This is a nom de plume for author. One of the first grown-up movies I was allowed to go see by myself as an impressionable adolescent (yes, this was some years ago now) was the Quiller Memorandum, with George Segal. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. Quiller enters the mansion and is confronted by Phoenix thugs. He finds that a bomb has been strapped underneath and sets it on the bonnet of the car so it will slowly slide and fall off due to vibration from the running engine. The mind of the spy I wanted to make a list of all the things that are wrong with this film, but I can't - such a list would need much more than a thousand words. The Quiller Memorandum is a 1966 British neo noir eurospy film filmed in Deluxe Color and Panavision, adapted from the 1965 spy novel The Berlin Memorandum, by Elleston Trevor under the name "Adam Hall", screenplay by Harold Pinter, directed by Michael Anderson, featuring George Segal, Alec Guinness, Max von Sydow and Senta Berger. He first meets with Pol, who explains that each side is trying to discover and annihilate the other's base. Journeyman director Michael Andersons The Quiller Memorandum, which was as defiantly anti-Bond as you could get in 1966, has just been rescued from DVD mediocrity by the retro connoisseurs at Twilight Time and given a twenty-first-century Blu-ray upgrade. Theres a humanity to Quiller that is unique in this type of action spy thriller. In many ways, it creates mystery through the notion of exploring "mystery" itself. Although the situations are often deadly serious, Segal seems to take them lightly; perhaps in the decade that spawned James Bond, he was confused and thought he was in a spy spoof. Be the first to contribute. 1 hr 45 mins. After their first two operatives leading the field mission are assassinated in subsequent order, the British Secret Service recruit Quiller, an American agent, to continue to lead that field operation, namely to discover the base of operations of a new Nazi organization in West Berlin, they whose general members hide in plain sight in blending in with all walks of West German society. Quiller's assignment: to discover the location of the neo-Nazi . The film was shot on location in West Berlin and in Pinewood Studios, England. "The Quiller Memorandum" is a film with a HUGE strike against it at the outset.they inexplicably cast George Segal as a British spy! Elleston Trevor wrote 19 novels in the highly successful Quiller series. Dril several holes in it, the size of a pin, one the size of a small coin. Is Quiller going to wind up dead too? His two predecessors were killed off in their attempts, but he nevertheless proceeds with headstrong (perhaps even bullheaded) confidence without the aid of cover or even a firearm! When Quiller returns to his hotel, a porter bumps Quiller's leg with a suitcase on the steps. Read 134 reviews from the world's largest community for readers. Where to Watch. He does this in a lone-wolf way, refusing to be hampered by bodyguards. Quiller, an agent working for British Intelligence, is sent to Berlin to meet with Pol, another operative. I had to resist the temptation to fast forward on several occasions. Variety and the Flying V logos are trademarks of Variety Media, LLC. The West had sent a couple of agents to find out their headquarters, but both are killed. The plot revolves around former Nazis and the rise of a Neo-Nazi organisation known as Phonix. At lunch in an exclusive club in London, close to Buckingham Palace, the directors of an unnamed agency, Gibbs and Rushington, decide to send American agent Quiller to continue the assignment, which has now killed two agents. Hall is not trying be a Le Carre, hes in a different area, one he really makes his own. Press J to jump to the feed. And he sustains the same high level of quality over the course of nineteen books. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. Apparently, it was made into a classic movie and there is even a website compiled by Trevor devotees. During the car chase scene, the cars behind Quiller's Porsche appear and disappear, and are sometimes alongside his car, on the driver's (left) side. After two British agents are assassinated in Berlin by a group of Neo-Nazis, the British Secret Service assign Quiller to locate and identify the culprits. He manages to get over the wall of his garage stall as well as the adjoining one and then outside to the side of the building before detonation. On paper, this film had all the makings of a potential masterpiece: youve got a marquee cast, headed up by George Segal, Max Von Sydow, and Alec Guinness, for starters. He accepts the assignment and almost immediately finds that he is being followed. The book is built around a continual number of reveals. It looks like we don't have any synopsis for this title yet. But Quiller shares an important kinship with Spy in that it challenges popular 007 mythmaking: freshly envisioning the unglamorous underside of an intelligence profession that the James Bond franchise had been relentlessly trivializing since its inception. As Quiller revolves around a plot that's more monstrously twisted than he imagines it to be . In addition to Pinters screenplay, the film was noted for its plot twists and the portrayal of Quiller as refreshingly vulnerable and occasionally inept. Another characteristic of Halls style isthe ending of chapters with a cliff hanger. Quiller works for the Bureau, an arm of the British Secret Service so clandestinethat no-one knows itexists. Oh, there are some problems, and Michael Anderson's direction is. Michael Sandlin is a writer and academic based in Houston, Texas. