What will Quiller do? 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. Journeyman director Michael Andersons The Quiller Memorandum, which was as defiantly anti-Bond as you could get in 1966, has just been rescued from DVD mediocrity by the retro connoisseurs at Twilight Time and given a twenty-first-century Blu-ray upgrade. 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. "[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. Hall alsopeppered the text with authentic espionage jargon and as you read you get to live the part of Quiller. When Quiller returns to his hotel, a porter bumps Quiller's leg with a suitcase on the steps. Elleston Trevor (pictured) himself was a prolific, award-winning writer, producing novels under a range of pen names nine in total! A bit too sardonic at times, I think his character wanted to be elsewhere, clashing with KGB agents instead of ferreting out neo-nazis. But George Segal just doesn't cut it as a British secret agent in The Quiller Memorandum. 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. 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. But the writing was sloppy and there was a wholly superfluous section on decoding a cipher, which wasn't even believable. But Quiller is an equal to a James Bond, or a George Smiley. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. This exciting movie belongs to spy sub-genre being developed during the cold war , it turns out to be a stirring thriller plenty of mystery , tension , high level of suspense , and a little bit of violence . Cue the imposing Max Von Sydow as Nazi head honcho Oktober, whose Swedish accent is inflected with an Elmer Fudd-like speech impedimentthus achieving something like a serviceable German accent. The film ends with Quiller suspecting that Inge is more than an ordinary schoolteacher. True, Segal never seems to settle into the role of Quiller. I can see where some might find it more exhausting than anything else, though--he does get tired :). George Segal was good at digging for information without gadgets. 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. During the car chase scene, the cars behind Quiller's Porsche appear and disappear, and are sometimes alongside his car, on the driver's (left) side. This repackaging includes some worthwhile special features like an isolated score track and commentary by film historians Eddy Friedfeld and Lee Pfeiffer of Cinema Retro magazine to go with the new format. He is shot dead by an unseen gunman. The plot revolves around former Nazis and the rise of a Neo-Nazi organisation known as Phonix. It relies on a straight narrative storyline, simple but holding, literate dialog and well-drawn characters. 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. American agent Quiller (George Segal) arrives in Berlin and meets with his British handler Pol (Alec Guinness). 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. On the surface, we get at least some satisfying closure to the case of the clandestine neo-Nazi gang. This time he's a spy trying to get the location of a neo-Nazi organization. Quiller goes back to the school and confronts Inge in her classroom. Thanks in advance. The mission in Berlin is a mess, two of the Bureaus spies have been murdered already by the shadowy Phoenix. (What with wanting to go to sleep and wanting to scream at the same time, this film does pose certain conflict problems.) [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. Can someone explain it to me? Quiller (played by George Segal) is an American secret agent assigned to work with British MI6 chief Pol (Alec Guinness) in West Berlin. Set largely on location in West Berlin, it has George Segal brought back from vacation to replace a British agent who has come to a sticky end at the hands of a new infiltrating group of Nazis. Other viewers have said it all: it is a good movie and more interestingly it is a different kind of spy movie. This isn't your average James Bond knockoff spy thriller; the fact that the screenplay is by playwright Harold Pinter is the first clue. Michael Sandlin is a writer and academic based in Houston, Texas. Quiller is surprised to learn that no women were found. The film magnificently utilizes West German locations to bring the story to life. This is one of the worst thriller screenplays in cinema history. A much better example of a spy novel-to-film adaptation would be Our Man in Havana, also starring Alec Guinness. The novel was titled The Berlin Memorandum and at its centre was the protagonist and faceless spy, Quiller. youtu.be/rQ4PA3H6pAw. After the interview, he gives her a ride to her flat and stops in for a drink. The book is more focused on thinking as a spy and I found it to be very realistic. - BH. 1966's The Quiller Memorandum is a low-key gem, a pared-down existential spy caper that keeps the exoticism to a minimum. Weary, Quiller only accepts the assignment on the assumption that he can fulfill a self-made promise revenge for a friend. Quiller, a British agent who works without gun, cover or contacts, takes on a neo-Nazi underground organization and its war criminal leader. 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. When their backs against the wall, its him they turn to. It was from the quiller memorandum ending of the item, a failed nuclear weapons of Personalized Map Search. Phoenix boss Oktober (Max von Sydow) with George Segal, seated. Inga is unrecognizable and has been changed to the point of uselessness. Also the increasing descent into the minutiae of spycraft plays into the reveal, plot-wise as well as psychologically. The film starred George Segal in the lead role, with Alec Guinness supporting andwas nominated for three BAFTAs. His Oktober does, however, serve as a one-man master class in hyperironic cordiality: Ah, Quiller! Quiller's assignment: to discover the location of the neo-Nazi . The plot holes are many. Each reveal, in turn, provides a separate level of truth--or, as it may be, self-deception. What Adam Hall did extremely wellwas toget us readers inside the mind of an undercover operative. 