Wonderful anti-Bond film; great supporting cast of characters, plus Caine is very good in lead.

Why don't I like this more?

Superbly directed spy thriller. The plot is intriguing enough, but predictably for Len Deighton lacks a bit of balance and wraps up a bit too neatly. But this film is all about the bold and inventive shot construction and the acting of Michael Caine and Guy Doleman. Every scene with these two is a gem.

Caine is great, but the pacing is a bit sluggish and the story isn't really that impressive. I prefer Bonds frankly.

Michael Caine creates probably my favorite spy character ever. A smartass who loves Mozart, knows how to cook champignon and finds his way around women. Pace is a bit slow - for a spy movie there are very little action, but good cinematography and acting makes it a very fine comic thriller.

An excellent old-fashioned thriller about identity anxiety, double agents and counter-counter-espionage. The cinematography is dynamic and art-house-y, with moments of chiaroscuro, that ups the tension in seemingly monotonous scenes. Acting is also top-rate. Highly recommended.

Classy spy flick with solid pacing and inventively assured camera work. Caine's at his cocky, swaggering best as he eases his way through the mystery. Wraps up a little too neatly, but this is a smooth ride and worth taking.

Only my second Harry Palmer film, and my first in 25 years; I really must start catching up. A serious, mature espionage thriller with a believable, likable hero well-shot in 2.35:1 against the backdrop of swinging '60s London

A pretty brilliant and engaging thriller to start off with. Then just as it begins to fatally wane, it picks up in third act greatly by way of an almost complete genre change (and odd one, but entirely suitable).

Conceived as a reaction against the Bond series (by the same producer, too), THE IPCRESS FILE takes a realistic, dryly humorous look at the spy game--although when the IPCRESS procedure itself begins, the film begins to get campy. Still, it's a finely put-together thriller, showing no hints of the apparent production turmoil; Furie's direction and especially Otto Heller's cinematography are unnervingly stylish. And Michael Caine's performance here secured his stardom. It's not hard to see why.

A classic spy thriller.

Excellent.

Bleak, cool, and smooth.