TIF is a superb spy thriller which benefits from being as un-"Bond" as possible. The spies work from shabby, nondescript offices and dress cheaply. They spend their time twiddling their thumbs on stakeouts, following up leads and doing paperwork. This humdrum way of life is punctuated, however, by kidnappings and murders and by sudden leaps forward in their investigations. TIF is a very refreshing change to Bond, which was taking off as a franchise at that time ('Thunderball' was out the same year).
You could imagine that Harry Palmer was stuck in London doing this while the more dashing, talented, higher ranked and downright dangerous James Bond was off in the Caribbean making love to beautiful women and saving the world from peril. The pay-off is that Palmer is such a great character in his own right, played to perfection by Michael Caine, and that the possible consequenses of failure could be equally world-threatening.
What I, personally, love about TIF is that it is so quintessentially English. The spies and their masters are all ex-army, the officers being thoroughly upper class. There are some absolutely brilliant scenes of dialogue between Nigel Green (Palmer's new boss) and Guy Doleman (Palmer's ex-boss (or is he??!!!!)) where they talk about lunching at their club and so on but the subtext of suspicion and danger can be felt in every word and gesture.
I love the way it's shot, with lots of key people and events seen at extreme angles and through glass or narrow gaps which very much ties in with how the plot works itself out. All the performances are good and the script is cracking, with plenty of wit and pace. The theme and music are provided by the great John Barry and the theme for this film is one of my favourite ever pieces of film music.
In short, FanFiltration: watch it! You will not regret it!!
