Harry Palmer 'Palmer', 'Tommy Palmer'. So, he said, 'All right, we'll call him Harry Palmer.'" Len Deighton introduced the lead character in "The IPCRESS File", his first novel, published in November 1962. In that first-person novel, the secret agent is anonymous, although at one point he is greeted by someone saying "Hello, Harry"; he later says, "Now my name isn't Harry, but in this business it's hard to remember whether it ever had been." Deighton's spy is described as working class, living in a back street flat and seedy hotels, and shopping in supermarkets. He wears glasses, is hindered by bureaucracy, and
The Ipcress File (film) is told that this is what he is paid for. "The Ipcress File" was an ironic and downbeat alternative to the portrayal of espionage in Ian Fleming's novels about the spy James Bond and the film series which followed from them. Harry Saltzman, who produced this film, was one of the producers of the early Bond films. Among other crew members who worked on "The Ipcress File" and had also worked on the Bond films up to this point were the production designer Ken Adam, the film editor Peter Hunt and the film score composer John Barry. "The Ipcress File"