Mister 8

Through July, or at least until I run out of things about which to talk, we’ll be looking at the Harry Palmer series of novels (in which the character doesn’t actually have a name), their author — Len Deighton, the films based on them, the star of those films — Michael Caine, and the television movies that followed. I will be re-reading the whole series of novels, re-watching the films, and giving my thoughts on all I encounter. I’ll inevitably be drawing heavily on the collection of Kees Stam, author of The Harry Palmer Movie Site, and Rob Mallows, creator of the Deighton Dossier, and other odds and ends that I’ve turned up over the years.

British author Len Deighton.

I’ve had an incredibly productive offline week this week, but a horribly ineffective week here at the blog. I’ve got about 15 posts in the hopper, all around three-quarters completed, so the schedule will resume shortly (tonight, I hope, with my overdue review of The IPCRESS File film (If I’ve done nothing else, note that I’ve gone back and changed every instance of “Ipcress” to “IPCRESS”!).

In the meantime, here are two bits of info that I’m sure Deighton fans will be interested to learn. First, from the indispensible Deighton Dossier, Rob Mallows writes:

Word from my editorial contact at Len Deighton’s publishers, Harper Collins, is that following the initial release of the first four revised editions of SS-GB, Bomber, Goodbye Mickey Mouse and XPD – all with new introductions by Len Deighton himself (more details in future posts) – is that on 1 October this year the following books will be published in new editions, again each with new introductions by the author: The Ipcress File, Horse Under Water, Funeral in Berlin and Billion Dollar Brain.

For more on the reprints, and a schedule for other releases, check out Rob’s Deighton Dossier blog.

And then there’s this comment I found on a blog while researching the next installment of “When Harry Met James,” by Deighton Companion author Edward Milward-Oliver:

I am writing a major biography of Len Deighton, and offer a couple of corrections to your piece.

Producer Harry Saltzman met with Len Deighton to discuss the film rights of The Ipcress File prior to the opening of the first James Bond film Dr No, and nearly six weeks before the publication of the novel.

Saltzman had received an advance copy of Ipcress from Deighton’s agent Jonathan Clowes, and arranged to meet the new author at Pinewood Studios. After Deighton subsequently declined to adapt Ipcress for the screen himself, the producer hired him to prepare a draft screenplay of From Russia With Love, and in December 1962 flew the author and his wife to Turkey to scout locations. As you correctly stated, Deighton delivered a draft but it was not used, and nor was he credited.

We’ll be coming back to the latter information, but was it known that Milward-Oliver was working on this biography? I still await my copy of the Companion, hopefully speeding its way from Massachusetts on interlibrary loan, but have heard many complimentary things about the book. Anyone have any more information? Perhaps Mr. Milward-Oliver is somewhere lurking in the wings?