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 plot revolves around former Nazis and the rise of a Neo-Nazi organisation known as Phonix. The film is ludicrous. Quiller Memorandum, The (Blu-ray Review) - The Digital Bits Your name is Quiller. Other viewers have said it all: it is a good movie and more interestingly it is a different kind of spy movie. That makes the story much more believable, and Adam Hall's writing style kept me engaged. The film is a spy-thriller set in 1960s West Berlin, where agent Quiller is sent to investigate a neo-Nazi organisation. See for instance DANDY IN ASPIC too, sooo complex and fascinating in the same time. (UK title). 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. We never find out histrue identity or his history. 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. 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. Oktober informs Quiller that if he does not disclose secret information this time, both he and Inge will be killed. He was the author of. The nation remained the home of the best spies. The Quiller Memorandum (1966) - Turner Classic Movies Neo-Nazi plot On the surface, we get at least some satisfying closure to the case of the clandestine neo-Nazi gang. How nice to see you again! and so forth. And whats more, Quillers espionage tale is free of the silly gimmicks and gadgetry that define the escapist Bond franchise. In terms of style The Quiller books aretaut and written with narrative pace at the forefront. This reactionary quake in the spy genre was brief but seismic all the same. I recently found and purchased all 19 of the series in hardback and read them serially. Alec Guinness is excellent as a spy chief, and he gives a faint whiff of verisimilitude to this hopeless film. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. The scene shot in the gallery of London's Reform Club is particularly odious. 1 hr 45 mins. Elleston Trevor wrote 19 novels in the highly successful Quiller series. 2023 Variety Media, LLC. 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. He is shot dead by an unseen gunman. 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. 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. Agent Quiller is relaxing in a Berlin theater the night before returning to London and rest after a difficult assignment when he is accosted by Pol, another British agent, with a new, very important assignment. 2 decades after the collapse of Nazi Germany, several old guard are planning to (slowly) rebuild.
