Quiller's primary contact for this job is a mid level administrative agent named Pol. I recall being duly impressed by the menacing atmospherics, if much of it went over my head. He begins openly asking question about Neo-Nazis and is soon kidnapped by a man known only as "Oktober". The Quiller Memorandum Cineaste Magazine 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. He also has to endure some narcotically enhanced interrogation, which is the basis of one of the novel's most thrilling chapters. Elleston Trevor (pictured) himself was a prolific, award-winning writer, producing novels under a range of pen names nine in total! But Quiller is an equal to a James Bond, or a George Smiley. The Quiller Memorandum - Rate Your Music If Quiller isnt the most dramatically pleasing of the anti-Bond subgenre, its certainly not for lack of ambition, originality, or undistinguished crew or cast members. Mind you, in 1966-67 the Wall was there, East German border guards and a definite (cold war) cloud hanging over the city. . 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. This one makes no exception. Inge tells him she loves him, and he tells her a phone number to call if he is not back in 20 minutes. Your name is Quiller. Quiller has a love affair with Inge and they seek out the location of Oktober. 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. 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 Memorandum - Movie Reviews and Movie Ratings - TV Guide When Quiller returns to his hotel, a porter bumps Quiller's leg with a suitcase on the steps. The sentences are generally clipped and abrupt, reminiscent of Simon Kernicks style wherenot a word is wasted, but predating him by a generation. The British Secret Service sends agent Quiller to investigate. (What with wanting to go to sleep and wanting to scream at the same time, this film does pose certain conflict problems.) The novel was titled The Berlin Memorandum and at its centre was the protagonist and faceless spy, Quiller. Your email address will not be published. Harold Pinter's fairly literate screenplay features . 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. 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. As classic as it gets. George Segal's Quiller isn't intense, smart, calculating--qualities Quiller is known for--instead he comes across as a doofus by comparison, better suited to sports-writing or boxing, completely lacking in cunning. 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. The Berlin Memorandum, renamed The Quiller Memorandum, was published in 1965 by Elleston Trevor, who used the pseudonym Adam Hall. 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. Is Quiller going to wind up dead too? 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. But good enough to hold my interest till the end. 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 . Very eerie film score, I believe John Barry did it but, I'm not sure. 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 . America's leading magazine on the art and politics of the cinema. It was written by Harold Pinter, but despite his talent for writing plays, he certainly had no cinematic sense whatever. The Quiller Memorandum - Trailers From Hell The Quiller Memorandum (1966) - Michael Anderson | Review | AllMovie Sadly the Quiller novels have fallen out of favour with the apparentend of the Cold War. It relies on a straight narrative storyline, simple but holding, literate dialog and well-drawn characters. Quiller works for the Bureau, an arm of the British Secret Service so clandestinethat no-one knows itexists. 2023 Variety Media, LLC. 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. Which is to say that in Quillers world, death is dispensed via relatively banal means like bombs and bullets instead of, say, dagger shoes and radioactive lint. 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. 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) . So, at this level. It's not often that one wishes so much for a main character to get killed, especially by NAZI's. The only really interesting thing is the way we're left spoiler: click to read in the end. 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. Quiller, a British agent who works without gun, cover or contacts, takes on a neo-Nazi underground organization and its war criminal leader. He brings graceful authority and steely determination to his role. 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. Just watched it. In the mid-Sixties, the subgenre of the James Bond backlash film was becoming a crowded market. Or was she simply a lonely Samaritan who altruistically beds the socially awkward American spy to help prevent a Fourth Reich? The film starred George Segal in the lead role, with Alec Guinness supporting andwas nominated for three BAFTAs. The plot holes are many. Having just read the novel, it's impossible to watch this without its influence and I found the screen version incredibly disappointing. A bit too sardonic at times, I think his character wanted to be elsewhere, clashing with KGB agents instead of ferreting out neo-nazis. As usual for films which are difficult to pin down . In 1966, the book was made into a successful film starring George Segal, Max Von Sydow, Senta Berger, and Alec Guinness. Blu-ray, color, 105 min., 1966. Alec Guinness gets to play a Smiley prototype but brings too much Noel Coward to the table. 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 The Quiller Memorandum - DVD Talk Max von Sydow plays the Nazi chief quietly but with high camp menace. Submissions should be for the purpose of informing or initiating a discussion, not just to entertain readers. I read a few of these many years ago when they first came out. The Quiller Memorandum 1966, directed by Michael Anderson | Film review His dry but quick Yiddish humor shines through on many occasions, providing diversions that masquerade his underlying desire to expose the antagonists' machinations. The Quiller Memorandum (1966) - IMDb It's a more realistic or credible portrayal of how a single character copes with trying to get information in a dangerous environment. 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!). 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). The Quiller Memorandum | Popular Culture Wiki | Fandom The mind of the spy When Quiller arrives inthe cityhis handler gives him three items found on a dead agent: tickets to a swimming pool and a bowling alley along with a newspaper cutting. How nice to see you again! and so forth. I've not put together a suite before so hopefully it works.Barry's short (35mins) if atmospheric score for the Cold War thriller The Quiller Memorandum, 1966. A spy thriller for chess players. Their aim is to bring back the Third Reich. 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. Quilleris a code name. The West had sent a couple of agents to find out their headquarters, but both are killed. 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. A crisply written story that captured my attention from beginning to end. I havent watched too many movies from the 1960s in my lifetime, but the ones I have watched have been excellent (Von Ryans Express, Tony Rome, To Kill A Mockingbird, The Hustler, The Great Escape, etc, including this one.) The plot revolves around former Nazis and the rise of a Neo-Nazi organisation known as Phonix. The setting is as classic as the comeBerlin during the 1960s. Adam Hall/Elleston Trevor certainly produces the unexpected. What is the French language plot outline for The Quiller Memorandum (1966)? 