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Quiz about The Ipcress File
Quiz about The Ipcress File

The Ipcress File Trivia Quiz


A classic spy thriller that brought fame to first time author, Len Deighton and actor Michael Caine, who played the cockney working class spy in the movie. The movie is a 1960's classic but how well do you know the book?

A multiple-choice quiz by dericpw. Estimated time: 4 mins.
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Author
dericpw
Time
4 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
188,173
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Tough
Avg Score
6 / 10
Plays
192
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Question 1 of 10
1. In the movie the lead character is called Harry Palmer. What is his name in the book? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. Which year, at the height of the cold war, was the 'Ipcress File' published? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. Which intelligence organisation does the main character transfer to? Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. Who is head of this intelligence organisation? Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. The movie is set in London but the book takes the hero on trips to which locations part way through the plot? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. What is the codename of the kidnapped scientist that the British intelligence agency are trying to recapture? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. Where does the main character think he is being held prisoner during his brainwashing? Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. What is Jay's suspected real name and nationality? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. Who are referred to as the 'friends'? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. What does 'IPCRESS' refer to? Hint



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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. In the movie the lead character is called Harry Palmer. What is his name in the book?

Answer: He's un-named

Deighton wrote a number of spy thrillers featuring the secret agent who first appeared in the 'Ipcress File' including 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Spy', 'Spy Story', 'Horse Under Water', 'Billion Dollar Brain' and 'Funeral In Berlin' but he never mentions the character's name. The only mention of a name in the 'Ipcress File' is when a contact addresses the hero as Harry which prompts the line, 'Now my name isn't Harry, but in this business it's hard to remember whether it ever had been.' He also carries false business cards for Bertram Loess & Brian Serck. Apparently Michael Caine himself suggested Harry Palmer for his character's name in the movie version. Carter and Charlie are characters played by Michael Caine in 'Get Carter' and 'The Italian Job' respectively.
2. Which year, at the height of the cold war, was the 'Ipcress File' published?

Answer: 1962

The book was published in the same year that the first James Bond movie, 'Dr No', was released. The Bond movies glamorised spying and thrilled audiences with gadgets, fast cars and faster women. The 'Ipcress File' became an immediate bestseller, popular with readers for showing the seedier and perhaps more realistic side of espionage.

The hero's main concerns seem to be his overdue back pay and inadequate expense allowance.
3. Which intelligence organisation does the main character transfer to?

Answer: WOOC(P)

At the start of the book he is serving in Military Intelligence under Ross. He then transfers to a civilian intelligence branch known as WOOC(P) who are investigating the disappearance of scientists. It is never made clear what the letters WOOC(P) stand for.
4. Who is head of this intelligence organisation?

Answer: Dalby

Dalby is head of WOOC(P) which has various cover names including: The Ex-Officers' Employment Bureau, Acme Films Cutting Rooms, B. Isaacs. Tailor and Dalby Inquiry Bureau. It is Dalby that turns out to be the double agent. Ross is the hero's previous boss in Military intelligence, Carswell is a Captain from a unit called H.38 who is seconded to WOOC(P) to carry out statistical analysis and Sergeant Murray is Captain Carswell's assistant.
5. The movie is set in London but the book takes the hero on trips to which locations part way through the plot?

Answer: The Lebanese mountains and a Pacific atoll

Dalby and the hero rescue a kidnapped scientist in a roadside ambush in Lebanon. Later Dalby, the anonymous hero and his assistant, Jean, travel to a Pacific atoll to observe a test of an atomic bomb. It is here that the hero learns he is the main suspect as the double agent.
6. What is the codename of the kidnapped scientist that the British intelligence agency are trying to recapture?

Answer: Raven

All people under long term surveillance have bird codenames. In the movie he is referred to as Professor Radcliffe. Jay is the head of the organisation responsible for kidnapping scientists and House Martin is one of his operatives.
7. Where does the main character think he is being held prisoner during his brainwashing?

Answer: Hungary

He is told he is being deported to Hungary to be exchanged for two pilots but actually he is drugged and taken to Wood Green in London to be brainwashed.
8. What is Jay's suspected real name and nationality?

Answer: Christian Stakowski, Polish

Jay's dossier refers to him as Christian Stakowski and being recruited into Polish Army Intelligence in 1942. Barney Barnes is an American intelligence officer who warns the hero on the Pacific atoll that he is the suspected traitor. Henry Carpenter is one of the cover names used by Jay and Erik Ashley Grantby was the name used for Jay in the movie.
9. Who are referred to as the 'friends'?

Answer: MI5

MI5 work for the Home Office and are concerned with counter espionage and national security issues whereas MI6 work for the Foreign Office and are concerned with intelligence issues originating outside of the UK although their responsibilities overlap. Special Branch are the division of the Police who would investigate espionage or terrorist related activities. CIA or Central Intelligence Agency are the US equivalent of MI6. KGB or Komitet Gosurdarstvennoi Bezopasnosti (which stands for Committee for State Security) is the Soviet intelligence service.
10. What does 'IPCRESS' refer to?

Answer: A method of brainwashing

IPCRESS stands for Induction of Psycho-neuroses by Conditioned Reflex with strESS and is a form of brainwashing involving isolation and disorientation. It is used when interrogating and brainwashing the kidnapped scientists.
Source: Author dericpw

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor MotherGoose before going online.
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