Panther edition front cover 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 Harry Palmer.
The Ipcress File was a downbeat alternative to the James Bond movies, which were being made at the same time. Three members of the production team -- the producer Harry Saltzman, film editor Peter Hunt and the composer John Barry -- also worked on the Bond movies.
The plot involves mind control: the acronym IPCRESS stands for "Induction of Psycho-neuroses by Conditioned Reflex under streSS". Along the way we visit an atoll for a US atomic bomb test and learn about Joe One.
In common with several of his other early novels, the chapter headings have a "feature". In The Ipcress File these take the form of each chapter being headed with a quote from a horoscope, which relates to the action in the chapter, though vaguely, as in most horoscopes.
The soundtrack music is by John Barry - also responsible for many other soundtracks including a large number of Bond films.
The movie had two immediate sequels:
- the 2nd film was Funeral in Berlin
- the 3rd film Billion Dollar Brain
In 1997, Michael Caine returned to his Harry Palmer role in Bullet to Beijing (http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0113633/) and Midnight in St. Petersburg (http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0113634/).
See also: MKULTRA
External links
- Review of the film (http://www.ianfleming.org/mkkbb/magazine/tif.shtml#The%20Ian%20Fleming%20Foundation)
- Another film review (http://www.dvdfile.com/software/review/dvd-video/ipcressfile.htm)
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