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.
Last words... 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.
