Up until a few weeks ago I wasn't even aware that there were 5 Harry Palmer films with Michael Caine. I had seen the first three some time in the 70s when they played on TV. I'm pretty sure I have read The Ipcress File novel by Len Deighton but I don't believe I read anymore. I wish I had kept records of the books I read as a youth. I can't always remember anymore.
The Ipcress File 1965 I picked up the DVD from the UK, it's part of Network's The British Film series. WH Canaway and James Doran wrote the screenplay and Sidney J Furie is the director. There's a commentary with Sidney and the film's editor Peter Hunt. Not the greatest commentary, they forget to talk a fair bit, but occasionally there's something interesting.
Micheal Caine is Harry Palmer, a British Intelligence officer who's a somewhat reluctant spy. He's mostly working for his boss because he's got Harry in the bag for his shady past. Harry gets transferred to Nigel Green's department after one of their men is killed. The group is investigating the kidnapping of British scientists. Some of them have been returned, brainwashed of all their science info.
Sidney likes putting the camera in odd places. The shot of the dead American agent is just one nice example. The smaller picture is of a scene in a jail with another dead guy. Harry's always talking to someone, when he's not gabbing he puts his trotters to work. We get to follow him around the city of London. Plenty of nice scenery. The spying is rather low key, at times its dull work, very much the opposite of the slick James Bond films. I hadn't seen the movie since the 80s and enjoyed it all over again.
Funeral In Berlin 1966 Evan Jones wrote the screenplay and Guy Hamilton directed. Guy directed Goldfinger a couple of years before this and his next film was the 1969 war epic The Battle Of Britain.
Harry's in Berlin to arrange Colonel Stok's defection, Oscar Homolka plays the Russian officer, he's my favorite character in the series. The defection is to be arranged and carried out by a West German criminal who's been behind several escapes.
Harry meets up with Eva Renzi, who's playing a Mossad spy, and everything gets more and more complicated. Bodies start turning up and Harry takes a long nap before Colonel Stok, making me laugh once again, fills Harry in on what really was going on. Harry goes home to see his boss. Harry's not always happy about his job. Hey, who is?
Good story, and a nice sense of humor, all made more entertaining by Oscar's Colonel Stok. I enjoyed it and would watch it again in the future.
Billion Dollar Brain 1967 John McGrath wrote the screenplay and Ken Russell directed. Ken had worked mostly in TV before this, one feature and one TV movie under his belt, it might have been too big a project for him. It's clunky and less entertaining than the first two in the series. It didn't do well enough at the Box Office to make the 4th proposed film in the series.
Parts of the movie were fun, we see a return of Colonel Stok, something I was glad to see, but some parts of the movie are kind of dumb. Karl Malden plays a crazy rich anti-communist who has a billion dollar computer that he is using to analyze data in his work to destroy communism. Harry and the Colonel put crimps in Karl's plans.
Ken Russell wasn't a good choice to tell that story. The movie is a big old mess that makes me wish Guy had done this one too. It's got plenty of images that make me laugh. I did like all the large sets, even though they were very much Bond like. I'd still watch it again but mostly because I'd be watching them as a series.
Bullet To Beijing 1995 Harry Alan Towers produced the return of Michael Caine as Harry Palmer in the first of two films shot back to back in St Petersburg Russia. Towers wrote the screenplay as Peter Wellbeck and the director was George Mihalka.
Harry's been forced to retire from MI5 and winds up traveling to St Petersburg to see about a job offer. Jason Connery and Mia Sara meet Harry at the station, save him from attacking criminals, and take him to see Michael Gambon. Michael is Alex, a powerful Russian criminal, he wants Harry to find a stolen biological weapon, he'll pay Harry a quarter of a million smackaroonies.
Harry takes the job and a train, the Bullet to Beijing, where he's been informed the bio weapon will be hidden. He finds the stuff but he and Jason gets tossed off the train in Siberia before they can do anything. They manage to find transport and eventually re-board the train. Micheal Sarrazin turns up as an ex-CIA agent.
There's plenty of other bits of action as the interested parties struggle over the bio goo. Eventually things work out Harry's way but he's stepped on a few toes to get results. It's a dangerous biz, the spy biz.
I didn't think I would enjoy it as much as I did, there's chases and shoot outs, dirty double dealing, plenty of nice locations, a fairly complicated story and the cast was mostly up to the material. I ordered a Hungarian DVD from Amazon, it looks fine, but you'd need an all region player to play it.
Midnight In St Petersburg 1996 Harry Alan Towers wrote the screenplay under his usual nom de plume, Peter Wellbeck, the director is Douglas Jackson.
Harry now heads a private investigation company in Moscow, Jason Connery works for him, and so does Micheal Sarrazin. Some one hires them to find a stolen container of weapons grade plutonium. Michael Gambon is one of the guys who wants it, to sell, he's not crazy. A gangster called Yuri wants it too.
Jason's girlfriend gets kidnapped by one of Michael's gang, they want to trade her for a favor from the head of the Hermitage Museum. They want some paintings to sell to a rich American. It's part of a way too complicated plan between three groups. Harry poking his nose in makes waves and things go south quickly.
Another entertaining film with a nice sense of humor. Not quite as much action as the previous one,no big deal. Kept me interested to the end. Glad to have seen the series. I'll want to watch them again sometime. This movie was also a Hungarian DVD.