Harry Palmer

For other uses, see Harry Palmer (disambiguation).

Harry Palmer
Michael Caine in 1967
First appearanceThe Ipcress File (1965)
Last appearanceMidnight in Saint Petersburg (1996)
Created byLen Deighton
Portrayed byMichael Caine
Joe Cole

Harry Palmer is the name given to the anti-hero protagonist of several films based on spy novels 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".[1] A trailer for his second role as Palmer described him as possessing "horn rims, cockney wit and an iron fist".[2] The character's thick horn-rimmed glasses, girls, and disregard for authority was 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 spoof of Palmer.[3]

  1. ^ "Classic film of the week: The Ipcress File (1965)". The Times. Retrieved 17 June 2022. Michael Caine is the epitome of Sixties cool in his first outing as the secret agent Harry Palmer. His cockney smarts, his horn-rimmed glasses
  2. ^ "H – Opticians Soho". The Eye Company. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Powers was invoked but never defined (see the help page).