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Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

THE IPCRESS FILE is a spy thriller film about a realistic mysterious game that takes place between hatred and fearlessness. It is based on the 1962 Len Deighton's novel of the same name. The set is placed in an authentic London scenery which, together with an official grayness, fully corresponds to a double espionage conspiracy.A top scientist is kidnapped and his security escort killed. Harry Palmer, a British Army sergeant with a criminal past, has no real love of espionage, but he doesn't really know any other life. His boss, Colonel Ross, suspects that a scientist disappearance is connected to a plot: sixteen top British scientists have inexplicably left their jobs at the peak of their careers. Palmer is transferred to a section of the organization headed by Major Dalby. With studied insolence, Palmer takes on the case of locating missing scientist, who has in his possession a valuable file that would prove injurious to the Free World should it fall in the wrong hands...A conspiracy theory and threat are closely linked to a scientific achievement, which quite reminiscent of the films about the secret agent 007. The link between efficiency and sarcasm has become a trademark of the British Secret Service. At least on film. The pace is a bit slow, the plot is unclear, but the denouement is perfectly fluid and exciting.Characterization is very good and fully corresponds to a tense atmosphere.Michael Caine as Harry Palmer is an insubordinate agent, who loves to cook, read and love a nice widow, while, through his glasses, exhibits a strange magnetism. Mr. Caine has offered a solid performance.Guy Doleman as Colonel Ross is quite unconvincing as Palmer superior. Nigel Green as Major Dalby is, despite his mischievous mustache, strict attitude and cynical reflections, convincing character. Frank Gatliff as Eric Grantby (Bluejay) is an evil external player with lovely face. Sue Lloyd as Jean Courtney is too nice protector for an agent.A modest and unobtrusive film, which includes a double deception and a quite interesting experiment.

Sandwiched between Michael Caine's performances in the amazing "Zulu" and the culturally significant "Alfie", "The Ipcress File" is a real disappointment. Make no mistake--Michael Caine turns in a solid performance. And the camera work, shot from first person POV, is often inspired.But other aspects of this film are off-putting or uninspiring. The musical score often serves as a jarring contrast to the action on screen, instead of supporting it. Worst of all, the story is fairly boring (the identity of the bad guy is telegraphed quite obviously via dialogue early on). One commenter at IMDb called the pace of the film "urgent", but I found its sluggish pace one of its worst features.I see how the Harry Palmer character could be fun to watch, with his idiosyncratic attention to some details and his interest in cooking, but in the film, he doesn't really seem inspired by his passions, except women.The plot about mind control was done infinitely better in "The Manchurian Candidate" (1962) and would be done better in "The Parallax View" (1974) and "A Clockwork Orange" (1971).The introduction of Harry Palmer as a film character (though he's no Bond or Marlowe or Spade) is notable, but it does not elevate this film above mediocrity, I am sorry to say.

Still one of the best. It's hard to imagine that this was Michael Caine's first big film; what a natural this guy was (is).There really isn't much that I can add to the comments here; many of them clearly state how excellent this film is. It's interesting the mood that the director Furie created for this movie. It isn't slick like the Bond films, but it isn't TOO gritty like the more sober spy films, such as 'THE SPY WHO CAME IN FROM THE COLD' (now, THERE is a real cheerful film {sarcasm intended}) But, it has just the perfect balance between an 'Everyman' type of spy, and yet at the same time the guy IS frigg'n cool because he is flipp'n MICHAEL CAINE!!! He makes a perfect anti-Bond hero.I also should add that the supporting cast is quite excellent. No one, and I mean NO ONE can do films quite like this like the British. I should add too that the cinematography is superb. We have seen a lot of stuff like this since then, but for the time, it was quite innovative. The soundtrack is also particularly well done. Very moody and perfectly suited to the film.And, as I state in my Summary, the Blu-ray is indeed breathtaking, especially considering the film is 50 years old!Of course, HIGHLY recommended!

A scientist disappears from a train, a man dies. Harry Palmer (Michael Caine) is one of many investigators on the case, looking for a man named Grantby. He follows a lead to a library where he gets the feeling that something big is at stake here. After a fight with one of Grantby's goons, he returns to his captain with the bad news that he has been unsuccessful. The captain is for obvious reasons, not pleased.In an abandoned warehouse, Palmer finds a small piece of tape with the name IPCRESS on, but at this point in the movie, has no idea what it means, if anything. Later on, though, he learns that it is an abbreviation of "Induction of Psychoneuroses by Conditioned Reflex Under Stress". When a scientist suddenly appears, with a strange memory loss, all the dots are about to get connected.The Ipcress File is an old movie, but not so old that you are bored by the plot, dialogue or even images. It starts out with a mysterious disappearance from a train and a murder. Who did this and for what reasons? Then we meet a young Michael Caine, this time playing an agent called Harry Palmer, who is taken from his job on a stakeout, to investigating the murder and disappearance. He is no James Bond, and thank you very much for that. In Harry Palmer we meet a real person with real routines, real emotions and who can speak like a real person without a single one-liner. For these very reasons, this is a very satisfying movie.I quite liked this movie, and while the colors are a bit faded and the dialogue a bit stiff, it actually felt contemporary, and the plot itself is as relevant today as it was back in 1965. The drama is not big car chases or rivers of blood, it is the drama between people, people that feel real and with real relationships. Also, the Harry Palmer character is not without humor, especially in the scenes with the young Jean (Sue Lloyd) who has been asked by her superior to learn more about Palmer.As far as agent movies go, this is one of the better that I have seen in a while. If you are thinking of seeing Skyfall… don't… go rent this movie instead. You'll be the better person for it.