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 File on Devlin review called it "a thriller that thrilled indifferently." The "New York Times" called it "an overstuffed, improbable bit of claptrap without suspense, wit or intelligence." The File on Devlin The File on Devlin is a 1969 American TV film for the "Hallmark Hall of Fame". It was based on a novel by Catherine Gaskin. The novel was published in 1965. It was directed by George Schaefer, who had just directed the feature film "Pendulum". He called the film "an old fashioned spy story with a mysterious disappearance, an old castle, dark corridors and secret passages, great fun." Elizabeth Ashley made