The Quiller Memorandum

Simply plotted yet deceptively complex, this mainstream, low-key espionage yarn has aged like fine wine over the years. … All in all, this is a well-crafted film graced even further by that old-fashioned Technicolor palatte and a perfect bittersweet ending.

1966’s The Quiller Memorandum is a low-key gem, a pared-down, existential spy caper that keeps the exoticism to a minimum. To do his job, George Segal’s hapless Quiller must set himself out as bait in the middle of a pressure play in West Berlin. It’s quiet and civilized and a little artsy, and Harold Pinter’s semi-stylized dialogue emphasizes guarded exchanges wherein nobody wishes to reveal anything about themselves. The storyline hasn’t enough raw incident to flesh out even a prologue for a modern Bond film. But the movie has its own special charm — Quiller’s mission in West Berlin is like the lonely quest of a mythical hero in the underworld.