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. For example, when the neo-Nazi goons are sticking to Quiller like fly paper, wasn't he suspicious when they did not follow him into his hotel? This exciting movie belongs to spy sub-genre being developed during the cold war , it turns out to be a stirring thriller plenty of mystery , tension , high level of suspense , and a little bit of violence . After being prevented from using a phone, Quiller makes a run for an elevated train, and thinking he has managed to shake off Oktober's men, exits the other side of the elevated station only to run into them again. The movie wants to be more Le Carre than Fleming (the nods to the latter fall flat with a couple of fairly underpowered car-chases and a very unconvincing fight scene when Segal first tries to escape his captors) but fails to make up in suspense what it obviously lacks in thrills. NR. American agent Quiller (George Segal) arrives in Berlin and meets with his British handler Pol (Alec Guinness). Their aim is to bring back the Third Reich. Senta Berger was gorgeous! The source novel "The Berlin Memorandum" is billed in the credits as being by Adam Hall. . The Quiller Memorandum is a film adaptation of the 1965 spy novel The Berlin Memorandum, by Trevor Dudley-Smith, screenplay by Harold Pinter, directed by Michael Anderson, featuring George Segal, Max von Sydow, Senta Berger and Alec Guinness.The film was shot on location in West Berlin and in Pinewood Studios, England.The film was nominated for 3 BAFTA Awards, while Pinter was nominated for an . This well-drawn tale of espionage is set in West Berlin, 15 years after the end of WW II. This is one of the worst thriller screenplays in cinema history. There are long stretches of what may have seemed to Pinter like very lively and amusing dialogue (the torture scenes between October and George Segal), but they drag on interminably, and make one want to go to sleep. That way theres no-one to betray him to the other side. In West Berlin, George Segal's Quiller struggles through a near- existential battle with Neo-Nazi swine more soulless than his own cold-fish handlers. The screenwriter, Harold Pinter, no less, received an Edgar nomination. Unfortunately, the film is weighed down, not only by a ponderous script, but also by a miscast lead; instead of a heavy weight actor in the mold of a William Holden, George Segal was cast as Quiller. In this first book in the QUILLER series, undercover agent Quiller is asked to take the place of a fellow spy who has recently been murdered in Berlin, in identifying the headquarters of an underground but powerful Nazi organization, Phnix, twenty years . Instead, the screenplay posits a more sinister threat: the nascent re-Nazification of German youths, facilitated by an underground coven of Nazi sympathizing grade-school teachers. 1966's The Quiller Memorandum is a low-key gem, a pared-down existential spy caper that keeps the exoticism to a minimum. All of that, and today the novels are largely forgotten. Audiobook. To do his job George Segal's hapless Quiller must set himself out as bait in the middle of a pressure play in West Berlin. Probably the most famous example of a solid American type playing an Englishman is Clark Gable from Mutiny On The Bounty. ago Just watched it. The film has that beautiful, pristine look that seems to only come about in mid-60's cinema, made even more so by the clean appearance and tailored lines of the clothing on the supporting cast and the extras. The novel was titled The Berlin Memorandum and at its centre was the protagonist and faceless spy, Quiller. Conveniently for Quiller, shes also the only teacher there whos single and looks like a Bond girl. In the process, he discovers a complex and malevolent plot, more dangerous to the world than any crime committed during the war. The Quiller Memorandum is a 1966 British neo noir eurospy film filmed in Deluxe Color and Panavision, adapted from the 1965 spy novel The Berlin Memorandum, by Elleston Trevor under the name "Adam Hall", screenplay by Harold Pinter, directed by Michael Anderson, featuring George Segal, Alec Guinness, Max von Sydow and Senta Berger. Required fields are marked *. In