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. Always under-appreciated by U.S. audiences, it's a relief to know that she's had a major impact on the German film community in later years. The Quiller Memorandum 1966, directed by Michael Anderson | Film review The Quiller Memorandum Film Time Out says The thinking man's spy thriller, in as much as Harold Pinter wrote the script. When their backs against the wall, its him they turn to. Other viewers have said it all: it is a good movie and more interestingly it is a different kind of spy movie. From the latest Scandinavian serial killer to Golden Age detective stories, we love our crime novels! 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. The book is more focused on thinking as a spy and I found it to be very realistic. John Barry's The Quiller Memorandum (1966) Suite - YouTube . 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. It is the first book in the 20-volume Quiller series. I also expected just a little more from the interrogation scenes from the man who wrote "The Birthday Party". 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. The mind of the spy They both go to the building, whereupon they are captured. Quiller slips out though a side door to the small garage yard where his car is kept. 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. Quiller admits to Inge that he is an "investigator" on the trail of neo-Nazis. The Chief of the Secret Service Pol (Alec Guinness) summons the efficient agent Quiller (George Segal) to investigate the location of organization's headquarter. 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. 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. 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. In a clever subversion of genre expectations, the plot and storyline ignore contemporary East versus West Cold War themes altogether (East Berlin is, in fact, never mentioned in the film). 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 . Read our extensive list of rules for more information on other types of posts like fan-art and self-promotion, or message the moderators if you have any questions. Quiller being injected with truth serum by agents of Phoenix. In conclusion, having recently watched "Quiller's" almost exact contemporary "The Ipcress File", I have to say that I preferred the latter's more pointed narrative, down-home grittiness and star acting to the similar fare offered here. 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. But how could she put up with the love scenes with the atrocious Segal? Its there to tackle the dirty jobs, and Quiller is the Bureaus go-to guy. Having just read the novel, it's impossible to watch this without its influence and I found the screen version incredibly disappointing. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. 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. Without knowing where they have taken him, and even if it is indeed their base of operations, Quiller is playing an even more dangerous game as in the process he met schoolteacher Inge Lindt, who he starts to fall for, and as such may be used as a pawn by the Nazis to get the upper hand on Quiller. She states that she "was lucky, they let me go" and claims she then called the phone number but it did not work. He accepts the assignment and almost immediately finds that he is being followed. 15 years after the end of WW II. 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. At the 1967 BAFTA Awards the film had nominations in the best Art Direction, Film Editing and Screenplay categories, but did not win. . 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. 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. [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. All Rights Reserved. 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). The ploy works as one, two or all three of those places were where the Nazis did learn about Quiller, who they kidnap. A much better example of a spy novel-to-film adaptation would be Our Man in Havana, also starring Alec Guinness. It's a more realistic or credible portrayal of how a single character copes with trying to get information in a dangerous environment. 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 . 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. It certainly held my interest, partly because it was set in Berlin and even mentioned the street I lived on several times. The Quiller Memorandum: Directed by Michael Anderson. The Quiller Memorandum - DVD Talk He calls Inge and arranges to meet. 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. The classic tale of espionage that started it all! When Quiller refuses to talk, Oktober orders his execution. Quiller would have also competed with the deluge of popular spy spoofs and their misfit mock-heroes: namely, Dean Martins drinking-and-driving playboy agent Matt Helm (The Silencers, Wrecking Crew) and James Coburns parody of Bondian suavity, Derek Flint, in the trippy spy fantasias Our Man Flint (1966) and In Like Flint (1967). Fans of realistic spy fiction will enjoy David McCloskeys debut thriller Damascus Station, newly available in paperback in the UK. First isthe protagonist himself. The first thing to say about this film is that the screenplay is so terrible. 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. 