Continuity mistake: Harry Palmer uses the leather wrist restraints to lacerate his wrists - the pain enables him to resist being involuntarily hypnotised. The next time he is woken roughly by the guards for another hypnosis session, his wrists are unmarked.
The Ipcress File (1965)
Directed by: Sidney J. Furie
Starring: Michael Caine, Nigel Green, Guy Doleman, Sue Lloyd
Genres: Thriller
Other mistake: When Palmer raids the factory in search of Radcliffe, he summons a Land Rover to break down the warehouse door with a silent wave of his hand, but the Land Rover appears from behind a corner and therefore could not have seen him.
Other mistake: In the Dr Radcliffe lecture scene, Harry removes his glasses to clean them revealing his poor eyesight. But in the final escape scenes when he determines and shoots the traitor, he is not wearing glasses.
Trivia: Len Deighton, the author of the original novel, also published a series of cookery books and wrote and drew a weekly strip cartoon-style illustrated cooking guide in London's The Observer newspaper - titled 'Len Deighton's Cookstrip'. In the first kitchen scene, where Harry Palmer is making coffee, you can see one of these strips is pinned to the wooden post next to the table.
Trivia: Many years after the film's release, Michael Caine revealed that the studio wanted to cut the scene of Palmer cooking as they feared it would make audiences think that Palmer was gay.
Courtney: Do you always wear your glasses?
Palmer: Yes. Except in bed.
Inspector Keightley: That little blonde bird you was with the other evening.
Palmer: Rita?
Inspector Keightley: That's it. What's her phone number?
Palmer: You dirty old man.
Inspector Keightley: Well, you scratch my back and I'll scratch hers.
Palmer: You ought to be locked up.
Inspector Keightley: I know.
Palmer: Have you seen everything?
Courtney: Yes, thank you.
Palmer: Then you know where the... whiskey is?
Courtney: Yes.
Palmer: Fix us both one, will you?
