The quarry for all the work is old Nazi higher officials who are now hiding behind new names and plotting to return Germany to the glory days of the Third Reich, complete with a resurrected Fhrer twenty years after the end of WW II. "The Quiller Memorandum" is a film with a HUGE strike against it at the outset.they inexplicably cast George Segal as a British spy! Apparently, it was made into a classic movie and there is even a website compiled by Trevor devotees. Lindt (Berger) is a school teacher who meets Quiller to translate for him. The source novel "The Berlin Memorandum" is billed in the credits as being by Adam Hall. Movie Info 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 (George Segal) is sent to Berlin to. Soon after his amorous encounter with Inge, Quiller is drugged on the street by a crafty hypodermic-wielding operative and wakes up in a seedy basement full of stern-looking Nazis in business attire. Directed by Michael Anderson; produced by Ivan Stockwell; screenplay by Harold Pinter; cinematography by Erwin Hiller; edited by Frederick Wilson; art direction by Maurice Carter; music by John Barry; starring George Segal, Max Von Sydow, Alec Guinness, Senta Berger, and guest stars George Stevens and Robert Helpmann. Director Michael Anderson Writers Trevor Dudley Smith (based on the novel by) Harold Pinter (screenplay) Stars George Segal Alec Guinness Max von Sydow See production, box office & company info This isn't your standard spy film with lots of gunplay, outrageous villains, and explosions. Another characteristic of Halls style isthe ending of chapters with a cliff hanger. Really sad. The Quiller character is constantly making terrible decisions, and refuses to use a gun, and he's certainly no John Steed. I too read the Quiller novels years ago and found them thrilling and a great middle ground between the super-spy Bond stories and the realism of Le Carre. I read it in two evenings. That makes the story much more believable, and Adam Hall's writing style kept me engaged. You are the hero of an extraordinary novel that shows how a spy works, how messages are coded and decoded, how contacts are made, how a man reacts under the influence of truth drugs, and that traces the story of a vastly complex, entertaining, convincing, and sinister plot. Quiller: At the end of our conversation, he ordered them to kill me. 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. 1966's The Quiller Memorandum is a low-key gem, a pared-down existential spy caper that keeps the exoticism to a minimum. The premise isn't far-fetched, but the details are. 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. Quiller becomes drowsy from a drug that was injected by the porter at the entrance to the hotel. Corrections? 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). Is Quiller going to wind up dead too? 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. The film illustrates the never-ending game of spying and the futility that results as each mission is only accomplished in its own realm, but the big picture goes on and on with little or no resolution. I'm generally pretty forgiving of film adaptations of novels, but the changes that were made just do not make sense. 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. 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. Quiller being injected with truth serum by agents of Phoenix. As usual for films which are difficult to pin down . What is the French language plot outline for The Quiller Memorandum (1966)? The friend proves to be Hassler, who is now much more friendly. The only redeeming features of The Quiller Memorandum are the scenes of Berlin with its old U-Bahn train and wonderful Mercedes automobiles, and the presence of two beautiful German women, Senta Berger and Edith Schneider; those two females epitomize Teutonic womanhood for me. I read a few of these many years ago when they first came out. It out the quiller? An American agent is sent to Berlin to track down the leaders of a neo-Nazi organization, but when they . 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. Two British agents are murdered by a mysterious Neo-Nazi organization in West Berlin. Quiller asks after Jones at the bowling alley without success and the swimming pool manager Hassler tells him spectating is not allowed. Pol dispatches a team to Phoenix's HQ, which successfully captures all of Phoenix's members. Hall is not trying be a Le Carre, hes in a different area, one he really makes his own. Just watched it. It was nominated for three BAFTA Awards,[2] while Pinter was nominated for an Edgar Award for the script. 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. 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. The novels are esoteric thrillers, very cerebral and highly recommended. The British Secret Service sends agent Quiller to investigate. 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. His book. Director Michael Anderson Writers Trevor Dudley Smith (based on the novel by) Harold Pinter (screenplay) Stars George Segal Alec Guinness Max von Sydow See production, box office & company info What Adam Hall did extremely wellwas toget us readers inside the mind of an undercover operative. The scene shot in the gallery of London's Reform Club is particularly odious. Once Quiller becomes extra-friendly with Ingewhich happens preternaturally quicklyits clear someone on the other side is getting nervous. This was a great movie and found Quillers character to be excellent. And whats more, Quillers espionage tale is free of the silly gimmicks and gadgetry that define the escapist Bond franchise. George Segal as Agent Quiller with Inge Lindt (Senta Berger). (UK title). He begins openly asking question about Neo-Nazis and is soon kidnapped by a man known only as "Oktober". For example operatives are referred to as ferrets, and thats what they are. In the process, he discovers a complex and malevolent plot, more dangerous to the world than any crime committed during the war. This well-drawn tale of espionage is set in West B. 