Sort of a mixed effect clouds this novel. The Quiller Memorandum is based on Adam Hall's thriller novel about neo-Nazism in contemporary Germany. 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. Adam Hall/Elleston Trevor certainly produces the unexpected. And will the world see a return of Nazi power? The thugs believe him dead when they see the burning wreckage. Thought I'd try again and found this one a bit dated and dry - I will persevere with the series, Adam Hall (one of Elleston Trevor' many pseudonyms) wrote many classic spy stories, and this one is considered one of his best. The film ends with Quiller suspecting that Inge is more than an ordinary schoolteacher. 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. 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. This demonstration using familiar breakfast food items serves to stimulate the American spys brainwaves into serious operative mode. Other viewers have said it all: it is a good movie and more interestingly it is a different kind of spy movie. At the 1967 BAFTA Awards the film had nominations in the best Art Direction, Film Editing and Screenplay categories, but did not win. The book is built around a continual number of reveals. Quiller is surprised to learn that no women were found. Thanks in advance. 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. Much quieter and understated than most spy flicks. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. In 1966, the book was made into a successful film starring George Segal, Max Von Sydow, Senta Berger, and Alec Guinness. For Quiller, it's a question of staying alive when he's not in possession of all of the facts. Quiller leaves, startling the headmistress on the way out. I can see where some might find it more exhausting than anything else, though--he does get tired :). This isn't your standard spy film with lots of gunplay, outrageous villains, and explosions. I liked that the main character was ornery and tired and smart and still made mistakes and tried to see all possible outcomes at once and fought more against jumping to conclusions and staying alert and clear-headed than he did directly against the villains themselves. The ploy works as one, two or all three of those places were where the Nazis did learn about Quiller, who they kidnap. The classic tale of espionage that started it all! 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). Quiller has a love affair with Inge and they seek out the location of Oktober. 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. Max von Sydow as a senior post-War Nazi conspirator over-acts and is way out of control, Anderson being so hopeless and just a bystander who can have done no directing at all. But admittedly its a tricky business second-guessing his dramatic instincts here. 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. As classic as it gets. Get help and learn more about the design. It keeps the reader engrossed right up to the last couple of lines. Your email address will not be published. Or was she simply a lonely Samaritan who altruistically beds the socially awkward American spy to help prevent a Fourth Reich? And the legendary John Barrycomposer of the original Bond themeprovides appropriately haunting incidental music here. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Quiller (played by George Segal) is an American secret agent assigned to work with British MI6 chief Pol ( Alec Guinness) in West Berlin. As a consequence I was left in some never-never land and always felt I was watching actors in a movie and never got involved. I am not saying he was bad in the filmor at least that bad. Elleston Trevor wrote 19 novels in the highly successful Quiller series. 15 years after the end of WW II. In the 60's, in Berlin, two British agents that are investigating a Neonazi ring are murdered. But Quiller is an equal to a James Bond, or a George Smiley. They are all members of Phoenix, led by the German aristocrat code-named Oktober. Quiller: At the end of our conversation, he ordered them to kill me. All Rights Reserved. The setting is the most shadowy "post WWII Berlin" with the master players lined up against each other - The Brits and The Nazi Heirs. As such, it was deemed to be in the mode of The Ipcress File (1965) and The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1965). 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. It was from the quiller memorandum ending of the item, a failed nuclear weapons of Personalized Map Search. Lindt (Berger) is a school teacher who meets Quiller to translate for him. Michael Anderson directs with his usual leaden touch. 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. Following the few leads his predecessor Jones had accumulated, Quiller finds himself nosing around for clues in the sort of unglamorous places in which Bond would never deign to set footbowling alleys and public swimming pools, especially. Quiller then returns to his hotel, followed by the men who remain outside. 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. 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. 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. When they find, Quiller gives the phone number of his base to Inge and investigates the place. Pol dispatches a team to Phoenix's HQ, which successfully captures all of Phoenix's members. It looks like we don't have any synopsis for this title yet. Variety and the Flying V logos are trademarks of Variety Media, LLC. The love interest between Quiller and Inge (Senta Berger) developed with no foundation. This well-drawn tale of espionage is set in West Berlin, 15 years after the end of WW II. 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.) While the rest of the cast (Alec Guinness, Max Von Sydow and George Sanders) are good and Harold Pinter tries hard to turn a very internal story into the visual medium, George Segal is totally miscast as Quiller. So, at this level. In . This reactionary quake in the spy genre was brief but seismic all the same. The mind of the spy 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.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.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 George Segal, Alec Guinness, Max von Sydow, Senta Berger. Don't start thinking you missed something: it's the screenplay who did ! Also the increasing descent into the minutiae of spycraft plays into the reveal, plot-wise as well as psychologically. 