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. They have lots of information about the film, but inexplicably take ten minutes to explain how the Cold War conflict between Communism and Capitalism relates to . A spy thriller for chess players. All Rights Reserved. Where to Watch. 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. 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. 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. 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. Quiller, an agent working for British Intelligence, is sent to Berlin to meet with Pol, another operative. 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! Clumsy thriller. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. This well-drawn tale of espionage is set in West B. In the following chapter the events have moved on beyond the crisis, instantly creating a how? question in your mind. An almost unrecognizable George Segal stars in "The Quiller Memorandum," set in Berlin and made 40 years ago. Nobel prizes notwithstanding I think Harold Pinter's screenplay for this movie is pretty lame, or maybe it's the director's fault. He accepts the assignment and almost immediately finds that he is being followed. Write by: 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. The Berlin Memorandum, or The Quiller Memorandum as it is also known, is the first book in the twenty book Quiller series, written by Elleston Trevor under the pen name of Adam Hall. 2023's Most Anticipated Sequels, Prequels, and Spin-offs, Dirk Bauer . Updates? I'm generally pretty forgiving of film adaptations of novels, but the changes that were made just do not make sense. 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. Press J to jump to the feed. The headmistress introduces him to a teacher who speaks English, Inge Lindt. 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. 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. Widescreen viewing is a must, if possible, if for no other reason than to fully glimpse the extraordinary stadium built by Hitler for the 1936 Olympic games. International in its scope its contributors include scholars from Australia, Quiller . It was nominated for three BAFTA Awards,[2] while Pinter was nominated for an Edgar Award for the script. 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. Watchable and intriguing as it occasionally is, enigmatic is perhaps the most apposite adjective you could use to describe the "action" within. 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. The Quiller Memorandum: Directed by Michael Anderson. Composer Barry provides an atmospheric score (though one that is somewhat of a departure from the notes and instruments used in his more famous pieces), but silence is put to good use as well. Their aim is to bring back the Third Reich. At lunch in an exclusive club in London, close to Buckingham Palace, the directors of an unnamed agency, Gibbs and Rushington, decide to send American agent Quiller to continue the assignment, which has now killed two agents. Your email address will not be published. Oktober reveals they are moving base the next day and that they have captured Inge. Just watched it. 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). effective, low key, intelligent, spy film, Attractive, thoughtful spy film with an excellent cast. It was interesting to me that in 1965 (when I also happened to be living in Germany as a US Army dependent) the crux of the book was the fear of a Nazi resurgence -- and I'm not talking about skinheads, but Nazis deep within the German government and military. closing theme, This page was last edited on 26 January 2023, at 11:13. En route he has some edgy adventures. 1966. Also published as "The Berlin Memorandum" (UK title). Variety wrote that "it relies on a straight narrative storyline, simple but holding, literate dialog and well-drawn characters". 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. 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? The photo shows a man in Luftwaffe (airforce) uniform. The thugs believe him dead when they see the burning wreckage. 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. Commenting on Quiller in 1966, The New York Timessomewhat unfairlywrote off Segals performance as an unmitigated bust: If youve got any spying to do in Berlin, dont send George Segal to do the job. The reviewer then refers to Quiller as a pudding-headed fellow (a descriptive phrase that sounds more 1866 than 1966). 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. The sentences are generally clipped and abrupt, reminiscent of Simon Kernicks style wherenot a word is wasted, but predating him by a generation. 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. Pol tells Quiller the fascist underground is far more organized and powerful in Germany than people believe. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. 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!). 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. 