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This spy novel about neo-Nazis 1960's Berlin seemed dated and a little stilted to me. Be the first to contribute. But the writing was sloppy and there was a wholly superfluous section on decoding a cipher, which wasn't even believable. - BH. effective, low key, intelligent, spy film, Attractive, thoughtful spy film with an excellent cast. The name of the intelligence agency that Quiller ( George Segal) worked for was MI6. When their backs against the wall, its him they turn to. The headmistress introduces him to a teacher who speaks English, Inge Lindt. Is Quiller going to wind up dead too? 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. Oktober reveals they are moving base the next day and that they have captured Inge. In 1965, writing under the pseudonym of Adam Hall, Elleston Trevor published athriller which, like Ian Flemings Casino Royale before it, was to herald a change in the world of spy thrillers. 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. Your email address will not be published. The scene shot in the gallery of London's Reform Club is particularly odious. "The Quiller Memorandum" is a film with a HUGE strike against it at the outset.they inexplicably cast George Segal as a British spy! 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. 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. This reactionary quake in the spy genre was brief but seismic all the same. A bit too sardonic at times, I think his character wanted to be elsewhere, clashing with KGB agents instead of ferreting out neo-nazis. 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. 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. Alec Guinness never misses a trick in his few scenes as the cold, witty fish in charge of Berlin sector investigations. He was the author of. THE SITE FOR DIE HARD CRIME & THRILLER FANS. The characters and dialog are well-written and most roles are nicely acted. When Quiller decides to investigate the building, Inge says she will wait for him, while Hassler and the headmistress leave one of their cars for them. He recruits Berger to help him infiltrate the Neo-Nazis and discover their base of operations, but, once again, is thwarted. Hes that good try the book and youll find out. 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. 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. Quiller asks after Jones at the bowling alley without success and the swimming pool manager Hassler tells him spectating is not allowed. A highly unusual and stimulating approach that draws us into the story. The Wall Street Journal said it was one of the best espionage/spy series of all time. 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). Weary, Quiller only accepts the assignment on the assumption that he can fulfill a self-made promise revenge for a friend. 1966's The Quiller Memorandum is a low-key gem, a pared-down existential spy caper that keeps the exoticism to a minimum. 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. Newer. The setting is as classic as the comeBerlin during the 1960s. With George Segal, Alec Guinness, Max von Sydow, Senta Berger. 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 photo shows a man in Luftwaffe (airforce) uniform. By day, the city is presented so beautifully, it's hard to imagine that such ugly things are going on amidst it. 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. Performed by Matt Monro, "Wednesday's Child" was also released as a single. But good enough to hold my interest till the end. 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. 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. She claims she turned in the teacher from the article, and points out the dilapidated Phoenix mansion. Your email address will not be published. Want to Read. 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. But his accent was all wrongtaking the viewer out of the moment. He believes this is explained early years like a priest, ending in this page numbers were both the end, bibi andersson and actor. Once Quiller becomes extra-friendly with Ingewhich happens preternaturally quicklyits clear someone on the other side is getting nervous. How nice to see you again! and so forth. Fresh off an Oscar nomination for the mental anguish he suffered at the hands of Richard Burton and Liz Taylor in Whos Afraid of Virginia Woolf (also 1966), George Segal seems, in hindsight, a dubious choice to play the offbeat Quiller. 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. A Twilight Time release. This isn't your average James Bond knockoff spy thriller; the fact that the screenplay is by playwright Harold Pinter is the first clue. 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. Submissions should be for the purpose of informing or initiating a discussion, not just to entertain readers. youtu.be/rQ4PA3H6pAw. Quiller's assignment: to discover the location of the neo-Nazi . And the legendary John Barrycomposer of the original Bond themeprovides appropriately haunting incidental music here. An American agent is sent to Berlin to track down the leaders of a neo-Nazi organization, but when they . The film is a spy-thriller set in 1960s West Berlin, where agent Quiller is sent to investigate a neo-Nazi organisation. The movie made productive use of the West German locations. Watchlist. 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. Guinness appears as Segal's superior and offers a great deal of presence and class. This was a great movie and found Quillers character to be excellent. Quiller, a British agent who works without gun, cover or contacts, takes on a neo-Nazi underground organization and its war criminal leader. 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. 