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. ago Just watched it. Quiller's assignment: to discover the location of the neo-Nazi . The Chief of the Secret Service Pol (Alec Guinness) summons the efficient agent Quiller (George Segal) to investigate the location of organization's headquarter. 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. He walks down the same street where Jones was shot, but finds he is followed by Oktober's men. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. Hes that good try the book and youll find out. As for the rest of the movie, the plot, acting, and dialog are absolutely atrocious; even the footsteps are dubbed - click, click, click. The protagonist, Quiller, is not a superhuman, like the James Bond types, nor does he have a satchel full of fancy electronic tricks up his sleeve. It's hard to believe this book won the Edgar for Best Novel, against books by Mary Stewart, Len Deighton, Ross MacDonald, Dorothy Salisbury Davis, and H.R.F. As classic as it gets. Meanwhile , Quiller befriends and fall in love for a teacher , Inge Lindt (Senta Berger) , and both of whom suffer constant dangers . It was time for kitchen-sink alternatives to the Bond films upper-crust Empire nostalgia, channeled as it was through a tuxedoed, priapic Anglo toff committing state-sponsored murder in service of Her Majestys postcolonial grudges. Quiller is eventually kidnapped and tortured by Oktober (Max von Sydow), the leader of Phoenix. At the 1967 BAFTA Awards the film had nominations in the best Art Direction, Film Editing and Screenplay categories, but did not win. All Rights Reserved. He first meets with Pol, who explains that each side is trying to discover and annihilate the other's base. Author/co-author of numerous books about the cinema and is regarded as one of the foremost James Bond scholars. Senta Berger was gorgeous! Segal plays a secret agent assigned to ferret out the headquarters of a Neo-Nazi movement in Berlin. The setting is the most shadowy "post WWII Berlin" with the master players lined up against each other - The Brits and The Nazi Heirs. The ploy works as one, two or all three of those places were where the Nazis did learn about Quiller, who they kidnap. It is the first book in the 20-volume Quiller series. It was from the quiller memorandum ending of the item, a failed nuclear weapons of Personalized Map Search. 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. 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. 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. 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. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. I enjoyed the book. From that point of view, the film should be seen by social, architectural, and urban landscape historians. [3], In a contemporary review for The New York Times, critic Bosley Crowther wrote: "Clearly, 'The Quiller Memorandum' is claptrap done up in a style and with a musical score by John Barry that might lead you to think it is Art. He is shielded behind the building when the bomb explodes. Mind you, in 1966-67 the Wall was there, East German border guards and a definite (cold war) cloud hanging over the city. If your idea of an exciting spy thriller involves boobs, blondes and exploding baguettes, then The Quiller Memorandum is probably not for you. The Wall Street Journal said it was one of the best espionage/spy series of all time. Hes lone wolf who lives or dies by his own actions a very clean and principled approach to espionage. I can see where some might find it more exhausting than anything else, though--he does get tired :). 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. He was the author of. Visually, the film was rather stunning, but the magical soft focus that appears every time Inga is in the frame is silly. The nation remained the home of the best spies. 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. 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. Their aim is to bring back the Third Reich. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. George Sanders and others back in London play the stock roles of arch SIS mandarins who love putting people down, wearing black tie and being the snobs that they are. Keating. It is very rare that I find anyone else who is even aware of the Quiller books and yet they are as your reviewer mentions, absolutely first class. They are not just sympathisers though. If you have seen this movie, and it leaves you very dissatisfied or with a bunch of bright orange question marks, don't worry ! 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. 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. In the mid-Sixties, the subgenre of the James Bond backlash film was becoming a crowded market. Nobel prizes notwithstanding I think Harold Pinter's screenplay for this movie is pretty lame, or maybe it's the director's fault. Guinness appears as Segal's superior and offers a great deal of presence and class. The Neo-Nazis want to know the location of British operations and similarly, the British want to know the location of the Neo-Nazis' headquarters. The thugs believe him dead when they see the burning wreckage. Each reveal, in turn, provides a separate level of truth--or, as it may be, self-deception. 