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. The source novel "The Berlin Memorandum" is billed in the credits as being by Adam Hall. The premise isn't far-fetched, but the details are. 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. 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. A few missteps toward the end so that a few of the twists felt thin and not solidly set up, but overall very nicely plotted and written. George Segal as Agent Quiller with Inge Lindt (Senta Berger). [5], According to Fox records, the film needed to earn $2,600,000 in rentals to break even and made $2,575,000, meaning it initially showed a marginal loss, but subsequent television and home video sales moved it into the black. 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. The Quiller Memorandum | film by Anderson [1966] | Britannica 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. Quiller goes back to the school and confronts Inge in her classroom. So, at this level. 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? Quiller's primary contact for this job is a mid level administrative agent named Pol. Really sad. The Quiller Memorandum: Directed by Michael Anderson. She states that she "was lucky, they let me go" and claims she then called the phone number but it did not work. George Segal, plays the edgy American-abroad new CI5 recruit (looking unnervingly at times like a young George W Bush!) 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. Thank God Segal is in it. 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. 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. talula's garden happy hour Conveniently for Quiller, shes also the only teacher there whos single and looks like a Bond girl. 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. Adam Hall/Elleston Trevor certainly produces the unexpected. His job is to locate their headquarters. Author/co-author of numerous books about the cinema and is regarded as one of the foremost James Bond scholars. The setting is the most shadowy "post WWII Berlin" with the master players lined up against each other - The Brits and The Nazi Heirs. 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. He spends as much time and energy attempting to lose the bouncer-like minders sent to cover him in the field as he does the neo-Nazi goon squads that eventually come calling. The British Secret Service sends agent Quiller to investigate. The story, in the early days of, This week sees the release of Trouble, the third book in the Hella Mauzer series by Katja Ivar. But his accent was all wrongtaking the viewer out of the moment. As usual for films which are difficult to pin down . The scene shot in the gallery of London's Reform Club is particularly odious. The headmistress introduces him to a teacher who speaks English, Inge Lindt. 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. 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 book is more focused on thinking as a spy and I found it to be very realistic. AKA: Ivan Foxwell's the Quiller Memorandum, Quiller, Quiller Memorandum, Ian Foxwell's The Quiller Memorandum, Ivan Foxwell's Production The Quiller Memorandum. This was a great movie and found Quillers character to be excellent. A satisfyingly cynical spy thriller with George Segal, Alec Guinness and Max Von Sydow; and a script by Harold Pinter, Decent and interesting spy thriller with great cast and impressive musical score by John Barry in his usual style. Can someone please explain to me the ending in The Quiller Memorandum Quiller (played by George Segal) is an American secret agent assigned to work with British MI6 chief Pol ( Alec Guinness) in West Berlin. How nice to see you again! and so forth. Alec Guinness is excellent as a spy chief, and he gives a faint whiff of verisimilitude to this hopeless film. Quiller asks after Jones at the bowling alley without success and the swimming pool manager Hassler tells him spectating is not allowed. Is Quiller going to wind up dead too? (UK title). Quiller is eventually kidnapped and tortured by Oktober (Max von Sydow), the leader of Phoenix. 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. - BH. NR. Mind you, in 1966-67 the Wall was there, East German border guards and a definite (cold war) cloud hanging over the city. [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. The Quiller Memorandum - Variety Clumsy thriller. George Segal provides us with a lead character who is somewhat quirky in his demeanor, yet nonetheless effective in his role as an agent. 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. 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. An American agent is sent to Berlin to track down the leaders of a neo-Nazi organization, but when they . Quiller manages to outwit his opponent yet again, leading to his arrest. The Wall Street Journal said it was one of the best espionage/spy series of all time. The Quiller Memorandum 1966, directed by Michael Anderson | Film review The Quiller Memorandum Film Time Out says The thinking man's spy thriller, in as much as Harold Pinter wrote the script. 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. 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. He walks down the same street where Jones was shot, but finds he is followed by Oktober's men. 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.) From the latest Scandinavian serial killer to Golden Age detective stories, we love our crime novels! For Quiller, it's a question of staying alive when he's not in possession of all of the facts. Get help and learn more about the design. The Quiller Memorandum was based on a novel by Elleston Trevor (under the name Adam Hall). 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. Very eerie film score, I believe John Barry did it but, I'm not sure. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. . Inga is unrecognizable and has been changed to the point of uselessness. 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 a bit strange to see such exquisitely Pinter-esque dialogue (the laconic, seemingly innocuous sentences; the profound silences; the syntax that isn't quite how real people actually talk) in a spy movie, but it really works. It looks like we don't have any synopsis for this title yet. He was the author of. And will the world see a return of Nazi power? After a pair of their agents are murdered in West Berlin, the British Secret Service for some unknown reason send in an American to investigate and find the location of a neo-Nazi group's headquarters. The Quiller Memorandum, British-American spy film, released in 1966, that was especially noted for the deliberately paced but engrossing script by playwright Harold Pinter. His Oktober does, however, serve as a one-man master class in hyperironic cordiality: Ah, Quiller! This is one of the worst thriller screenplays in cinema history. 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. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. Pol dispatches a team to Phoenix's HQ, which successfully captures all of Phoenix's members. He accepts the assignment and almost immediately finds that he is being followed. Neo-Nazi plot I also expected just a little more from the interrogation scenes from the man who wrote "The Birthday Party". The whole thing, including these two actors, is as hollow as a shell. It was nominated for three BAFTA Awards,[2] while Pinter was nominated for an Edgar Award for the script. In the process, he discovers a complex and malevolent plot, more dangerous to the world than any crime committed during the war. Our hero delivers a running dialogue with his own unconscious mind, assessing the threats, his potential responses, his plans. The film magnificently utilizes West German locations to bring the story to life. 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. 1966. This isachievedviaQuillers first person perspective. CIS: The Quiller Memorandum revisited | Crime Fiction Lover Meanwhile , Quiller befriends and fall in love for a teacher , Inge Lindt (Senta Berger) , and both of whom suffer constant dangers . America's leading magazine on the art and politics of the cinema. From that point of view, the film should be seen by social, architectural, and urban landscape historians. Reviews of The Quiller Memorandum Letterboxd Quiller continues his subtle accusations, and Inge continues her denial of ever meeting Jones. The cast is full of familiar faces: Alec Guinness, who doesn't have much of a role, George Sanders, who has even less of one, Max von Sydow in what was to become a very familiar part for him, Robert Helpmann, Robert Flemyng, and the beautiful, enigmatic Senta Berger. 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. He first meets with Pol, who explains that each side is trying to discover and annihilate the other's base. The West had sent a couple of agents to find out their headquarters, but both are killed. He recruits Berger to help him infiltrate the Neo-Nazis and discover their base of operations, but, once again, is thwarted. The thugs believe him dead when they see the burning wreckage. The name of the intelligence agency that Quiller ( George Segal) worked for was MI6. No one really cared that Gable did not even attempt an English accent the film was that good. But for today's audiences, those films are a bit old fashioned and not always very easy to follow, too much complicated. 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.