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 document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); 2021 Crime Fiction Lover. Quiller goes back to the school and confronts Inge in her classroom. The Quiller Memorandum was based on a novel by Elleston Trevor (under the name Adam Hall). The nation remained the home of the best spies. Quiller wakes up beside Berlin's Spree River. He calls Inge and arranges to meet. 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. 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. The book is built around a continual number of reveals. The Chief of the Secret Service Pol (Alec Guinness) summons the efficient agent Quiller (George Segal) to investigate the location of organization's headquarter. I was really surprised, because I don't usually like books written during the 50s or 60s. One of the most interesting elements of the novel is Quiller's explanation of tradecraft and the way he narrates his way through receiving signals from his Control via coded stock market reports on the radio, and a seemingly endless string of people following him around Berlin as he goes about his mission. This was the first book, and I liked it. [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 has a love affair with Inge and they seek out the location of Oktober. The film had its world premiere on 10 November 1966 at the Odeon Leicester Square in the West End of London. 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. 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. This is a nom de plume for author. Drama. The Quiller Memorandum is based on Adam Hall's thriller novel about neo-Nazism in contemporary Germany. 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 Quiller Memorandum: Directed by Michael Anderson. Or was she simply a lonely Samaritan who altruistically beds the socially awkward American spy to help prevent a Fourth Reich? His book. With a screenplay by Harold Pinter and careful direction by Michael Anderson, the movie is more a violent-edged tale of probable, cynical betrayal by everyone we meet, with the main character, Quiller (George Segal), squeezed by those he works for, those he works against and even by the delectable German teacher, Inge Lendt (Senta Berger) he meets. 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. The sentences are generally clipped and abrupt, reminiscent of Simon Kernicks style wherenot a word is wasted, but predating him by a generation. I listened to the audio version narrated by Andrew B Wehrlen and found it an utterly engaging tale. This film has special meaning for me as I was living in Berlin during the filming and, subsequent screening in the city. The source novel "The Berlin Memorandum" is billed in the credits as being by Adam Hall. Required fields are marked *. 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. Mind you, in 1966-67 the Wall was there, East German border guards and a definite (cold war) cloud hanging over the city. Whats left most open to interpretation is Inges role in all this: was she a Janus-faced Nazi mole who used sex as a weapon to lead Quiller into a trap? 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. 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.) It's a more realistic or credible portrayal of how a single character copes with trying to get information in a dangerous environment. "[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. 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). It certainly held my interest, partly because it was set in Berlin and even mentioned the street I lived on several times. 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. Hes lone wolf who lives or dies by his own actions a very clean and principled approach to espionage. 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. Having just read the novel, it's impossible to watch this without its influence and I found the screen version incredibly disappointing. This is one of the worst thriller screenplays in cinema history. Quiller is surprised to learn that no women were found. . 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. Not terribly audience-friendly, but smart and very, very cool. Thank God Segal is in it. They are all members of Phoenix, led by the German aristocrat code-named Oktober. I can see where some might find it more exhausting than anything else, though--he does get tired :). But Quiller is an equal to a James Bond, or a George Smiley. This one makes no exception. Also published as "The Berlin Memorandum" (UK title). American agent Quiller (George Segal) arrives in Berlin and meets with his British handler Pol (Alec Guinness). Quiller enters the mansion and is confronted by Phoenix thugs. 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. He walks down the same street where Jones was shot, but finds he is followed by Oktober's men. Quiller works for the Bureau, an arm of the British Secret Service so clandestinethat no-one knows itexists. To do his job George Segal's hapless Quiller must set himself out as bait in the middle of a pressure play in West Berlin. 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). Oktober informs Quiller that if he does not disclose secret information this time, both he and Inge will be killed. Analismos este filme no 10. episdio de TRS J COMPANHIA. Quiller (played by George Segal) is an American secret agent assigned to work with British MI6 chief Pol (Alec Guinness) in West Berlin. 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. 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. 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. Quiller drives off, managing to shake Hengel, then notices men in another car following him. I am not saying he was bad in the filmor at least that bad. Michael Anderson directs with his usual leaden touch. Alec Guinness gets to play a Smiley prototype but brings too much Noel Coward to the table. The film is ludicrous. 