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. In terms of style The Quiller books aretaut and written with narrative pace at the forefront. The Quiller Memorandum. I enjoyed the book. Kindle Edition. The goal of /r/Movies is to provide an inclusive place for discussions and news about films with major releases. And the legendary John Barrycomposer of the original Bond themeprovides appropriately haunting incidental music here. ago Just watched it. 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. youtu.be/rQ4PA3H6pAw. 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. I liked that the main character was ornery and tired and smart and still made mistakes and tried to see all possible outcomes at once and fought more against jumping to conclusions and staying alert and clear-headed than he did directly against the villains themselves. His Oktober does, however, serve as a one-man master class in hyperironic cordiality: Ah, Quiller! 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. After two British agents are killed while investigating Phoenix, a neo-Nazi group, Quiller is tasked with finding the organizations leader. The Quiller Memorandum | Mountain Xpress I can see where some might find it more exhausting than anything else, though--he does get tired :). 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 third to try is Quiller, an unassuming man, who knows he's being put into a deadly game. 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. The source novel "The Berlin Memorandum" is billed in the credits as being by Adam Hall. He also wroteacrossa number ofgenres. 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 . The cast is full of familiar faces: Alec Guinness, who doesn't have much of a role, George Sanders, who has even less of one, Max von Sydow in what was to become a very familiar part for him, Robert Helpmann, Robert Flemyng, and the beautiful, enigmatic Senta Berger. This well-drawn tale of espionage is set in West Berlin, 15 years after the end of WW II. I can't NOT begin by saying, "This Is A MUST Read For Every Fan Of The Espionage Genre". After all, his characters social unease and affectless personality are presumably components of the movies contra-Bond commitment. That way theres no-one to betray him to the other side. The film was shot on location in West Berlin and in Pinewood . What is the French language plot outline for The Quiller Memorandum (1966)? The film is a spy-thriller set in 1960s West Berlin, where agent Quiller is sent to investigate a neo-Nazi organisation. The plot revolves around former Nazis and the rise of a Neo-Nazi organisation known as Phonix. The screenwriter, Harold Pinter, no less, received an Edgar nomination. Reviews of The Quiller Memorandum Letterboxd He notices the concierge is seated where he can see anyone leaving. Fairly interesting spy movie, but doesn't make much sense under close scrutiny. He is shielded behind the building when the bomb explodes. Quiller tells Inge that they got most, but clearly not all, of the neo-Nazis. How nice to see you again! and so forth. Quiller: At the end of our conversation, he ordered them to kill me. No one really cared that Gable did not even attempt an English accent the film was that good. They are all members of Phoenix, led by the German aristocrat code-named Oktober. closing theme, This page was last edited on 26 January 2023, at 11:13. 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. The Quiller Memorandum (1966) - Michael Anderson | Review | AllMovie I was really surprised, because I don't usually like books written during the 50s or 60s. We never find out histrue identity or his history. The Quiller Memorandum - Wikipedia 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. Sadly, Von Sydows formidable acting chops are never seriously challenged here, and his lines are limited to fairly standard B-movie Euro-villain speak. He believes this is explained early years like a priest, ending in this page numbers were both the end, bibi andersson and actor. Is Quiller going to wind up dead too? 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. The burning question for Quiller is, how close is too close? A crisply written story that captured my attention from beginning to end. Michael Anderson directs with his usual leaden touch. This one makes no exception. This reactionary quake in the spy genre was brief but seismic all the same. The shooting on location in Berlin makes it that much more thrilling. One of my all time favorites and the film too. The Quiller Memorandum (1966) directed by Michael Anderson Reviews What Adam Hall did extremely wellwas toget us readers inside the mind of an undercover operative. In the process, he discovers a complex and malevolent plot, more dangerous to the world than any crime committed during the war. Your email address will not be published. 42 editions. The name of the intelligence agency that Quiller ( George Segal) worked for was MI6. 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. before he started doing "genial" and reminds us that his previous part was in the heavyweight "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf". The film illustrates the never-ending game of spying and the futility that results as each mission is only accomplished in its own realm, but the big picture goes on and on with little or no resolution. 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. 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. Oktober informs Quiller that if he does not disclose secret information this time, both he and Inge will be killed.
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