Movies like The Ipcress File (1965)
The best movies like The Ipcress File (1965) are Funeral in Berlin (1966), Billion Dollar Brain (1967) and A Dandy in Aspic (1968). If The Ipcress File hooked you with its thriller, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedNorth by Northwest (1959)8.0/10 from 4,734 votes
- NewestTinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011)Released 2011
- Same seriesFuneral in Berlin (1966)Harry Palmer
Funeral in Berlin (1966)
Colonel Stok, a Soviet intelligence officer responsible for security at the Berlin Wall, appears to want to defect but the evidence is contradictory. Stok wants the British to handle his defection and asks for one of their agents, Harry Palmer, to smuggle him out of East Germany.
Why it matches: Same series: Harry Palmer · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBillion Dollar Brain (1967)
A former British spy stumbles into in a plot to overthrow Communism with the help of a supercomputer. But who is working for whom?
Why it matches: Same series: Harry Palmer · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisA Dandy in Aspic (1968)
Double-agent Alexander Eberlin is assigned by the British to hunt out a Russian spy, known to them as Krasnevin. Only Eberlin knows that Krasnevin is none other than himself! Accompanying him on his mission is a ruthless partner, who gradually discovers his secret as Eberlin tries to maneuver himself out of a desperate situation.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller
The Looking Glass War (1970)
When a Polish sailor jumps ship in Britain, a couple of local intelligence operatives keep him under surveillance. Soon, he’s recruited to infiltrate a missile installation outside of East Berlin and bring back photos of the new rockets.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller
The Spy Who Came In from the Cold (1965)
British agent Alec Leamas refuses to come in from the Cold War during the 1960s, choosing to face another mission, which may prove to be his final one.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Double Man (1967)
In a complex piece of espionage the Russian secret service attempts to kidnap a high ranking officer in the CIA and replace him with a one of its own.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller
The Chairman (1969)
An American scientist is sent to Red China to steal the formula for a newly developed agricultural enzyme. What he is not told by his bosses is that a micro-sized bomb has been planted in his brain so that should the mission ever look likely to fail, he can be eliminated at the push of a button!
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller
The MacKintosh Man (1973)
A member of British Intelligence assumes a fictitious criminal identity and allows himself to be caught, imprisoned, and freed in order to infiltrate a spy organization and expose a traitor; only, someone finds him out and exposes him to the gang...
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011)
George Smiley, the aging master spy of the Cold War and once heir apparent to Control, is brought back out of retirement to flush out a top level mole within the Circus. Smiley must travel back through his life and murky workings of the Circus to unravel the net spun by his nemesis Karla 'The Sandman' of the KGB and reveal the identity of the mole before he disappears.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNorth by Northwest (1959)
Advertising man Roger Thornhill is mistaken for a spy, triggering a deadly cross-country chase.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Falcon and the Snowman (1985)
The true story of a disillusioned military contractor employee and his drug pusher childhood friend who became walk-in spies for the Soviet Union.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Serpent (1973)
Vlassov is a Soviet spy who defects in France. He is whisked to the U.S, where Allan Davies takes over the case. After polygraph tests and cross-examinations, Vlassov names several Western European agents who are also spying for the Soviets. Davies wants to take the listed agents into custody; meanwhile, those on the list start dying under mysterious circumstances.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTorn Curtain (1966)
During the Cold War, an American scientist appears to defect to East Germany as part of a cloak and dagger mission to find the formula for a resin solution—but the plan goes awry when his fiancee, unaware of his motivation, follows him across the border.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIce Station Zebra (1968)
A top-secret Soviet spy satellite -- using stolen Western technology -- malfunctions and then goes into a descent that lands it near an isolated Arctic research encampment called Ice Station Zebra, belonging to the British, which starts sending out distress signals before falling silent. The atomic submarine Tigerfish, commanded by Cmdr. James Ferraday, is dispatched to save them.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMidnight in Saint Petersburg (1996)
Harry Palmer heads a private investigation business based in Moscow. His associates are Nikolai "Nick" Petrov, ex-CIA agent Craig, and ex-KGB Colonel Gradsky. They take on the job of finding 1000 grams of weapons-grade plutonium stolen from the Russian government, though they do not know the identity of their client.
