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Harry Palmer is the name given to the anti-hero protagonist of several films based on written by Len Deighton, in which the main character is an unnamed intelligence officer. For convenience, the novels are also often referred to as the "Harry Palmer" novels.
Michael Caine played Harry Palmer in three films based on published novels featuring this character: The Ipcress File (1965), Funeral in Berlin (1966) and Billion Dollar Brain (1967). Caine also starred as this character in two other films not directly based on Deighton's novels.
The Times called Caine "the epitome of Sixties cool in his first outing as the secret agent Harry Palmer". A trailer for his second role as Palmer described him as possessing "horn rims, cockney wit and an iron fist". The character's thick horn-rimmed glasses, girls, and disregard for authority were cited by Mike Myers as an influence for Austin Powers; Caine would later star in Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002), with his portrayal of Nigel Powers, father of secret agent Austin Powers, a parody of Palmer.
| The IPCRESS File (1962) | The Ipcress File (1965) | Michael Caine | |
| The Ipcress File (2022 TV series) | Joe Cole | ||
| Horse Under Water (1963) | Not adapted to a film | ||
| Funeral in Berlin (1964) | Funeral in Berlin (1966) | Michael Caine | |
| Billion-Dollar Brain (1966) | Billion Dollar Brain (1967) | Michael Caine | |
| An Expensive Place to Die (1967) | Not adapted to a film | ||
| Spy Story (1974) | Spy Story (1976) | Michael Petrovitch | Character is renamed 'Patrick Armstrong' |
| Yesterday's Spy (1975) | Not adapted to a film | ||
| Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Spy (1976) | North American title: Catch a Falling Spy | ||
| Bullet to Beijing (1995) | Michael Caine | Not based on a Len Deighton novel | |
| Midnight in Saint Petersburg (1996) | Michael Caine |
Further novels featuring this character followed, including Horse Under Water (1963), Funeral in Berlin (1964), Billion-Dollar Brain (1966), and An Expensive Place to Die (1967). Again, the lead character is never named, but they appear to be the same character in all of the books. In his 2009 afterword to Horse Under Water, Deighton noted "Now, writing a second book, I found it an advantage to have an anonymous hero. He might be the same man; or maybe not. I was able to make minor changes to him and his background...I realized that...identifying him as a northerner would make demands on my knowledge that I could not sustain. It would be more sensible to give him a background closer to my own."
From the first novel onwards, the narrator shows knowledge of Gourmet and Alcoholic drink, painting, Classical music and 20th-century music, jazz, military history, and Latin. In Horse Under Water, he is described as an expert on world currency.
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, "... he turned for a better view of me,... late thirties, spectacles, clean shaven, dark hair, about six foot..." whereas the narrator of The IPCRESS File was born in 1922 or 1923 The IPCRESS File, p. 25. "For example; take the time my picture appeared in The Burnley Daily Gazette in July 1939, when I won the fifth form mathematics prize" (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 the same narrator – 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.
In the film version, Harry Palmer is a British Army sergeant forcibly drafted into the security services to work away a prison sentence for . 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.
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.
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. At Myers request, Caine starred in Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002), with his portrayal of Nigel Powers, father of secret agent Austin Powers, a parody of Harry Palmer.
In (2014), Caine portrays the bespectacled head of a secret espionage unit.
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