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. Elleston Trevor wrote 19 novels in the highly successful Quiller series. talula's garden happy hour All Rights Reserved. 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. The film was shot on location in West Berlin and in Pinewood . Quiller is surprised to learn that no women were found. After two British agents are assassinated in Berlin by a group of Neo-Nazis, the British Secret Service assign Quiller to locate and identify the culprits. See for instance DANDY IN ASPIC too, sooo complex and fascinating in the same time. 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. 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. 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. 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.) An almost unrecognizable George Segal stars in "The Quiller Memorandum," set in Berlin and made 40 years ago. A satisfyingly cynical spy thriller with George Segal, Alec Guinness and Max Von Sydow; and a script by Harold Pinter, Decent and interesting spy thriller with great cast and impressive musical score by John Barry in his usual style. Sadly, Von Sydows formidable acting chops are never seriously challenged here, and his lines are limited to fairly standard B-movie Euro-villain speak. No one really cared that Gable did not even attempt an English accent the film was that good. Quiller asks after Jones at the bowling alley without success and the swimming pool manager Hassler tells him spectating is not allowed. - BH. 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. In the following chapter the events have moved on beyond the crisis, instantly creating a how? question in your mind. 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. 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. But his accent was all wrongtaking the viewer out of the moment. 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 source novel "The Berlin Memorandum" is billed in the credits as being by Adam Hall. This is a nom de plume for author. Fairly interesting spy movie, but doesn't make much sense under close scrutiny. 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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. And considering how terrible its one fight scene is, it's certainly a blessing that it doesn't have any more. His virtual army of nearly silent, oddball henchmen add to the flavor of paranoia and nervousness. Analismos este filme no 10. episdio de TRS J COMPANHIA. As Quiller revolves around a plot that's more monstrously twisted than he imagines it to be . 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. In a feint to see if Quiller will reveal more by oversight, Oktober decides to spare his life. 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. This isn't your standard spy film with lots of gunplay, outrageous villains, and explosions. The Quiller Memorandum - Rotten Tomatoes This is one of the worst thriller screenplays in cinema history. He is shot dead by an unseen gunman. Write by: Dril several holes in it, the size of a pin, one the size of a small coin. Quiller's assignment is to take over where Jones left off. George Segal, plays the edgy American-abroad new CI5 recruit (looking unnervingly at times like a young George W Bush!) Quiller meets his controller for this mission, Pol, at Berlin's Olympia Stadium, and learns that he must find the headquarters of Phoenix, a neo-Nazi organization. Lindt (Berger) is a school teacher who meets Quiller to translate for him. Variety is a part of Penske Media Corporation. 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. Drama. The Quiller series is highly regarded by the spy-fiction community, and as strange as it may seem - because I have had most of the books for years - I have never actually read them. 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. 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). 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. . Amazon.com: The Quiller Memorandum eBook : Hall, Adam: Books Hes lone wolf who lives or dies by his own actions a very clean and principled approach to espionage. The premise isn't far-fetched, but the details are. 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. It's hard to believe this book won the Edgar for Best Novel, against books by Mary Stewart, Len Deighton, Ross MacDonald, Dorothy Salisbury Davis, and H.R.F. Two British agents are murdered by a mysterious Neo-Nazi organization in West Berlin. Quiller enters the mansion and is confronted by Phoenix thugs. 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? Twist piles upon twist , as a British agent becomes involved in a fiendishly complicated operation to get a dangerous ringleader and his menacing hoodlums . Your email address will not be published. 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. 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. Try as he might though, he can't quite carry the lead here, lacking as he does the magnetism of Connery or the cynicism of Caine. This demonstration using familiar breakfast food items serves to stimulate the American spys brainwaves into serious operative mode. What will Quiller do? My take was, he knows she's one of the bad guys, and same with the headmistress who he passes on the way out. 2 decades after the collapse of Nazi Germany, several old guard are planning to (slowly) rebuild. In the process, he discovers a complex and malevolent plot, more dangerous to the world than any crime committed during the war. And whats more, Quillers espionage tale is free of the silly gimmicks and gadgetry that define the escapist Bond franchise. 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. 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. Pol dispatches a team to Phoenix's HQ, which successfully captures all of Phoenix's members. It out the 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. At the 1967 BAFTA Awards the film had nominations in the best Art Direction, Film Editing and Screenplay categories, but did not win. Its excellent entertainment. 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. Each reveal, in turn, provides a separate level of truth--or, as it may be, self-deception. 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. Watched by Rui Alves de Sousa 04 Jun 2022. Quiller Memorandum, The - DVD Talk [6], The mainly orchestral atmospheric soundtrack composed by John Barry was released by Columbia in 1966. Quiller Series by Adam Hall - Goodreads 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. It's not my intention to be obnoxious and list every point in the movie that strays from the book, but it's truly a shame that such well-crafted material--intriguing back stories, superior spy tactics--is wasted here. This film has special meaning for me as I was living in Berlin during the filming and, subsequent screening in the city. The Quiller Memorandum. 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. 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.
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