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. 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. The film magnificently utilizes West German locations to bring the story to life. Newer. Studios: The Rank Organisation and Ivan Foxwell Productions, https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Quiller-Memorandum, BFI Screenonline - The Quiller Memorandum (1966), Britmovie.co.uk - "The Quiller Memorandum", The Quiller Memorandum - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up). Quiller is released. This isn't your standard spy film with lots of gunplay, outrageous villains, and explosions. 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). [6], The mainly orchestral atmospheric soundtrack composed by John Barry was released by Columbia in 1966. 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. Nimble, sharp-toothed and sometimes they have to bite and claw their way out of a dark hole. It was from the quiller memorandum ending of the item, a failed nuclear weapons of Personalized Map Search. Quiller leaves the Konigshof Hotel on West Berlin's Kurfurstendamm and confronts a man who has been following him, learning that it is his minder, Hengel. 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. The shooting on location in Berlin makes it that much more thrilling. (UK title). 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). But for today's audiences, those films are a bit old fashioned and not always very easy to follow, too much complicated. 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? Oktober reveals they are moving base the next day and that they have captured Inge. 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). 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. Sadly the Quiller novels have fallen out of favour with the apparentend of the Cold War. It looks like we don't have any synopsis for this title yet. What is the French language plot outline for The Quiller Memorandum (1966)? This was a great movie and found Quillers character to be excellent. With what little information the British operatives are able to provide him especially in his most recent predecessor, Kenneth Lindsay Jones, working alone without backup against advice, Quiller decides to take a different but potentially more dangerous tact than those predecessors in showing himself at three places Jones was known to be investigating, albeit in coded terms, as the person who has now taken over the mission from Jones in the probability that the Nazis will try to abduct him for questioning to discover what exactly their opponents know or don't know, and to discover in turn their base of operations in West Berlin. I recall being duly impressed by the menacing atmospherics, if much of it went over my head. His romantic interest is Senta Berger, whose understated and laconic dialog provides the perfect counterpoint to Segal's character. 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. Michael Anderson directs a classy slice of '60s spy-dom. They are not just sympathisers though. Our hero delivers a running dialogue with his own unconscious mind, assessing the threats, his potential responses, his plans. In fact, he is derisory about agents who insist on being armed. 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. The mission in Berlin is a mess, two of the Bureaus spies have been murdered already by the shadowy Phoenix. Or was she simply a lonely Samaritan who altruistically beds the socially awkward American spy to help prevent a Fourth Reich? Visually, the film was rather stunning, but the magical soft focus that appears every time Inga is in the frame is silly. 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. Your name is Quiller. 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. Quiller's assignment: to discover the location of the neo-Nazi . All Rights Reserved. It was nominated for three BAFTA Awards,[2] while Pinter was nominated for an Edgar Award for the script. NR. 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. Hengel gives Quiller the few items found on Jones: a bowling alley ticket, a swimming pool ticket and a newspaper article about a Nazi war criminal found teaching at a school. He sounded about as British as Leo Carillo or Cher. Is there another film with as many sequences of extended, audible footsteps? The Quiller Memorandum Reviews. An American agent is sent to Berlin to track down the leaders of a neo-Nazi organization, but when they . Oh, there are some problems, and Michael Anderson's direction is. The plot holes are many. At the 1967 BAFTA Awards the film had nominations in the best Art Direction, Film Editing and Screenplay categories, but did not win. 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. The mind of the spy [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. He brings graceful authority and steely determination to his role. 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. I can see where some might find it more exhausting than anything else, though--he does get tired :). Quiller, however, escapes, and with Inges help, he discovers the location of Phoenixs headquarters. The film had its world premiere on 10 November 1966 at the Odeon Leicester Square in the West End of London. 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. I read it in two evenings. 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. And considering how terrible its one fight scene is, it's certainly a blessing that it doesn't have any more. Really sad. He was the author of. I enjoyed the book. The former was a bracingly pessimistic Cold War alternative to freewheeling Bondian optimism that featured burnout boozer actor Richard Burton in an all-too-convincing performance as burnout boozer spy Alec Leamus. We never find out histrue identity or his history. 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. 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. 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. 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. After two British agents are killed while investigating Phoenix, a neo-Nazi group, Quiller is tasked with finding the organizations leader. It is credible. I recently found and purchased all 19 of the series in hardback and read them serially. Kindle Edition. Quiller investigates, but hes being followed and has been since the moment he entered Berlin. 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. From the latest Scandinavian serial killer to Golden Age detective stories, we love our crime novels! Quiller becomes drowsy from a drug that was injected by the porter at the entrance to the hotel. 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. A Twilight Time release. Quilleris a code name. His job is to locate their headquarters. Hall (also known as Elleston Trevor and several other pseudonyms) seemed really to hate the Germans, or at least his character did. The friend proves to be Hassler, who is now much more friendly. 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. Required fields are marked *. He is the true faceless spy. They both go to the building, whereupon they are captured. Probably the most famous example of a solid American type playing an Englishman is Clark Gable from Mutiny On The Bounty. THE SITE FOR DIE HARD CRIME & THRILLER FANS. His book. This is an espionage series that started in the '60's and ran through the '90's. Thank God Segal is in it. