The Quiller Memorandum (1966)

Directed by Michael Anderson. Starring George Segal, Max von Sydow, Denta Berger, Alec Guinness, Robert Flemyng, Peter Carsten, Günter Meisner, Robert Helpmann, George Sanders, Edith Schneider.

American secret agent Quiller (Segal) is in Berlin to uncover the location of a Neo-Nazi organization’s headquarters; Guinness is his austere controller, Von Sydow the aristocratic enemy leader, Berger the schoolteacher he becomes involved with. Reasonably engrossing spy thriller makes for a nicely stripped-down relief from the decade’s more extravagant escapist fantasies. Location shooting, Euro-atmosphere, and a taut but low-key car chase are all pluses, but the script has no surprises, which defeats what should have been a stingingly ironic (even haunting) finale. Segal makes for an offbeat, unexpected sort of spy hero…but not a very compelling one as far as screen presence and credibility are concerned. Harold Pinter’s script is based off “The Berlin Memorandum” by Elleston Trevor (under the nom de plume Adam Hall).

68/100