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. In . While most realistic spy films of the 60s focused on the Soviet threat, Quiller pits the title character against a group of neo-Nazis. Despite an Oscar nomination for "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?," Segal's strength lies in light comedy, and both his demeanor and physical build made him an unlikely pick for an action role, even if the film is short on action. Quiller reaches Pol's secret office in Berlin, one of the top floors in the newly built Europa-Center, the tallest building in the city, and gives them the location of the building where he met Oktober. Writing in The Guardian, playwright David Hare described Pinters strengths as a dramatist perfectly: In the spare, complicated screenwriting of Pinter, yes, no and maybe become words which do a hundred jobs. Unfortunately, when it comes to the use of language in Quiller, less does not always function as more. Quiller enters the mansion and is confronted by Phoenix thugs. 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. 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. 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. As Quiller revolves around a plot that's more monstrously twisted than he imagines it to be . Directed by Michael Anderson; produced by Ivan Stockwell; screenplay by Harold Pinter; cinematography by Erwin Hiller; edited by Frederick Wilson; art direction by Maurice Carter; music by John Barry; starring George Segal, Max Von Sydow, Alec Guinness, Senta Berger, and guest stars George Stevens and Robert Helpmann. Write by: closing theme, This page was last edited on 26 January 2023, at 11:13. The Quiller series is highly regarded by the spy-fiction community, and as strange as it may seem - because I have had most of the books for years - I have never actually read them. The shooting on location in Berlin makes it that much more thrilling. 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. I feel this film much more typified real counter espionage in the 60's as opposed to the early Bond flicks (which I love, by the way). 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. Hall alsopeppered the text with authentic espionage jargon and as you read you get to live the part of Quiller. Despite an Oscar nomination for "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?," Segal's strength lies in light comedy, and both his demeanor and physical build made him an unlikely pick for an action role, even if the film is short on action. What a difference to the ludicrous James Helm/Matt Bond (or is it the other way round?) This isn't your average James Bond knockoff spy thriller; the fact that the screenplay is by playwright Harold Pinter is the first clue. The mind of the spy Elleston Trevor wrote 19 novels in the highly successful Quiller series. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. The classic tale of espionage that started it all! Read more The first thing to say about this film is that the screenplay is so terrible. Alec Guinness plays spymaster Pol, Quillers minder. I can't NOT begin by saying, "This Is A MUST Read For Every Fan Of The Espionage Genre". 2023 Variety Media, LLC. Quiller has a love affair with Inge and they seek out the location of Oktober. The mission in Berlin is a mess, two of the Bureaus spies have been murdered already by the shadowy Phoenix. This one makes no exception. He steals a taxi, evades a pursuing vehicle and books himself into a squalid hotel. NR. The story is ludicrous. youtu.be/rQ4PA3H6pAw. before he started doing "genial" and reminds us that his previous part was in the heavyweight "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf". Sort of a mixed effect clouds this novel. I probably haven't yet read enough to be fully aware of what the typical Quiller characteristics are, but never mindthe key thing is that it was a pacy, intense and thrilling read. She claims she turned in the teacher from the article, and points out the dilapidated Phoenix mansion. Quiller (played by George Segal) is an American secret agent assigned to work with British MI6 chief Pol (Alec Guinness) in West Berlin. The goal of /r/Movies is to provide an inclusive place for discussions and news about films with major releases. The Quiller Memorandum was based on a novel by Elleston Trevor (under the name Adam Hall). The film ends with Quiller suspecting that Inge is more than an ordinary schoolteacher. The novel was titled The Berlin Memorandum and at its centre was the protagonist and faceless spy, 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. But George Segal just doesn't cut it as a British secret agent in The Quiller Memorandum. Elleston Trevor (pictured) himself was a prolific, award-winning writer, producing novels under a range of pen names nine in total! 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 film was shot on location in West Berlin and in Pinewood Studios, England. Submissions should be for the purpose of informing or initiating a discussion, not just to entertain readers. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); 2021 Crime Fiction Lover. A handful of engaging spy thrillers followed before the author paused his novels to focus on journalism, although its also worth noting that he has freelanced. Quiller is released. The sentences are generally clipped and abrupt, reminiscent of Simon Kernicks style wherenot a word is wasted, but predating him by a generation. Audiobook. 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 is a nom de plume for author. 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.