Billion Dollar Brain

Michael Caine - Harry Palmer
Karl Malden - Leo Newbigen
Ed Begley General - Midwinter
Oskar Homolka - Colonel Stok
Françoise Dorléac - Anya
Guy Doleman - Colonel Ross
Vladek Sheybal - Dr. Eiwort
Milo Sperber - Basil

Michael Caine's third and final appearance as reluctant British secret agent Harry Palmer, based on Len Deighton's popular spy novels. Len Deighton's plot has disappeared over the horizon in the 007 direction, and Harry lost some of the acid idiosyncrasy of The Ipcress File; but directed with unusual restraint by maverick director Russell, it's a classy thriller. Caine had already tired of playing the scruffy spy, and ducked out of his five-film contract after this memorably bizarre Pop Art instalment.

Harry is now working freelance as a private eye, and is persuaded to return to intelligence work helping Soviet commissar Oscar Homolka confound a fanatical US army general’s plans for world domination. Harry accepts an assignment to deliver a mysterious package of deadly virus-infected eggs to Helsinki. When he arrives in Finland, Harry meets old acquaintance Leo Newbegin (Karl Malden), an ex-CIA man now involved with billionaire General Midwinter (Ed Begley), who plans to destroy communism in Eastern Europe with his own private army by igniting a revolution in Latvia. British intelligence blackmails Palmer back into government service, and Harry must join forces with his old Soviet nemesis Colonel Stok (Oskar Homolka) to foil the general's plans.