conclusion, having recently watched "Quiller's" almost exact contemporary "The Ipcress File", I have to say that I preferred the latter's more pointed narrative, down-home grittiness and star acting to the similar fare offered here. Author/co-author of numerous books about the cinema and is regarded as one of the foremost James Bond scholars. Nimble, sharp-toothed and sometimes they have to bite and claw their way out of a dark hole. If your idea of an exciting spy thriller involves boobs, blondes and exploding baguettes, then The Quiller Memorandum is probably not for you. Oktober also wants to know the location of the British base in Germany and uses drugs in Quiller to get the information but the skilled agent resists. America's leading magazine on the art and politics of the cinema. If Quiller isnt the most dramatically pleasing of the anti-Bond subgenre, its certainly not for lack of ambition, originality, or undistinguished crew or cast members. This movie belongs to the long list of the spy features of the sixties, and not even James Bond like movies, rather John Le Carr oriented ones, in the line of IPCRESS or ODESSA FILE, very interesting films for movie buffs in search of a kind of nostalgia and also for those who try to understand this period. But the writing was sloppy and there was a wholly superfluous section on decoding a cipher, which wasn't even believable. The Wall Street Journal said it was one of the best espionage/spy series of all time. The classic tale of espionage that started it all! Yes, Scream VI Marketing Is Behind the Creepy Ghostface Sightings Causing Scares Across the U.S. David Oyelowo, Taylor Sheridan's 'Bass Reeves' Series at Paramount+ Casts King Richard Star Demi Singleton (EXCLUSIVE), Star Trek: Discovery to End With Season 5, Paramount+ Pushes Premiere to 2024. When Quiller decides to investigate the building, Inge says she will wait for him, while Hassler and the headmistress leave one of their cars for them. International in its scope its contributors include scholars from Australia, Quiller . Quiller continues his subtle accusations, and Inge continues her denial of ever meeting Jones. The British Secret Service sends agent Quiller to investigate. He is shot dead by an unseen gunman. Segal is a very young man in this, with that flippant, relaxed quality that made him so popular. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). A much better example of a spy novel-to-film adaptation would be Our Man in Havana, also starring Alec Guinness. Don't bother watching it, except to see the many scenes shot on location in West Berlin at that time, with its deserted streets and subdued mood. In 1965, writing under the pseudonym of Adam Hall, Elleston Trevor published athriller which, like Ian Flemings Casino Royale before it, was to herald a change in the world of spy thrillers. The film magnificently utilizes West German locations to bring the story to life. It is the first book in the 20-volume Quiller series. This was a great movie and found Quillers character to be excellent. The film is a spy-thriller set in 1960s West Berlin, where agent Quiller is sent to investigate a neo-Nazi organisation. Summaries In the West Berlin of the 1960s, two British agents are killed by a Nazi group, prompting British Intelligence to dispatch agent Quiller to investigate. I loved seeing and feeling the night shots in this film and, as it was shot on location, the sense of reality was heightened for me. While the Harry Palmer films from 1965 to 1967 (Ipcress File, Funeral in Berlin, and Billion Dollar Brain) saw cockney Everyman Michael Caine nail the part of Palmer, who was the slum-dwelling, bespectacled antithesis to Sean Connerys martini-sipping sybarite. The Quiller Memorandum was based on a novel by Elleston Trevor (under the name Adam Hall). Scriptwriter Harold Pinter, already with two of the best adapted screenplays of the 1960s British New Wave under his belt (The Servant and The Pumpkin Eater), adapted his screenplay for Quiller from Adam Halls 1965 novel, The Berlin Memorandum. Unfortunately, the film is weighed down, not only by a ponderous script, but also by a miscast lead; instead of a heavy weight actor in the mold of a William Holden, George Segal was cast as Quiller. Quiller avoids answering Oktober's questions about Quiller's agency, until a doctor injects him with a truth serum, after which he reveals a few minor clues. They don't know how to play it, it's neither enjoyable make-believe like the James Bond movies, nor is it played for real like "The Spy Who Came in from the Cold." The Quiller Memorandum is a 1966 British neo noir eurospy film filmed in Deluxe Color and Panavision, adapted from the 1965 spy novel The Berlin Memorandum, by Elleston Trevor under the name "Adam Hall", screenplay by Harold Pinter, directed by Michael Anderson, featuring George Segal, Alec Guinness, Max von Sydow and Senta Berger. Fresh off an Oscar nomination for the mental anguish he suffered at the hands of Richard Burton and Liz Taylor in Whos Afraid of Virginia Woolf (also 1966), George Segal seems, in hindsight, a dubious choice to play the offbeat Quiller. The movie made productive use of the West German locations. My take was, he knows she's one of the bad guys, and same with the headmistress who he passes on the way out. Defiant undercover spy Quiller carries out a nervy , stealthy , prowling around Berlin in which he becomes involved into a risked cat and mouse game , being chased and hunted , by a strange and sinister leader , known only as Oktober (Max Von Sidow) . 