The Phoenix group descend and take Quiller, torturing him to find out what he knows. Segal is an unusual actor to be cast as a spy, but his quirky approach and his talent for repartee do assist him in retaining interest (even if its at the expense of the character as originally conceived in the source novels.) He quickly becomes involved with numerous people of suspicious motives and backgrounds, including Inge (Senta Berger), a teacher at a school where a former Nazi war criminal committed suicide. The intense first person narration which is the defining characteristic of the Quiller books comes into its own during this interrogation scene, and also during the latter chapters of the books as events begin to come to a head. I listened to the audio version narrated by Andrew B Wehrlen and found it an utterly engaging tale. He first meets with Pol, who explains that each side is trying to discover and annihilate the other's base. I am not saying he was bad in the filmor at least that bad. The novel was titled The Berlin Memorandum and at its centre was the protagonist and faceless spy, Quiller. 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 I'll give this horribly dated film a generous **1/2 rating anyway; hell, you don't see a cast as great as this one every day! 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. And will the world see a return of Nazi power? I know several spy fiction fans who rate Quiller highly; I'd read a couple and thought they were only OK, plus seen and enjoyed the film (which fans of the novel tend to dislike). I read a few of these many years ago when they first came out. 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. Or was she simply a lonely Samaritan who altruistically beds the socially awkward American spy to help prevent a Fourth Reich? Apparently, it was made into a classic movie and there is even a website compiled by Trevor devotees. But the writing was sloppy and there was a wholly superfluous section on decoding a cipher, which wasn't even believable. 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!). But Quiller is an equal to a James Bond, or a George Smiley. The premise isn't far-fetched, but the details are. 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 . Which is to say that in Quillers world, death is dispensed via relatively banal means like bombs and bullets instead of, say, dagger shoes and radioactive lint. Kindle Edition. This is one of the worst thriller screenplays in cinema history. 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. Before long, his purposefully clumsy nosing around leads to his capture and interrogation by a very elegantly menacing von Sydow, who wants to know where Segal's own headquarters is! But good enough to hold my interest till the end. Finally, paint the result in Barbie pink and baby blue That's more or less what happened to Adam Hall's spy novel for this movie. Segal plays Quiller with a laconic but likeable detachment, underlining the loneliness and lack of relaxation of the agent, who can- not even count on support from his own side. Get help and learn more about the design. I had to resist the temptation to fast forward on several occasions. (What with wanting to go to sleep and wanting to scream at the same time, this film does pose certain conflict problems.) The British Secret Service sends agent Quiller to investigate. 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. Where to Watch. Quiller, a British agent who works without gun, cover or contacts, takes on a neo-Nazi underground organization and its war criminal leader. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. The film is ludicrous. Quiller tells Inge that they got most, but clearly not all, of the neo-Nazis. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). 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.) 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 sentences are generally clipped and abrupt, reminiscent of Simon Kernicks style wherenot a word is wasted, but predating him by a generation. They are all members of Phoenix, led by the German aristocrat code-named Oktober. The Quiller Memorandum book. I can't NOT begin by saying, "This Is A MUST Read For Every Fan Of The Espionage Genre". He notices the concierge is seated where he can see anyone leaving. He is British secret agent Kenneth Lindsay Jones. First isthe protagonist himself. Two British agents are murdered by a mysterious Neo-Nazi organization in West Berlin. Quilleris a code name. 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. Agent Quiller is relaxing in a Berlin theater the night before returning to London and rest after a difficult assignment when he is accosted by Pol, another British agent, with a new, very important assignment. I can see where some might find it more exhausting than anything else, though--he does get tired :). But Quiller gets closer to the action when he visits a supposedly progressive West Berlin middle school on a tip about an alleged Nazi war criminal who once taught there. The casting of George Segal in the lead was a catastrophe, as he is so brash and annoying that one wants to scream. 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. After two British agents are killed while investigating Phoenix, a neo-Nazi group, Quiller is tasked with finding the organizations leader. ago Just watched it. What is the French language plot outline for The Quiller Memorandum (1966)? This isn't your average James Bond knockoff spy thriller; the fact that the screenplay is by playwright Harold Pinter is the first clue. 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. The Quiller Memorandum: Directed by Michael Anderson. These include another superior soundtrack by John Barry, if perhaps a little too much son-of "The Ipcress File", some fine real-life (West) Berlin exteriors, particularly of the Olympic Stadium with its evocation of 1936 and all that and Harold Pinter's typically rhythmic, if at times inscrutable screenplay. That way theres no-one to betray him to the other side. I also expected just a little more from the interrogation scenes from the man who wrote "The Birthday Party". He is shielded behind the building when the bomb explodes. He contacts the teacher Inge Lindt (Senta Berger) expecting to get some clues to be followed and soon he is abducted the the leader Oktober (Max von Sydow) and his men. It's a more realistic or credible portrayal of how a single character copes with trying to get information in a dangerous environment. Meanwhile , Quiller befriends and fall in love for a teacher , Inge Lindt (Senta Berger) , and both of whom suffer constant dangers . It keeps the reader engrossed right up to the last couple of lines. No doubt Quiller initially seems like a slow-witted stumblebum, but his competence as an agent begins to reveal itself in due course: for instance, we find out he speaks fluent German; in a late scene, he successfully uses a car bomb to fake his own death and fool his adversaries; and along the way he exhibits surprisingly competent hand-to-hand combat skills in beating up a few Nazi bullyboys. This is the first in the series, and it seems to have a reputation for being a little different from what would become the typical Quiller novel. The latter reveals a local teacher has been unmasked as a Nazi. Variety and the Flying V logos are trademarks of Variety Media, LLC. His job is to locate their headquarters. The photo shows a man in Luftwaffe (airforce) uniform. The book and movie made a bit of a splash in the spy craze of the mid-sixties, when James Bond and The Man From Uncle were all the rage. After the interview, he gives her a ride to her flat and stops in for a drink. His virtual army of nearly silent, oddball henchmen add to the flavor of paranoia and nervousness. They are not just sympathisers though. They wereso popularthat in 1966 a film was made the title waschanged to The Quiller Memorandum and from then on all future copies of the book were published under this title, rather than the original. 