This demonstration using familiar breakfast food items serves to stimulate the American spys brainwaves into serious operative mode. , . 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). He published over 50 novels as Elleston Trevor alone. When a spy film is made in the James Bond vein then close analysis is superfluous, but when the movie has a pretense of seriousness then it'd better make sense. The latter reveals a local teacher has been unmasked as a Nazi. . Theres a humanity to Quiller that is unique in this type of action spy thriller. Take a solid, healthy chicken's egg out of the hen house or the fridge Now throw out all the substance, and just keep the eggshell. 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. Nobel prizes notwithstanding I think Harold Pinter's screenplay for this movie is pretty lame, or maybe it's the director's fault. 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. 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). Corrections? Alec Guinness is excellent as a spy chief, and he gives a faint whiff of verisimilitude to this hopeless film. 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. 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. Another characteristic of Halls style isthe ending of chapters with a cliff hanger. 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. His job is to locate their headquarters. 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. For my money, the top three cold war spy novelists were Le Carre, Deighton, and Adam Hall. 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. 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. movies. But Quiller is an equal to a James Bond, or a George Smiley. 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. Also published as "The Berlin Memorandum" (UK title). Required fields are marked *. The film magnificently utilizes West German locations to bring the story to life. This is an espionage series that started in the '60's and ran through the '90's. This was evidently the first of a very long series featuring the spy Quiller. He begins openly asking question about Neo-Nazis and is soon kidnapped by a man known only as "Oktober". His romantic interest is Senta Berger, whose understated and laconic dialog provides the perfect counterpoint to Segal's character. What a difference to the ludicrous James Helm/Matt Bond (or is it the other way round?) Quiller leaves, startling the headmistress on the way out. The first thing to say about this film is that the screenplay is so terrible. If you have seen this movie, and it leaves you very dissatisfied or with a bunch of bright orange question marks, don't worry ! As classic as it gets. They are not just sympathisers though. How nice to see you again! and so forth. 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. There was also a TV series in 1975. 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. Watched by Rui Alves de Sousa 04 Jun 2022. Quiller becomes drowsy from a drug that was injected by the porter at the entrance to the hotel. What Adam Hall did extremely wellwas toget us readers inside the mind of an undercover operative. In this first book in the QUILLER series, undercover agent Quiller is asked to take the place of a fellow spy who has recently been murdered in Berlin, in identifying the headquarters of an underground but powerful Nazi organization, Phnix, twenty years . The book is built around a continual number of reveals. That way theres no-one to betray him to the other side. 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). The book and movie made a bit of a splash in the spy craze of the mid-sixties, when James Bond and The Man From Uncle were all the rage. [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. The Phoenix group descend and take Quiller, torturing him to find out what he knows. 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. 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. 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. The love interest between Quiller and Inge (Senta Berger) developed with no foundation. 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 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. The Quiller Memorandum certainly couldnt compete on an aesthetic level with a film like Spy Who Came in from the Cold: No actor, certainly not George Segal, is going to one-up Richard Burton in the anti-Bond department. 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. 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. 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 film was shot on location in West Berlin and in Pinewood Studios, England. 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. Two British agents are murdered by a mysterious Neo-Nazi organization in West Berlin. Two British agents are murdered by a mysterious Neonazi organization in West Berlin. The plot holes are many. Hall alsopeppered the text with authentic espionage jargon and as you read you get to live the part of Quiller. Blu-ray, color, 105 min., 1966. This well-drawn tale of espionage is set in West Berlin, 15 years after the end of WW II. Quiller is eventually kidnapped and tortured by Oktober (Max von Sydow), the leader of Phoenix. But admittedly its a tricky business second-guessing his dramatic instincts here. He notices the concierge is seated where he can see anyone leaving. 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. A few missteps toward the end so that a few of the twists felt thin and not solidly set up, but overall very nicely plotted and written. Once Quiller becomes extra-friendly with Ingewhich happens preternaturally quicklyits clear someone on the other side is getting nervous. 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. A much better example of a spy novel-to-film adaptation would be Our Man in Havana, also starring Alec Guinness. Alec Guinness gets to play a Smiley prototype but brings too much Noel Coward to the table. 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). In the mid-Sixties, the subgenre of the James Bond backlash film was becoming a crowded market. All Rights Reserved. The characters and dialog are well-written and most roles are nicely acted. The Berlin Memorandum, renamed The Quiller Memorandum, was published in 1965 by Elleston Trevor, who used the pseudonym Adam Hall. 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 Neo-Nazis want to know the location of British operations and similarly, the British want to know the location of the Neo-Nazis' headquarters. youtu.be/rQ4PA3H6pAw. Quiller's primary contact for this job is a mid level administrative agent named Pol. I can see where some might find it more exhausting than anything else, though--he does get tired :). The film is ludicrous. Other viewers have said it all: it is a good movie and more interestingly it is a different kind of spy movie. The film was shot on location in West Berlin and in Pinewood . 1966's The Quiller Memorandum is a low-key gem, a pared-down, existential spy caper that keeps the exoticism to a minimum. Want to Read. Senta Berger was gorgeous! 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. Audiobook. Segal plays a secret agent assigned to ferret out the headquarters of a Neo-Nazi movement in Berlin. Apparently, it was made into a classic movie and there is even a website compiled by Trevor devotees. 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. It out the quiller? Really sad. The casting of George Segal in the lead was a catastrophe, as he is so brash and annoying that one wants to scream. This time he's a spy trying to get the location of a neo-Nazi organization. The Wall Street Journal said it was one of the best espionage/spy series of all time. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. The setting is Cold War-divided Berlinwhere Quillertackles a threat from a group ofneo-Nazis whocall themselves Phoenix. Languid, some might say ponderous mid-60's British-made cold-war drama (it could scarcely be called a thriller, more "The Spy Who Came In From The Cold" than, say "Thunderball") that for all its longueurs, does have some redeeming features. Adam Hall/Elleston Trevor certainly produces the unexpected. Press J to jump to the feed. Quiller being injected with truth serum by agents of Phoenix. 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.
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