The character names "Harry Palmer" and Jean Courtney" are retained for the central characters from the 1965 film. In the novel, the hero has no name - although it is specifically stated that his name is NOT Harry - whilst Jean is surnamed "Tonneson".
Executive Producers Hilary and Steven Saltzman are the children of Harry Saltzman, who produced the original film of The Ipcress File (and its sequels) in the 1960s, and was co-producer of the early James Bond films. Hilary died in 2019, but was involved in pre-production of the new series.
Michael Caine played Harry Palmer 5 times during his career in The Ipcress File, Funeral In Berlin, Billion Dollar Brain, Bullet To Beijing and again in Midnight In St Petersburg.
The character of Colonel Stok, the wily Russian intelligence chief, appears in several Len Deighton novels, but not in "The Ipcress File".
In the original movie The Ipcress File (1965), unusual camera angles were used, particularly the Dutch angle where the horizon line of the shot is not parallel with the bottom of the camera frame. This is normally used to show psychological uneasiness or tension in a scene.
In an obvious homage to the movie, the TV series also uses the same Dutch tilt, however, it occurs in almost every shot (apparently prompting many complaints from the viewing public).
In an obvious homage to the movie, the TV series also uses the same Dutch tilt, however, it occurs in almost every shot (apparently prompting many complaints from the viewing public).