Variety is a part of Penske Media Corporation. Meanwhile , Quiller befriends and fall in love for a teacher , Inge Lindt (Senta Berger) , and both of whom suffer constant dangers . The Quiller Memorandum is based on Adam Hall's thriller novel about neo-Nazism in contemporary Germany. Oktober informs Quiller that if he does not disclose secret information this time, both he and Inge will be killed. After they have sex, she unexpectedly reveals that a friend was formerly involved with neo-Nazis and might know the location of Phoenix's HQ. The book is built around a continual number of reveals. When Quiller arrives inthe cityhis handler gives him three items found on a dead agent: tickets to a swimming pool and a bowling alley along with a newspaper cutting. Another isQuillers refusal to carry a weapon hebelieves it lends the operative an over-confidence and cangive the opposition an opportunity to turn your firearm against you. But don't let it fool you for one minutenor Mr. Segal, nor Senta Berger as the girl. The plot holes are many. This isn't your average James Bond knockoff spy thriller; the fact that the screenplay is by playwright Harold Pinter is the first clue. Quiller is eventually kidnapped and tortured by Oktober (Max von Sydow), the leader of Phoenix. With a screenplay by Harold Pinter and careful direction by Michael Anderson, the movie is more a violent-edged tale of probable, cynical betrayal by everyone we meet, with the main character, Quiller (George Segal), squeezed by those he works for, those he works against and even by the delectable German teacher, Inge Lendt (Senta Berger) he meets. Alec Guinness never misses a trick in his few scenes as the cold, witty fish in charge of Berlin sector investigations. 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). But soon he finds that she has been kidnapped and Oktober gives a couple of hours to him to give the location of the site; otherwise Inge and him will be killed. 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. A Twilight Time release. A bit too sardonic at times, I think his character wanted to be elsewhere, clashing with KGB agents instead of ferreting out neo-nazis. 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. This spy novel about neo-Nazis 1960's Berlin seemed dated and a little stilted to me. Guinness appears as Segal's superior and offers a great deal of presence and class. George Segal was good at digging for information without gadgets. Michael Sandlin is a writer and academic based in Houston, Texas. (UK title). 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. It certainly held my interest, partly because it was set in Berlin and even mentioned the street I lived on several times. movies. That makes the story much more believable, and Adam Hall's writing style kept me engaged. Max Van Sydow is better as the neo-Nazi leader, veiled by the veneer of respectability as he cracks his knuckles and swings a golf club all the time he's injecting Segal with massive doses of truth serum, while Senta Berger is pleasant, but slight, as the pretty young teacher who apparently leads our man initially to the "other side", but whose escape at the end from capture and certain death at the hands of the "baddies" might lead one to suspect her true proclivities. While most realistic spy films of the 60s focused on the Soviet threat, Quiller pits the title character against a group of neo-Nazis. George Segal's Quiller isn't intense, smart, calculating--qualities Quiller is known for--instead he comes across as a doofus by comparison, better suited to sports-writing or boxing, completely lacking in cunning. Quiller drives off, managing to shake Hengel, then notices men in another car following him. 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. Hall (also known as Elleston Trevor and several other pseudonyms) seemed really to hate the Germans, or at least his character did. 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) . When a spy film is made in the James Bond vein then close analysis is superfluous, but when the movie has a pretense of seriousness then it'd better make sense. And although Harold Pinters screenwriting for Quiller doesnt strike one as being classically Pinteresque, occasionally his distinct style reveals itself in pockets of suggestive menace where silence is often just as important as whats spoken. Quiller (played by George Segal) is an American secret agent assigned to work with British MI6 chief Pol (Alec Guinness) in West Berlin. Just watched it. Quiller continues his subtle accusations, and Inge continues her denial of ever meeting Jones. Ian Nathan of Empire described the film as "daft, dated and outright confusing most of the time, but undeniably fun" and rated it with 3/5 stars. He is the true faceless spy. In terms of style The Quiller books aretaut and written with narrative pace at the forefront. That way theres no-one to betray him to the other side. Harold Pinter's fairly literate screenplay features . And will the world see a return of Nazi power? George Segal is a fine and always engaging actor, but the way his character is written here, he doesn't really come across as "a spy who gets along by his brains and not by his brawn"; he seems interested almost exclusively in the girl he meets, not in the case he's investigating, and (at least until the end) he seems to survive as a result of a combination of his good luck and the stupidity of the villains. Sadly the Quiller novels have fallen out of favour with the apparentend of the Cold War. 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. Also the increasing descent into the minutiae of spycraft plays into the reveal, plot-wise as well as psychologically. By day, the city is presented so beautifully, it's hard to imagine that such ugly things are going on amidst it. Drama. Segal plays a secret agent assigned to ferret out the headquarters of a Neo-Nazi movement in Berlin. 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. Want to Read. 