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."[1] 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 craves a pay rise.

Further novels featuring this character followed: Horse Under Water (1963), Funeral in Berlin (1964), and Billion-Dollar Brain (1966). Again however the lead protagonist is never named, although they are clearly the same character in all of the books.

In 1974, the novel Spy Story was published, followed in 1976 by Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Spy (also known as Catch A Falling Spy in North America). As the protagonist also remains anonymous in both of these novels, it is open to debate whether or not 'Harry Palmer' is the same narrator of these last two novels as in the earlier books. There is conflicting evidence for either view. Despite this, and despite the lead protagonist being unnamed, all six books have been unofficially called the Harry Palmer novels, based on the protagonist's name given in the subsequent film adaptations of The IPCRESS File and its sequels.

Evidence for this narrator being different from the earlier novels comes from Deighton himself, who is quoted as saying that the narrator of Spy Story is not the same character as the narrator of The IPCRESS File; in fact, for most of Spy Story, the narrator is named and addressed as "Patrick Armstrong" - although, as another character says, "We have so many different names." Additionally, he is reported to be in his late 30s,[2] whereas the narrator of The IPCRESS File was born in 1922 or 1923[3] (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 'Harry Palmer' – 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.

A related novel by Deighton, Yesterday's Spy (1975), also features some of the same characters that appeared in Spy Story, although 'Harry Palmer' is not apparently amongst them. It has been theorised that the protagonist in another of Deighton's spy novels, An Expensive Place to Die (1967), also written in the first-person-anonymous narrative, is also 'Harry Palmer'; however, differences in characterisation and plotting indicate this is someone else other than Palmer.

On-set during filming of The IPCRESS File, Len Deighton teaches Michael Caine how to break an egg.

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 producers Harry Saltzman and Albert 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 use The IPCRESS File in the expectation of beginning a new secret agent movie 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.[4] 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.

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.

Evidence of Michael Caine's popular identification as Harry Palmer can be seen in movies 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.[5] At Myers 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.[5]

In Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014), Caine portrays the bespectacled head of a secret espionage unit.