1966's The Quiller Memorandum is a low-key gem, a pared-down, existential spy caper that keeps the exoticism to a minimum. Cue the imposing Max Von Sydow as Nazi head honcho Oktober, whose Swedish accent is inflected with an Elmer Fudd-like speech impedimentthus achieving something like a serviceable German accent. On the other hand, the female lead is played by the charming Senta Berger, then aged 25, who does very well, and manages to be enigmatic, and gets just the right tone for the story. Quiller had the misfortune to hit cinemas hot on the heels of two first-rate examples of Bond backlash: Martin Ritts gritty The Spy Who Came in from the Cold and the first (and easily best) entry in the acclaimed Harry Palmer trilogy, The Ipcress File, both released in 1965. While most realistic spy films of the 60s focused on the Soviet threat, Quiller pits the title character against a group of neo-Nazis. effective, low key, intelligent, spy film, Attractive, thoughtful spy film with an excellent cast. His investigations (and baiting) lead him to a pretty schoolteacher (Berger) who he immediately takes a liking to and who may be of assistance to him in his quest. ): as a result, they were summarily bumped off with stereotypical German precision. He walks down the same street where Jones was shot, but finds he is followed by Oktober's men. Two British agents are murdered by a mysterious Neonazi organization in West Berlin. The goal of /r/Movies is to provide an inclusive place for discussions and news about films with major releases. Without knowing where they have taken him, and even if it is indeed their base of operations, Quiller is playing an even more dangerous game as in the process he met schoolteacher Inge Lindt, who he starts to fall for, and as such may be used as a pawn by the Nazis to get the upper hand on Quiller. If you've only seen the somewhat tepid 1966 film starring George Segal which is based on this classic post-WWII espionage novel, don't let it stop you from reading the original. The Quiller Memorandum. But for today's audiences, those films are a bit old fashioned and not always very easy to follow, too much complicated. Quiller's primary contact for this job is a mid level administrative agent named Pol. A man walks along a deserted Berlin street at night and enters an internally lit phone box. Languid, some might say ponderous mid-60's British-made cold-war drama (it could scarcely be called a thriller, more "The Spy Who Came In From The Cold" than, say "Thunderball") that for all its longueurs, does have some redeeming features. It relies. In the following chapter the events have moved on beyond the crisis, instantly creating a how? question in your mind. Segals laconic, stoop-shouldered Quiller is a Yank agent on loan to the British government to replace the latest cashiered Anglo operative in West Berlin. This time he's a spy trying to get the location of a neo-Nazi organization. Set in 1950s Finland, during the Cold War, the books tell the story of a young police woman and budding detective who cuts against the grain when, John Fullertons powerful 1996 debut The Monkey House was set in war-torn Sarajevo and was right in the moment. Max von Sydow plays the Nazi chief quietly but with high camp menace. But admittedly its a tricky business second-guessing his dramatic instincts here. When drug-induced questioning fails to produce results, Segal is booted to the river, but he isn't quite ready to give in yet. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. The Quiller Memorandum, based on a novel by Adam Hall (pen name for Elleston Trevor) and with a screenplay by Harold Pinter, deals with the insidious upsurge of neo-Nazism in Germany. How did I miss this film until just recently? Quiller is surprised to learn that no women were found. 