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. movies. His dry but quick Yiddish humor shines through on many occasions, providing diversions that masquerade his underlying desire to expose the antagonists' machinations. Sadly, Von Sydows formidable acting chops are never seriously challenged here, and his lines are limited to fairly standard B-movie Euro-villain speak. Dril several holes in it, the size of a pin, one the size of a small coin. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); 2021 Crime Fiction Lover. 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. It keeps the reader engrossed right up to the last couple of lines. Max von Sydow plays the Nazi chief quietly but with high camp menace. Sort of a mixed effect clouds this novel. 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. Is there another film with as many sequences of extended, audible footsteps? Quiller then returns to his hotel, followed by the men who remain outside. As explained by his condescending boss Pol (Alec Guinness), Quillers two unfortunate predecessors were getting too close to exposing the subterranean neo-Nazi cell known as Phoenix (get it? Really sad. 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. Inge tells him she loves him, and he tells her a phone number to call if he is not back in 20 minutes. Quiller is eventually kidnapped and tortured by Oktober (Max von Sydow), the leader of Phoenix. In typically British mordant fashion, George Sanders and a fellow staffer in Britain are lunching in London on pheasant, more concerned with the quality of their repast than with the loss of their man in the field! Whats more, not even Harold Pinter can inject Segals Quiller with anything like the cutting cynicism and dark humor that made Alec Leamus such a formidably wretched character. He is British secret agent Kenneth Lindsay Jones. 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 don't let it fool you for one minutenor Mr. Segal, nor Senta Berger as the girl. Quiller confronts a man who seems to be following him, revealing that he (Quiller) speaks German fluently. Conveniently for Quiller, shes also the only teacher there whos single and looks like a Bond girl. A man walks along a deserted Berlin street at night and enters an internally lit phone box. All Rights Reserved. Yes, Scream VI Marketing Is Behind the Creepy Ghostface Sightings Causing Scares Across the U.S. David Oyelowo, Taylor Sheridan's 'Bass Reeves' Series at Paramount+ Casts King Richard Star Demi Singleton (EXCLUSIVE), Star Trek: Discovery to End With Season 5, Paramount+ Pushes Premiere to 2024. I can't NOT begin by saying, "This Is A MUST Read For Every Fan Of The Espionage Genre". 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. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. Is Quiller going to wind up dead too? 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. 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. They are all members of Phoenix, led by the German aristocrat code-named Oktober. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. 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. Quiller's assignment is to take over where Jones left off. The mind of the spy 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) . Finally, he is placed in the no-win position of either choosing to aid von Sydow or allowing Berger to be murdered. Michael Anderson directs with his usual leaden touch. Or was she simply a lonely Samaritan who altruistically beds the socially awkward American spy to help prevent a Fourth Reich? 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. 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 my money, the top three cold war spy novelists were Le Carre, Deighton, and Adam Hall. Apparently, it was made into a classic movie and there is even a website compiled by Trevor devotees. In the mid-Sixties, the subgenre of the James Bond backlash film was becoming a crowded market. Fans of realistic spy fiction will enjoy David McCloskeys debut thriller Damascus Station, newly available in paperback in the UK. 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. Hall is not trying be a Le Carre, hes in a different area, one he really makes his own. From that point of view, the film should be seen by social, architectural, and urban landscape historians. Theres a humanity to Quiller that is unique in this type of action spy thriller. It certainly held my interest, partly because it was set in Berlin and even mentioned the street I lived on several times. Quiller becomes drowsy from a drug that was injected by the porter at the entrance to the hotel. 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! The Quiller character is constantly making terrible decisions, and refuses to use a gun, and he's certainly no John Steed. This isachievedviaQuillers first person perspective. But then Quiller retraces his steps in a flashback. He is the true faceless spy. The newspaper clipping that Hengel gives to Quiller, in the cafe when they first meet, shows that a schoolteacher called Hans Heinrich Steiner has been arrested for war crimes committed in WW2. 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. Harold Pinter's fairly literate screenplay features . 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. Thank God Segal is in it. This is an espionage series that started in the '60's and ran through the '90's. Quiller has a love affair with Inge and they seek out the location of Oktober. 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. 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 scene shot in the gallery of London's Reform Club is particularly odious. Quiller tells Inge that they got most, but clearly not all, of the neo-Nazis.