The Perfect James Bond Replacement for Michael Caine, The Ipcress file, unfortunately it was interrupted by two consecutive clashes sequence fails. With over 175 acting credits to his nameCaine starred in classic films such as The man who would be king (1975), Hannah and her sisters (1986), Get Carter (1971), and Alfie (1966). Caine is also famous for starring in several of Christopher Nolan's best films, such as Interstellar, Start, The Dark Knightand The prestige.
The Ipcress file was released in 1965 and starred Caine and a clever spy in London named Harry Palmer. The film was directed by Sidney J. Furie and also featured Nigel Green, Guy Doleman, Sue Lloyd and Gordon Jackson. The Ipcress file received an impressive Rotten Tomatoes score of 97% combined with an audience score of 85%. The success and acclaim of the first film spawned two consecutive sequels in 1966 and 1967, which tanked and essentially sank the spy franchise.
Harry Palmer was Michael Caine's answer to James Bond
Harry Palmer showed a lot of franchise potential in his film debut
Most critics agree that Caine had what it takes to be the face of a long-running spy franchise as Bond based on reviews for The Ipcress file. Kate Muir The Times (UK) wrote in his review: “Michael Caine is the epitome of 60s cool in his first appearance as secret agent Harry Palmer.” Variety wrote about the film: “Caine deftly resists any temptation he may have had to cheer up the proceedings. In fact, its consistent understatement considerably increases the picture's appeal..”
Despite the obvious comparisons to James Bond, Caine's Harry Palmer was often considered “anti-Bond” because his tone and personality were completely different from 007. Even though The Ipcress file had the same producers as the James Bond films of the time, they were intended to be a counterpart to the classic James Bond films. Despite its promise, its next two sequels, 1966 Funeral in Berlin and 1967 Billion Dollar Brainfailed to capture the same spark as the initial effort.
Why the Ipcress Franchise Failed Despite an Incredible Start
The sequels didn't live up to the original film
1966 Funeral in Berlin and 1967 Billion Dollar Brain it ended up falling short of the caliber of Harry Palmer's original film. Funeral in Berlin got a Rotten Tomatoes score of 60% while Billion Dollar Brain won a rotten 57%which is a clear drop from the universal acclaim of the original. While the second and third Harry Palmer films are quite solid, they didn't improve on the original product and soon lost steam for the then-emerging franchise. Caine still shines in his role since The Ipcress file but subsequent sequences lost the same level of immersion and craftsmanship that made the initial outing so good.