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). International in its scope its contributors include scholars from Australia, Quiller . - BH. His understated (and at times simply wooden) performance here can be a tough sell when set against the more expressive comedic persona he cultivated in offbeat 1970s comedies like Blume in Love, The Owl and the Pussycat, Wheres Poppa?, California Spilt, and Fun With Dick and Jane. The third to try is Quiller, an unassuming man, who knows he's being put into a deadly game. Pretending to be a reporter, Quiller visits the school featured in the article. Probably the most famous example of a solid American type playing an Englishman is Clark Gable from Mutiny On The Bounty. There are a number of unique elements in the Quiller series that make it stand out. This is an espionage series that started in the '60's and ran through the '90's. aka: The Quiller Memorandum the first in a series of 19 Quiller books. The headmistress introduces him to a teacher who speaks English, Inge Lindt. 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. Omissions? How did I miss this film until just recently? From the latest Scandinavian serial killer to Golden Age detective stories, we love our crime novels! This was evidently the first of a very long series featuring the spy Quiller. The Quiller Memorandum (1966) is one such film, and though it's one of the more obscure ones, it is also one of the better ones. 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. The classic tale of espionage that started it all! Released at a time when the larger-than-life type of spy movie (the James Bond series) was in full swing and splashy, satirical ones (such as "Our Man Flynt" and "The Silencers") were about to take off, this is a quieter, more down-to-earth and realistic effort. I enjoyed this novel just as much (if not more) as the previous books that I have read, and I will certainly be purchasing any further Quiller novels that I come across in my exploration of second-hand bookshops. The characters and dialog are well-written and most roles are nicely acted. Written by Harold Pinter from the novel by Adam Hall Produced by Ivan Foxwell Directed by Michael Anderson Reviewed by Glenn Erickson The enormous success of James Bond made England the center of yet another worldwide cultural phenomenon. Slow-moving Cold War era thriller in the mode of "The Spy Who Came in from the Cold," "The Quiller Memorandum" lacks thrills and fails to match the quality of that Richard Burton classic. Two British agents are murdered by a mysterious Neonazi organization in West Berlin. Neo-Nazi plot 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 . 1 hr 45 mins. One of my all time favorites and the film too. 2 decades after the collapse of Nazi Germany, several old guard are planning to (slowly) rebuild. 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. Your email address will not be published. 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. The film magnificently utilizes West German locations to bring the story to life. What will Quiller do? If your idea of an exciting spy thriller involves boobs, blondes and exploding baguettes, then The Quiller Memorandum is probably not for you. A man walks along a deserted Berlin street at night and enters an internally lit phone box. Nimble, sharp-toothed and sometimes they have to bite and claw their way out of a dark hole. In the mid-Sixties, the subgenre of the James Bond backlash film was becoming a crowded market. 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. Not terribly audience-friendly, but smart and very, very cool. Have read a half dozen or so other "Quiller" books, so when I saw that Hoopla had this first story, I figured I should give it a listen to see how Quiller got started. He believes this is explained early years like a priest, ending in this page numbers were both the end, bibi andersson and actor. Each reveal, in turn, provides a separate level of truth--or, as it may be, self-deception. This time he's a spy trying to get the location of a neo-Nazi organization. For example operatives are referred to as ferrets, and thats what they are. Fans of "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" will notice that film's Mr. Slugworth (Meisner) in a small role as the operator of a swim club (which features some memorably husky, "master race" swimmers emerging from the pool.) Thank God Segal is in it. Book 4 stars, narration by Simon Prebble 4 stars. NR. 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. Press J to jump to the feed. They are not just sympathisers though. As usual for films which are difficult to pin down . 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. See for instance DANDY IN ASPIC too, sooo complex and fascinating in the same time. He is shielded behind the building when the bomb explodes. 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. 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. The Quiller Memorandum's strengths and charms are perhaps a bit too subtle for a spy thriller, but those who like their espionage movies served up with a sheen of intelligence rather than gloss or mockery will embrace Quiller.Still, there's no denying that that intelligence doesn't go as deep as it thinks it does, which can be frustrating. George Segal as Agent Quiller with Inge Lindt (Senta Berger). 2023's Most Anticipated Sequels, Prequels, and Spin-offs, Dirk Bauer . Older ; About; 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. Theres a humanity to Quiller that is unique in this type of action spy thriller. Once Quiller becomes extra-friendly with Ingewhich happens preternaturally quicklyits clear someone on the other side is getting nervous. Although competing against a whole slew of other titles in the spies-on-every-corner vein, the novel, "The Quiller Memorandum" was amazingly successful in book stores. Mind you, in 1966-67 the Wall was there, East German border guards and a definite (cold war) cloud hanging over the city. Updates? The Quiller Memorandum strips the spy persona down to its primal instincts, ditching the fancy paraphernalia in favor of a rather satisfying display of wits and gumption. It relies on a straight narrative storyline, simple but holding, literate dialog and well-drawn characters.
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