Cinema
The Ipcress File
Sidney J. Furie · 1965
Synopsis
A man gets up, puts on his glasses, grinds his coffee and prepares it with care. A sergeant seconded to an intelligence service, he is buried under forms. A scientist has just been kidnapped on a train, and the man responsible for protecting him has been killed; other scientists have disappeared before him over the past two years. He is transferred to Major Dalby's section, tasked with finding the missing man, where he must prove himself to a new chief.
Context
The film was produced by Harry Saltzman, who was then producing the James Bond films, with part of the same team: the composer John Barry, the editor Peter Hunt and the designer Ken Adam worked on it. The director burned the screenplay on the set, in front of the assembled crew, to say what he thought of it, and many of the dialogues were improvised. After the first screenings, American backers let it be known that Michael Caine should have his glasses taken off and that the young woman should do the cooking in his place; this was ignored. According to the director, the producer kept him away from the party given at Cannes and kept the British prize for best film for himself.
Who it is for
One hundred and nine minutes, in English with subtitles or in a French-language version; the film was presented in competition at Cannes in 1965.
Prizes and reception
Awarded in London as best British film of the year; according to its editor, an unfinished cut shown to another director won Caine his next role.
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