2023 Variety Media, LLC. Two British agents are murdered by a mysterious Neo-Nazi organization in West Berlin. I thought the ending was Quller getting one last meeting with the nice babe and sending a warning to any remaining Nazis that they are being watched. It's not my intention to be obnoxious and list every point in the movie that strays from the book, but it's truly a shame that such well-crafted material--intriguing back stories, superior spy tactics--is wasted here. See production, box office & company info, Europa-Center, Charlottenburg, Berlin, Germany. The headmistress introduces him to a teacher who speaks English, Inge Lindt. Variety wrote that "it relies on a straight narrative storyline, simple but holding, literate dialog and well-drawn characters". This demonstration using familiar breakfast food items serves to stimulate the American spys brainwaves into serious operative mode. Clumsy thriller. With George Segal, Alec Guinness, Max von Sydow, Senta Berger. I recall being duly impressed by the menacing atmospherics, if much of it went over my head. They have lots of information about the film, but inexplicably take ten minutes to explain how the Cold War conflict between Communism and Capitalism relates to . The friend proves to be Hassler, who is now much more friendly. I read a few of these many years ago when they first came out. Phoenix boss Oktober (Max von Sydow) with George Segal, seated. Hassler drives them to meet an old contact he says knows a lot more, who turns out to be Inge's headmistress. THE QUILLER MEMORANDUM (3 outta 5 stars) The 1960s saw a plethora of two kinds of spy movies: the outrageous semi-serious James Bond ripoffs (like the Flint and Matt Helm movies) and the very dry, methodical ones that were more talk than action (mostly John Le Carre and Alistair MacLean adaptations). Try as he might though, he can't quite carry the lead here, lacking as he does the magnetism of Connery or the cynicism of Caine. In terms of style The Quiller books aretaut and written with narrative pace at the forefront. Also contains one of the final appearences of George Sanders in a brief role, a classic in his own right! Alec Guiness and George Sanders have brief roles as Segal's Control and Home Office head, respectively, and both rather coldly and matter-of-factly pooh-pooh over the grisly death of Segal's agent predecessor. An American secret agent called Quiller (George Segal) working for MI6 (whose chief is George Sanders) travels to Berlin to uncover a deadly Neo-Nazi band . Soon Quiller is confronted with Neo-Nazi chief "Oktober" and involved in a dangerous game where each side tries to find out the enemy's headquarters at any price. In a clever subversion of genre expectations, the plot and storyline ignore contemporary East versus West Cold War themes altogether (East Berlin is, in fact, never mentioned in the film). The Quiller Memorandum came near the peak of the craze for spy movies in the Sixties, but its dry, oddly sardonic tone sets it apart from both the James Bond-type sex-and-gadget thrillers and the more somber, "adult" spy dramas such as Martin Ritt's The Spy Who Came In from the Cold (1965). It keeps the reader engrossed right up to the last couple of lines. The brawny headmistress points Quiller in the direction of Inge (Senta Berger), who happens to be the only English-speaking teacher at the school. The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels by Janice Hallett, Norwegian crime show Witch Hunt comes to Walter Presents, The Wall: Quebec crime show comes to More4, Irish crime drama North Sea Connection comes to BBC Four, The complete guide to Mick Herrons Slough House series. I found it an interesting and pleasant change of pace from the usual spy film, sort of in the realm of The Spy Who Came in From the Cold (but not quite as good). It was from the quiller memorandum ending of the item, a failed nuclear weapons of Personalized Map Search. In fact, Segal as Quiller can often feel like a case of simple miscasting, although not as egregious a lapse in judgment as, say, Segals choice to play a Times Square smackhead in 1971s Born to Win. All Rights Reserved. At a key breakfast meeting, Pol uses two blueberry muffins to outline the particularly precarious cat-and-mouse game Quiller must play while in the gap between his own side and the fascist gang. Fans of realistic spy fiction will enjoy David McCloskeys debut thriller Damascus Station, newly available in paperback in the UK. Hall's truncated writing style contributes to this effect. What will Quiller do? The films featured secret agent is the very un-British Quiller (George Segal), a slightly depressive American operative on loan to Britains secret services (take that, Bond!). His job is to locate their headquarters. The film had its world premiere on 10 November 1966 at the Odeon Leicester Square in the West End of London. It was nominated for three BAFTA Awards,[2] while Pinter was nominated for an Edgar Award for the script. As usual for films which are difficult to pin down . The book is more focused on thinking as a spy and I found it to be very realistic. The latter reveals a local teacher has been unmasked as a Nazi. An almost unrecognizable George Segal stars in "The Quiller Memorandum," set in Berlin and made 40 years ago. Hall (also known as Elleston Trevor and several other pseudonyms) seemed really to hate the Germans, or at least his character did.