The Quiller Memorandum (1966)

Two British agents are murdered by a mysterious Neonazi organization in West Berlin. The British Secret Service sends agent Quiller to investigate. Soon Quiller is confronted with Neonazi ... See full summary »

Director:

Michael Anderson

Writers:

Trevor Dudley Smith (based on the novel by), Harold Pinter (screenplay)

Stars:

George Segal, Alec Guinness, Max von Sydow

Nominated for 3 BAFTA Film Awards. Another 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview:
George Segal	...	Quiller
Alec Guinness	...	Pol
Max von Sydow	...	Oktober
Senta Berger	...	Inge Lindt
George Sanders	...	Gibbs
Robert Helpmann	...	Weng
Robert Flemyng	...	Rushington
Peter Carsten	...	Hengel
Ernst Walder	...	Grauber
Edith Schneider	...	Headmistress
Philip Madoc	...	Oktober's Man (Man with brown trousers)
Günter Meisner	...	Hassler (as Gunter Meisner)
John Rees	...	Oktober's Man (Man with black-rimmed glasses)

Storyline

Two British agents are murdered by a mysterious Neonazi organization in West Berlin. The British Secret Service sends agent Quiller to investigate. Soon Quiller is confronted with Neonazi chief "Oktober" and involved in a dangerous game where each side tries to find out the enemy's headquarters at any price...

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Plot Keywords:

car chase | british intelligence | redhead | spy vs spy | berlin germany | 

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Taglines:

Pursuer or Pursued -- he played the most dangerous game in Europe... and he played it alone.

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English German

Release Date:

15 December 1966 (USA)

Also Known As:

Le secret du rapport Quiller

Filming Locations:

Berlin, Germany

Company Credits

Production Co:

Rank Organisation, The, Ivan Foxwell Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This movie was made and released only about a year after the film's source novel 'The Berlin Memorandum' by Trevor Dudley Smith (as Adam Hall) was first published in 1965.

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Goofs

When Quiller is waiting for the bomb to blow up, in the long shots he is still completely on the side of the garage, but in the medium shots his head is clearly extending around the corner to see the front of the garage.

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Quotes

Oktober: Don't blame it on me, blame it on the Bosa Nova.

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Connections

Referenced in Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002)

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Soundtracks

"Downtown"
(uncredited)
Written by Tony Hatch
Played at the bowling alley

User Reviews

Poor Adaptation

Having just read the novel, it's impossible to watch this without its influence and I found the screen version incredibly disappointing. I'm generally pretty forgiving of film adaptations of novels, but the changes that were made just do not make sense. 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. The original, primary mission has been completely omitted. Inga is unrecognizable and has been changed to the point of uselessness. Visually, the film was rather stunning, but the magical soft focus that appears every time Inga is in the frame is silly. 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. Really sad. A much better example of a spy novel-to-film adaptation would be Our Man in Havana, also starring Alec Guinness.