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. Omissions? Also contains one of the final appearences of George Sanders in a brief role, a classic in his own right! AKA: Ivan Foxwell's the Quiller Memorandum, Quiller, Quiller Memorandum, Ian Foxwell's The Quiller Memorandum, Ivan Foxwell's Production The Quiller 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 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. 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. See production, box office & company info, Europa-Center, Charlottenburg, Berlin, Germany. You HAVE been watching it carefully. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. On the surface, we get at least some satisfying closure to the case of the clandestine neo-Nazi gang. 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. 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! In addition to Pinters screenplay, the film was noted for its plot twists and the portrayal of Quiller as refreshingly vulnerable and occasionally inept. 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. Watchlist. 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. But don't let it fool you for one minutenor Mr. Segal, nor Senta Berger as the girl. It is the first book in the 20-volume Quiller series. 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. 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. Variety is a part of Penske Media Corporation. Michael Anderson directs a classy slice of '60s spy-dom. The sentences are generally clipped and abrupt, reminiscent of Simon Kernicks style wherenot a word is wasted, but predating him by a generation. 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. He also has to endure some narcotically enhanced interrogation, which is the basis of one of the novel's most thrilling chapters. And will the world see a return of Nazi power? 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. 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. 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. 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. 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 . Because the books were written in the first person the reader learns very little about him, beyond his mission capability. She claims she turned in the teacher from the article, and points out the dilapidated Phoenix mansion. He also works alone and without contacts. As usual for films which are difficult to pin down . 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. Harold Pinter was nominated for an Edgar Award in the Best Motion Picture category, but also didn't win. The setting is Cold War-divided Berlin where Quiller tackles a threat from a group of neo-Nazis who call themselves Phoenix. 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. [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?" Quiller's assignment is to take over where Jones left off. The book is more focused on thinking as a spy and I found it to be very realistic. 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 Quiller Memorandum is a film adaptation of the 1965 spy novel The Berlin Memorandum, by Trevor Dudley-Smith, screenplay by Harold Pinter, directed by Michael Anderson, featuring George Segal, Max von Sydow, Senta Berger and Alec Guinness.The film was shot on location in West Berlin and in Pinewood Studios, England.The film was nominated for 3 BAFTA Awards, while Pinter was nominated for an . 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. 1966's The Quiller Memorandum is a low-key gem, a pared-down existential spy caper that keeps the exoticism to a minimum. 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 Book 4 stars, narration by Simon Prebble 4 stars. The premise isn't far-fetched, but the details are. Quiller enters the mansion and is confronted by Phoenix thugs. When they find, Quiller gives the phone number of his base to Inge and investigates the place. The brawny headmistress points Quiller in the direction of Inge (Senta Berger), who happens to be the only English-speaking teacher at the school. He begins openly asking question about Neo-Nazis and is soon kidnapped by a man known only as "Oktober". before he started doing "genial" and reminds us that his previous part was in the heavyweight "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf". 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. The ploy works as one, two or all three of those places were where the Nazis did learn about Quiller, who they kidnap. This isn't your average James Bond knockoff spy thriller; the fact that the screenplay is by playwright Harold Pinter is the first clue. Hall's truncated writing style contributes to this effect. effective, low key, intelligent, spy film, Attractive, thoughtful spy film with an excellent cast. 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 burning question for Quiller is, how close is too close? Two British agents are murdered by a mysterious Neo-Nazi organization in West Berlin. 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!). 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. 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. movies. The setting is as classic as the comeBerlin during the 1960s. After all, his characters social unease and affectless personality are presumably components of the movies contra-Bond commitment. Author/co-author of numerous books about the cinema and is regarded as one of the foremost James Bond scholars. This spy novel about neo-Nazis 1960's Berlin seemed dated and a little stilted to me. 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. The plot revolves around former Nazis and the rise of a Neo-Nazi organisation known as Phonix. 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 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. 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. Alec Guinness plays spymaster Pol, Quillers minder. 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. Quiller is surprised to learn that no women were found. Be the first to contribute. I'm generally pretty forgiving of film adaptations of novels, but the changes that were made just do not make sense. Corrections? 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. Although competing against a whole slew of other titles in the spies-on-every-corner vein, the novel, "The Quiller Memorandum" was amazingly successful in book stores. 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. In the mid-Sixties, the subgenre of the James Bond backlash film was becoming a crowded market. And, the final scene (with her and Segal) is done extremely well (won't spoil it for those who still wish to see itit fully sums up the film, the tension filled times and cold war-era Germany). Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. Write by: First isthe protagonist himself. 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.) aka: The Quiller Memorandum the first in a series of 19 Quiller books. In the relationship between Quiller and Inge, Pinter casts just enough ambiguity over the proceedings to allow us plebian moviegoers our small participatory role in the production of meaning. Don't start thinking you missed something: it's the screenplay who did ! This demonstration using familiar breakfast food items serves to stimulate the American spys brainwaves into serious operative mode. Audiobook. 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. This reactionary quake in the spy genre was brief but seismic all the same. Quiller goes back to the school and confronts Inge in her classroom. Two British agents are murdered by a mysterious Neo-Nazi organization 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.