to Bond's public school background and playboy lifestyle, Palmer is a working class Londoner who lives in a Notting Hill bedsit and has to put up with red tape and inter-departmental rivalries. The action is set entirely in "a gritty, gloomy, decidedly non-swinging" London with humdrum locations. Harry Saltzman gave Jimmy Sangster a copy of the novel to read. Sangster enjoyed the book and was eager to adapt the novel, suggesting Michael Caine to play the main role and