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. But then Quiller retraces his steps in a flashback. Quiller then returns to his hotel, followed by the men who remain outside. 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. This was a great movie and found Quillers character to be excellent. The first thing to say about this film is that the screenplay is so terrible. In the mid-Sixties, the subgenre of the James Bond backlash film was becoming a crowded market. Michael Anderson directs with his usual leaden touch. Pol tells Quiller that Kenneth Lindsay Jones, a fellow agent and friend of Quiller's, was killed two days earlier by a neo-Nazi cell operating out of Berlin. As other reviewers have suggested, this Cold War Neo-Nazi intrigue is more concerned with subtle, low-key plot evolution than the James Bond in-your-face-gadgetry genre that was prevalent during the 60's-70's. For Quiller, it's a question of staying alive when he's not in possession of all of the facts. Quiller is surprised to learn that no women were found. Max von Sydow plays the Nazi chief quietly but with high camp menace. [7][8], Learn how and when to remove this template message, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Quiller_Memorandum&oldid=1135714025, "Wednesday's Child" main theme (instrumental), "Wednesday's Child" vocal version (lyrics: Mack David / vocals: Matt Monro), "Have You Heard of a Man Called Jones?" Special guests Sanders and Helpmann bring their special brand of haughty authority to their roles as members of British Intelligence. . Each reveal, in turn, provides a separate level of truth--or, as it may be, self-deception. Updates? It was nominated for three BAFTA Awards,[2] while Pinter was nominated for an Edgar Award for the script. What is the French language plot outline for The Quiller Memorandum (1966)? 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 book is built around a continual number of reveals. 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. Newer. The Quiller Memorandum Reviews. This was evidently the first of a very long series featuring the spy Quiller. This film has special meaning for me as I was living in Berlin during the filming and, subsequent screening in the city. In the following chapter the events have moved on beyond the crisis, instantly creating a how? question in your mind. Quiller would have also competed with the deluge of popular spy spoofs and their misfit mock-heroes: namely, Dean Martins drinking-and-driving playboy agent Matt Helm (The Silencers, Wrecking Crew) and James Coburns parody of Bondian suavity, Derek Flint, in the trippy spy fantasias Our Man Flint (1966) and In Like Flint (1967). 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. At the 1967 BAFTA Awards the film had nominations in the best Art Direction, Film Editing and Screenplay categories, but did not win. The whole thing, including these two actors, is as hollow as a shell. In the 60's, in Berlin, two British agents that are investigating a Neonazi ring are murdered. Press J to jump to the feed. This isn't your standard spy film with lots of gunplay, outrageous villains, and explosions. And whats more, Quillers espionage tale is free of the silly gimmicks and gadgetry that define the escapist Bond franchise. But admittedly its a tricky business second-guessing his dramatic instincts here. 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. This well-drawn tale of espionage is set in West Berlin, 15 years after the end of WW II. 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. 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. 2023 Variety Media, LLC. Much quieter and understated than most spy flicks. (UK title). 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. 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. NR. George Segal as Agent Quiller with Inge Lindt (Senta Berger). THE SITE FOR DIE HARD CRIME & THRILLER FANS. Thank God Segal is in it. Quiller also benefits from some geographically eclectic West Berlin location shooting from master cinematographer and Berlin native Erwin Hillier. 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. Keating. He brings graceful authority and steely determination to his role. Required fields are marked *. 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. 1 hr 45 mins. Quiller (played by George Segal) is an American secret agent assigned to work with British MI6 chief Pol (Alec Guinness) in West Berlin. Published chrismass61 Aug 21 2013 Can someone explain it to me? 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. If you have seen this movie, and it leaves you very dissatisfied or with a bunch of bright orange question marks, don't worry ! Blu-ray, color, 105 min., 1966. In many ways, it creates mystery through the notion of exploring "mystery" itself. Two British agents are murdered by a mysterious Neo-Nazi organization in West Berlin. As usual for films which are difficult to pin down . How did I miss this film until just recently? What Adam Hall did extremely wellwas toget us readers inside the mind of an undercover operative. He walks down the same street where Jones was shot, but finds he is followed by Oktober's men. Segal plays a secret agent assigned to ferret out the headquarters of a Neo-Nazi movement in Berlin. I read it in two evenings. Twist piles upon twist , as a British agent becomes involved in a fiendishly complicated operation to get a dangerous ringleader and his menacing hoodlums . It certainly held my interest, partly because it was set in Berlin and even mentioned the street I lived on several times. Sadly the Quiller novels have fallen out of favour with the apparentend of the Cold War. And he sustains the same high level of quality over the course of nineteen books. All of that, and today the novels are largely forgotten. Quiller (played by George Segal) is an American secret agent assigned to work with British MI6 chief Pol ( Alec Guinness) in West Berlin. With its gritty, real-world depiction of contemporary international espionage, The Quiller Memorandum was one of the more notable anti-Bond films of the 1960s.