His virtual army of nearly silent, oddball henchmen add to the flavor of paranoia and nervousness. The film magnificently utilizes West German locations to bring the story to life. Lindt (Berger) is a school teacher who meets Quiller to translate for him. On its publication in 1966, THE QUILLER MEMORANDUM received the Edgar Award as best mystery of the year. The Quiller Memorandum by Adam Hall | Goodreads 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.) 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. It's a more realistic or credible portrayal of how a single character copes with trying to get information in a dangerous environment. Quiller wakes up beside Berlin's Spree River. I had to resist the temptation to fast forward on several occasions. Pretending to be a reporter, Quiller visits the school featured in the article. And whats more, Quillers espionage tale is free of the silly gimmicks and gadgetry that define the escapist Bond franchise. 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 George Segal as Agent Quiller with Inge Lindt (Senta Berger). 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 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). 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. 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. The third to try is Quiller, an unassuming man, who knows he's being put into a deadly game. Two British agents are murdered by a mysterious Neonazi organization in West Berlin. Phoenix boss Oktober (Max von Sydow) with George Segal, seated. His book. 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. It was nominated for three BAFTA Awards,[2] while Pinter was nominated for an Edgar Award for the script. The nation remained the home of the best spies. Dril several holes in it, the size of a pin, one the size of a small coin. "The Quiller Memorandum" is a film with a HUGE strike against it at the outset.they inexplicably cast George Segal as a British spy! 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. before he started doing "genial" and reminds us that his previous part was in the heavyweight "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf". 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. 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 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). They wereso popularthat in 1966 a film was made the title waschanged to The Quiller Memorandum and from then on all future copies of the book were published under this title, rather than the original. Published chrismass61 Aug 21 2013 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. He first meets with Pol, who explains that each side is trying to discover and annihilate the other's base. 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). It relies on a straight narrative storyline, simple but holding, literate dialog and well-drawn characters. 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. Kindle Edition. The movie made productive use of the West German locations. He contacts the teacher Inge Lindt (Senta Berger) expecting to get some clues to be followed and soon he is abducted the the leader Oktober (Max von Sydow) and his men. What Adam Hall did extremely wellwas toget us readers inside the mind of an undercover operative. Elleston Trevor wrote 19 novels in the highly successful Quiller series. DVD Savant Review: The Quiller Memorandum - DVD Talk The shooting on location in Berlin makes it that much more thrilling. Alec Guinness never misses a trick in his few scenes as the cold, witty fish in charge of Berlin sector investigations. 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. 2023's Most Anticipated Sequels, Prequels, and Spin-offs, Dirk Bauer
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