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. For example operatives are referred to as ferrets, and thats what they are. People tend to like it because "it's not like the Bond movies"; well, it's not - it's like "The Ipcress File", except that "The Ipcress File" was a genuinely smart and atmospheric movie, while "The Quiller Memorandum" is a clumsy, dated spy thriller full of pseudo-hip dialogue and plot holes. 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. Watchlist. What will Quiller do? Visually, the film was rather stunning, but the magical soft focus that appears every time Inga is in the frame is silly. 1 jamietre 8 mo. Quiller (played by George Segal) is an American secret agent assigned to work with British MI6 chief Pol (Alec Guinness) in West Berlin. You HAVE been watching it carefully. 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. effective, low key, intelligent, spy film, Attractive, thoughtful spy film with an excellent cast. 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. This well-drawn tale of espionage is set in West B. Audiobook. Each reveal, in turn, provides a separate level of truth--or, as it may be, self-deception. 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. That way theres no-one to betray him to the other side. 1966's The Quiller Memorandum is a low-key gem, a pared-down, existential spy caper that keeps the exoticism to a minimum. Author/co-author of numerous books about the cinema and is regarded as one of the foremost James Bond scholars. 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. Fairly interesting spy movie, but doesn't make much sense under close scrutiny. He calls Inge and arranges to meet. NR. Quiller enters the mansion and is confronted by Phoenix thugs. Keating. Quiller, a British agent who works without gun, cover or contacts, takes on a neo-Nazi underground organization and its war criminal leader. His book. Oktober reveals they are moving base the next day and that they have captured Inge. 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. Von Sydow (one of the few actors to have recovered from playing Jesus Christ and gone on to a varied and lengthy career) is excellent. The story is ludicrous. He is the true faceless spy. 2023 Variety Media, LLC. Quiller befriends a teacher, Inge Lindt, whose predecessor at the school had been arrested for being a Neo-Nazi. The Quiller Memorandum is the third Quiller novel that I have read, and it firmly establishes my opinion that Quiller is one of the finest series of espionage novels to have ever been written. Quiller works for the Bureau, an arm of the British Secret Service so clandestinethat no-one knows itexists. This one makes no exception. As Quiller revolves around a plot that's more monstrously twisted than he imagines it to be . 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 awakes in a dilapidated mansion, surrounded by many of the previous incidental characters. But for today's audiences, those films are a bit old fashioned and not always very easy to follow, too much complicated. Hes lone wolf who lives or dies by his own actions a very clean and principled approach to espionage. As for the rest of the movie, the plot, acting, and dialog are absolutely atrocious; even the footsteps are dubbed - click, click, click. The book itself sets a standard for the psychological spy thriller as an agent (code-named Quiller) plays a suspense-filled cat-and-mouse game with the head of a neo-Nazi group in post-war Berlin. When Quiller returns to his hotel, a porter bumps Quiller's leg with a suitcase on the steps. The latter reveals a local teacher has been unmasked as a Nazi. 42 editions. Our hero delivers a running dialogue with his own unconscious mind, assessing the threats, his potential responses, his plans. "[4], The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reports that 67% of critics have given the film a positive rating, based on 12 reviews, with an average score of 7.4/10. 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. This was a great movie and found Quillers character to be excellent. 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. 1 hr 45 mins. Segal is a very young man in this, with that flippant, relaxed quality that made him so popular. Required fields are marked *. Watchable and intriguing as it occasionally is, enigmatic is perhaps the most apposite adjective you could use to describe the "action" within. The whole thing, including these two actors, is as hollow as a shell. The film's screenplay (by noted playwright Pinter) reuses to spoon feed the audience, rather requiring that they rely on their instinct and attention span to pick up the threads of the plot. The Quiller Memorandum subtitles. 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. Quiller wakes up beside Berlin's Spree River. This isachievedviaQuillers first person perspective. aka: The Quiller Memorandum the first in a series of 19 Quiller books. The screenwriter, Harold Pinter, no less, received an Edgar nomination. If you have seen this movie, and it leaves you very dissatisfied or with a bunch of bright orange question marks, don't worry ! A highly unusual and stimulating approach that draws us into the story. Quilleris a code name. 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. 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. 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. The burning question for Quiller is, how close is too close? Michael Anderson directs a classy slice of '60s spy-dom. Weary, Quiller only accepts the assignment on the assumption that he can fulfill a self-made promise revenge for a friend. 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A man walks along a deserted Berlin street at night and enters an internally lit phone box. 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! The Phoenix group descend and take Quiller, torturing him to find out what he knows. 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. This was evidently the first of a very long series featuring the spy Quiller. They say 'what a pity' with droll indifference as they eat their roast pheasant and take note of which operatives have been killed this week. 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. 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. 2023's Most Anticipated Sequels, Prequels, and Spin-offs, Dirk Bauer
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