Harry Palmer - WikiHQ

Harry Palmer is the name given to the anti-hero protagonist of several films based on spy novels written by Len Deighton, in which the main character is an unnamed intelligence officer. For convenience, the novels are also often referred to as the "Harry Palmer" novels.

Michael Caine played Harry Palmer in three films based on published novels featuring this character: The Ipcress File (1965), Funeral in Berlin (1966) and Billion Dollar Brain (1967). Caine also starred as this character in two other films not directly based on Deighton's novels.

The Times called Caine "the epitome of Sixties cool in his first outing as the secret agent Harry Palmer". A trailer for his second role as Palmer described him as possessing "horn rims, cockney wit and an iron fist". The character's thick horn-rimmed glasses, girls, and disregard for authority were cited by Mike Myers as an influence for Austin Powers; Caine would later star in Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002), with his portrayal of Nigel Powers, father of secret agent Austin Powers, a spoof of Palmer. Caine stated at the time of filming that he knew a dull kid at school called "Palmer", with Harry Saltzman saying 'good, and what about a first name?', to which Caine innocently remarked "Harry", not realising his gaffe until seeing Saltzman's stare.

Appearances

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:100%;"

! Novel

! Film

! Lead actor

! class="unsortable" | Notes

|rowspan="2"|The IPCRESS File (1962)

|The Ipcress File (1965)

|Michael Caine

|The Ipcress File (2022 TV series)

|Joe Cole

|Horse Under Water (1963)

|colspan="1" style="background-color:lightgrey;" |  

|Not adapted to a film

|Funeral in Berlin (1964)

|Funeral in Berlin (1966)

|Michael Caine

|Billion-Dollar Brain (1966)

| Billion Dollar Brain (1967)

|Michael Caine

|An Expensive Place to Die (1967)

|colspan="1" style="background-color:lightgrey;" |  

|Not adapted to a film

|Spy Story (1974)

|Spy Story (1976)

|Michael Petrovitch

|Character is renamed 'Patrick Armstrong'

|Yesterday's Spy (1975)

|colspan="1" style="background-color:lightgrey;" |  

|Not adapted to a film

|Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Spy (1976)

|colspan="1" style="background-color:lightgrey;" |  

| North American title: Catch a Falling Spy

| colspan="1" rowspan="2" style="background-color:lightgrey;" |  

|Bullet to Beijing (1995)

|Michael Caine

| rowspan="2" | Not based on a Len Deighton novel

|Midnight in Saint Petersburg (1996)

|Michael Caine

Novels

Early novels

Len Deighton introduced the lead character in The IPCRESS File, his first novel, published in November 1962. In that first-person novel, the intelligence officer 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 character 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 craves a pay rise. It is revealed in passing that he is from Burnley, Lancashire, and that he was born in 1922 or 1923. whereas the narrator of The IPCRESS File was born in 1922 or 1923 (making him in his 40s), and thus implying that this protagonist is different from that of the earlier novels.

Encouraging the unitary concept – that the later novels feature the same narrator – is the 1974 dust jacket to the Harcourt, Brace & Jovanovich American edition of Spy Story, in which the cover blurb states, "He is back, after five long-years' absence, the insubordinate, decent, bespectacled English spy who fought, fumbled, and survived his outrageous way through the best-selling Horse Under Water, Funeral in Berlin, and the rest of those marvellous, celebrated Len Deighton spy thrillers." Likewise, on the 1976 edition dust jacket to Catch a Falling Spy, the novel features "Deighton's familiar hero, our bespectacled Englishman". A number of minor characters from the earlier novels also appear in Spy Story, further connecting the books.

Film adaptations

The Ipcress File

The IPCRESS File novel came out just after the release of the first James Bond film Dr. No (1962). When the novel reached best-seller status, Eon Productions film producers Harry Saltzman and Albert R. Broccoli approached Deighton to write the script for the second Bond film, From Russia with Love (1963). Little of Deighton's screenplay was actually used on the shoot. Saltzman decided instead to make use of The IPCRESS File in the expectation of beginning a new secret-agent film series. Unlike the Bond films, The Ipcress File was designed to have a somewhat different, mostly rather naturalistic style, with hints of the kitchen sink school, film adaptations of which Saltzman had produced. Saltzman, however, also contracted crew members who had worked on the Bond films, including production designer Ken Adam, film editor Peter Hunt, and film score composer John Barry. Michael Caine was chosen to play the lead role.

In the film version, Harry Palmer is a British Army sergeant forcibly drafted into the security services to work away a prison sentence for black marketeering. He worked first for Army Intelligence, then the Foreign Office. He works for the brilliant but slightly duplicitous Colonel Ross. Harry Palmer has much in common with Deighton, including passions for military history (Harvey Newbegin complains about his bookshelf contents in Billion Dollar Brain), cooking, and classical music.

Sequels

After the release of The Ipcress File (1965), Saltzman's production company made Funeral in Berlin (1966) and Billion Dollar Brain (1967), both starring Michael Caine. The second Harry Palmer novel Horse Under Water was not used. In 1976, Deighton's novel Spy Story was filmed with Michael Petrovitch as 'Patrick Armstrong'; it is unrelated to Saltzman's Harry Palmer films.

In the mid-1990s, two further Harry Palmer films were released, this time with original screenplays and with Michael Caine returning to the role. These were Bullet to Beijing (1995) and Midnight in Saint Petersburg (1996). Despite sometimes being titled Len Deighton's Bullet to Beijing and Len Deighton's Midnight in St Petersburg, Deighton did not participate in the production of these films.

Allusions

Evidence of Michael Caine's popular identification as Harry Palmer can be seen in films such as Blue Ice (1992), where he plays an ex-spy named 'Harry', and who has many similarities to Harry Palmer.

Caine's Harry Palmer character (with the glasses, the girls, and disregard for authority) was an influence for Mike Myers’ spy action comedy films Austin Powers. At Myers's request, Caine starred in Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002), with his portrayal of Nigel Powers, father of secret agent Austin Powers, a spoof of Harry Palmer.