Harry Palmer

With the boom of spy thrillers in the 1960s that started with Dr. No (1962), new franchises appeared.  One of the more successful ones followed the adventures of Harry Palmer, played by Michael Caine.  While James Bond travels to exotic locations to engage in action-packed adventure, Palmer finds himself navigating the bureaucracy of the intelligence service.  There are forms to sign, paperwork to fill out, and places to surveil.  Whereas Bond spends his time wearing tuxedoes in posh casinos, Palmer shops at Safeway and cooks at home.  Palmer is very middle class though, like Bond, he has a gift for seducing beautiful women.  Also like Bond, he has his M, Colonel Ross (Guy Doleman), who appears in all three Harry Palmer films.

The Ipcress File (1965): Professor Radcliffe, one of the leading physicists of the UK, has been kidnapped and his bodyguard killed.  Harry Palmer, an agent with a criminal record, is reassigned from surveillance duty to replace the murdered agent.  Now working for Major Dalby (Nigel Green), he is assigned to track down the man most likely to have Radcliffe and arrange a ransom.  Along the way, he launches an unsuccessful rescue, learns of a mysterious brainwashing technique, kills an American spy, and has multiple dustups with both his current and former bosses.

A Funeral in Berlin (1966): Colonel Ross dispatches Harry to Berlin to arrange a high-value defection.  Harry has many friends and acquaintances in Berlin as he served there just prior to the Ipcress File.  Most of these acquaintances are criminals, something that infuriates Inspector Reinhardt of Berlin Police.  After meeting the local man in Berlin, Johnny Vulkan, Harry learns that the would-be defector is Colonel Stok (Oskar Homolka) of the Russian Army.  Harry thinks it's a con job but reluctantly travels to East Berlin and meets with Stok.  Harry still doesn't believe him but Ross gives the go ahead and forwards the money.  Stok demands that Kreutzman, a man famed for his ability to smuggle defectors from east to west, take charge.  The plot proves more complicated with the involvement of Israeli Nazi hunters, double agents, and people who aren't who they seem to be.

The Billion Dollar Brain (1967): Harry has left the service and is a private detective who is reduced to eating corn flakes in his office.  Ross arrives to ask him back into service, offering a promotion and more pay.  Harry declines but soon after receives a call from a computer that sends him to Helsinki with a mysterious package and a promise of 200 pounds.  In Helsinki, he meets an American friend, Leo Newbigen (Karl Malden).  Leo takes the package and pays Harry.  Then, he proposes that Harry join a private outfit that has no risks and high pay.  He's intrigued and will think it over.  Enter Colonel Ross, who carries out the threat of drafting Harry back into service.  He must recover the package and return it to the UK.  To do this, he finds himself entangled with Latvian rebels, the Russian Army - including a return of General Stok, a Texas oil billionaire with his cowboy goon squad, a super computer - the titular billion dollar brain, and yet another gorgeous woman throwing herself at him.

Of the three, The Ipcress File is the most gritty.  It takes place entirely in London and follows Palmer on his first real case.  In the later two, he's a veteran and not fazed by some of the situations.  Here, he is daring and direct but inexperienced.  A Funeral in Berlin is the best as far as classic spy movies go.  There are lots of characters with conflicting goals and unknown motivations.  Harry is a professional here and has some secrets of his own.  The Billion Dollar Brain is the most like a standard Bond movie.  Harry travels to Finland, Latvia, and Texas.  General Midwinter (Ed Begley) is the standard mad villain with a private army, a secret bunker, and dreams of conquest.  It is the weakest of the bunch, an unfortunate conclusion for the series.

Michael Caine had signed up to do 5 movies but balked after the financial disappointment of The Billion Dollar Brain.  He was released from the contract but, in the 1990s, he reprised the role in a couple more movies.

Highly recommended.  The first two are top notch and the third is still a lot of fun.