Why it matches: Same series: Harry Palmer · both thriller
The Iron Curtain (1948)
The Iron Curtain is based on the actual 1945 case of Soviet cipher clerk Igor Gouzenko, (Dana Andrews), who, after careful training, was assigned to the U.S.S.R. Embassy in Ottawa, Canada in the midst of World War II. Eventually, Gouzenko defected with 109 pages of material implicating several high level Canadian officials, outlined the steps taken to secure information about the the details of the nuclear bomb via numerous sleeper cells established throughout North America. The scandal that resulted when details of this case were publicized by American columnist Drew Pearson in early 1946 involved Canada, Britain and the United States.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller
The Quiller Memorandum (1966)
After two British Secret Intelligence Service agents are murdered at the hands of a cryptic neo-Nazi group known as Phoenix, the suave agent Quiller is sent to Berlin to investigate.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisHot Enough for June (1964)
A young man travels to Prague to join his new employer, unaware that he is being used as an espionage courier.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller
Avalanche Express (1979)
CIA agent Harry Wargrave is sent to aid Gen. Marenkov, a senior Russian official, who is defecting to the west. Wargrave decides they should travel to safety on a train across Europe, the "Atlantic Express". During the journey, they must survive attacks by terrorists and an avalanche, all planned by Russian spy-catcher Nikolai Bunin.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Jigsaw Man (1983)
Philip Kimberly, the former head of the British Secret Service who defected to Russia, is given plastic surgery and sent back to Britain by the KGB to retrieve some vital documents. With the documents in hand, he instead plays off MI6 and the KGB against each other.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Manchurian Candidate (1962)
Near the end of the Korean War, a platoon of U.S. soldiers is captured by communists and brainwashed. Following the war, the platoon is returned home, and Sergeant Raymond Shaw is lauded as a hero by the rest of his platoon. However, the platoon commander, Captain Bennett Marco, finds himself plagued by strange nightmares and soon races to uncover a terrible plot.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThree Days of the Condor (1975)
When bookish CIA researcher Joe Turner finds all his co-workers dead, he, together with a woman he has kidnapped, must work together to outwit those responsible until he determines who he can really trust.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Karate Killers (1967)
International spies Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin travel around the globe in an effort to track down a secret formula that was divided into four parts and left by a dying scientist with his four of five daughters, all of whom live in different countries. His widow, Amanda, is murdered at the beginning by the counter-spies of the organization THRUSH. Evil THRUSH agent Randolph also wants the formula, and is aided by his karate-chopping henchmen.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller
Scorpio (1973)
Cross is an old hand at the CIA who often teams up with Frenchman Jean “Scorpio” Laurier, a gifted freelance operative. After their last mission together, the CIA orders Scorpio to eliminate Cross, leaving him no choice but to obey.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFrom Russia with Love (1963)
Agent 007 is back in the second installment of the James Bond series, this time battling a secret crime organization known as SPECTRE. Russians Rosa Klebb and Kronsteen are out to snatch a decoding device known as the Lektor, using the ravishing Tatiana to lure Bond into helping them. Bond willingly travels to meet Tatiana in Istanbul, where he must rely on his wits to escape with his life in a series of deadly encounters with the enemy.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Liquidator (1965)
Lighthearted spy drama about Boysie Oakes, who takes a nice job with the British Secret Service, enjoys all the perks, and signs all the forms before learning that his job depends on murdering people, and not romancing all the beautiful civilian staff in Whitehall.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller
The Odessa File (1974)
Following the suicide of an elderly Jewish man, investigative journalist Peter Miller sets out to hunt down an SS Captain and former concentration camp commander. In doing so he discovers that, despite allegations of war crimes, the former commander has become a man of importance in industry in post-war Germany, protected from prosecution by a powerful organisation of former SS members called Odessa.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Man Who Knew Too Much (1956)
An American doctor and his wife, a former singing star, witness a murder while vacationing in Morocco, and are drawn into a twisting plot of international intrigue when their young son is kidnapped.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNever Say Never Again (1983)
James Bond returns as the secret agent 007 to battle the evil organization SPECTRE. Bond must defeat Largo, who has stolen two atomic warheads for nuclear blackmail. But Bond has an ally in Largo's girlfriend, the willowy Domino, who falls for Bond and seeks revenge.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThunderball (1965)
A criminal organization has obtained two nuclear bombs and are asking for a 100 million pound ransom in the form of diamonds in seven days or they will use the weapons. The secret service sends James Bond to the Bahamas to once again save the world.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Ipcress File?
The closest matches to The Ipcress File are Funeral in Berlin (1966), Billion Dollar Brain (1967) and A Dandy in Aspic (1968). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Ipcress File?
People who watched The Ipcress File most often go on to A Dandy in Aspic (1968), The Looking Glass War (1970) and The Spy Who Came In from the Cold (1965).
What is the highest-rated movie like The Ipcress File?
North by Northwest (1959), rated 8.0/10 by 4,734 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Ipcress File?
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011) is the most recent release on this list.
Is The Ipcress File part of a series?
Yes. It belongs to Harry Palmer, which includes Funeral in Berlin (1966), Billion Dollar Brain (1967) and Midnight in Saint Petersburg (1996).
Are there English movies like The Ipcress File?
Yes: Funeral in Berlin (1966), Billion Dollar Brain (1967) and A Dandy in Aspic (1968).
How are movies similar to The Ipcress File chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Ipcress File, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.