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. In the 60's, in Berlin, two British agents that are investigating a Neonazi ring are murdered. 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. Quiller befriends a teacher, Inge Lindt, whose predecessor at the school had been arrested for being a Neo-Nazi. This well-drawn tale of espionage is set in West Berlin, 15 years after the end of WW II. 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. 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. The Quiller character is constantly making terrible decisions, and refuses to use a gun, and he's certainly no John Steed. Quilleris a code name. Its excellent entertainment. They are not just sympathisers though. Harold Pinter's fairly literate screenplay features . If you have seen this movie, and it leaves you very dissatisfied or with a bunch of bright orange question marks, don't worry ! He is shielded behind the building when the bomb explodes. Where to Watch. Hassler drives them to meet an old contact he says knows a lot more, who turns out to be Inge's headmistress. 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. The setting is the most shadowy "post WWII Berlin" with the master players lined up against each other - The Brits and The Nazi Heirs. Can someone explain it to me? 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. And whats more, Quillers espionage tale is free of the silly gimmicks and gadgetry that define the escapist Bond franchise. 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 becomes drowsy from a drug that was injected by the porter at the entrance to the hotel. In the following chapter the events have moved on beyond the crisis, instantly creating a how? question in your mind. Watchable and intriguing as it occasionally is, enigmatic is perhaps the most apposite adjective you could use to describe the "action" within. The first thing to say about this film is that the screenplay is so terrible. THE QUILLER MEMORANDUM (3 outta 5 stars) The 1960s saw a plethora of two kinds of spy movies: the outrageous semi-serious James Bond ripoffs (like the Flint and Matt Helm movies) and the very dry, methodical ones that were more talk than action (mostly John Le Carre and Alistair MacLean adaptations). Quiller is released. 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. The plot revolves around former Nazis and the rise of a Neo-Nazi organisation known as Phonix. The British Secret Service sends agent Quiller to investigate. In the process, he discovers a complex and malevolent plot, more dangerous to the world than any crime committed during the war. 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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. 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). The latter reveals a local teacher has been unmasked as a Nazi. It keeps the reader engrossed right up to the last couple of lines. 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. 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. He does this in a lone-wolf way, refusing to be hampered by bodyguards. He also works alone and without contacts. 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. I read the whole Quiller series when I was younger, and loved it. Blu-ray, color, 105 min., 1966. Corrections? After the interview, he gives her a ride to her flat and stops in for a drink. Quiller, a British agent who works without gun, cover or contacts, takes on a neo-Nazi underground organization and its war criminal leader. The screenwriter, Harold Pinter, no less, received an Edgar nomination. This demonstration using familiar breakfast food items serves to stimulate the American spys brainwaves into serious operative mode. The novel was titled The Berlin Memorandum and at its centre was the protagonist and faceless spy, Quiller. This was evidently the first of a very long series featuring the spy Quiller. First isthe protagonist himself. 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. 2 decades after the collapse of Nazi Germany, several old guard are planning to (slowly) rebuild. Sort of a mixed effect clouds this novel. Quiller, an agent working for British Intelligence, is sent to Berlin to meet with Pol, another operative. Get help and learn more about the design. The Quiller Memorandum (1966) is one such film, and though it's one of the more obscure ones, it is also one of the better ones. 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. It was from the quiller memorandum ending of the item, a failed nuclear weapons of Personalized Map Search. His job is to locate their headquarters. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. February 27, 2023 new bill passed in nj for inmates 2022 No Comments . The book is more focused on thinking as a spy and I found it to be very realistic. 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 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). 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. Sadly, Von Sydows formidable acting chops are never seriously challenged here, and his lines are limited to fairly standard B-movie Euro-villain speak. Watched by Rui Alves de Sousa 04 Jun 2022. 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. All Rights Reserved. Is there another film with as many sequences of extended, audible footsteps? Another characteristic of Halls style isthe ending of chapters with a cliff hanger. Alec Guiness and George Sanders have brief roles as Segal's Control and Home Office head, respectively, and both rather coldly and matter-of-factly pooh-pooh over the grisly death of Segal's agent predecessor.