The Formula (1980)

Director:

John G. Avildsen

Writers:

Steve Shagan (novel)
Steve Shagan (screenplay)

Release Date:

19 December 1980 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Thriller

Tagline:

In a world starved for energy, no secret is more valuable.

Plot:

A detective uncovers a formula that was devised by the Nazis in WW II to make gasoline from synthetic products...

Plot Keywords:

Oil Company | Oil | Gasoline | Library | Horse Track

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 4 nominations

Cast

George C. Scott	...	Lt. Barney Caine LAPD
Marlon Brando	...	Adam Steiffel, Chairman Titan Oil
Marthe Keller	...	Lisa Spangler
John Gielgud	...	Dr. Abraham Esau, Director Reich Energy
G.D. Spradlin	...	Arthur Clements
Beatrice Straight	...	Kay Neeley
Richard Lynch	...	General Helmut Kladen / Frank Tedesco
John Van Dreelen	...	Hans Lehman, Prefect of Police Berlin
Robin Clarke	...	Major Tom Neeley
Ike Eisenmann	...	Tony
Marshall Thompson	...	Geologist #1
Dieter Schidor	...	Assassin
Werner Kreindl	...	Schellenberg
Jan Niklas	...	Gestapo Captain
Wolfgang Preiss	...	Franz Tauber, Swiss businessman

Also Known As:

Die Formel (West Germany)

Runtime:

117 min

Country:

USA | West Germany

Language:

English | Spanish | German

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:L | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | Sweden:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Berlin, Germany

Company:

CIP Filmproduktion GmbH

Trivia:

In his autobiography, Marlon Brando, Scott's co-star in the film The Formula (1980) - in a caption for a picture from the film - recounts that Scott asked him during the shooting of the film whether he, Brando, would ever give the same line-reading twice. Brando replied, "I know you know a cue when you hear one."

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Barney and John leave a room, close the door and enter the corridor, we can read the shadow of the text on the door window on the opposite wall, "453 PRECINCT COORDINATES". However, the text should be mirrored since the door is illuminated from the inside of the room.

Quotes:

Adam Steiffel, Chairman Titan Oil: We're not in the oil business; we're in the oil shortage business!

Movie Connections:

References Little Caesar (1931)

This Is No Formula for Entertainment

Of course any chance to see a film with George C. Scott and Marlon Brando is not to be missed, but I do so wish that they had done something better than The Formula.

The Formula referred to in the title is in fact a formula that the Nazi scientists developed for getting oil fuel out of coal. The only source of it in all of Europe is in Ploesti in Romania. Which was why the Nazis made damn sure to occupy the place and also wanted to get to the Soviet Union oil fields as well.

Anyway a former cop who in retirement found working on the other side of the law, a lucrative supplement for his pension is murdered in Los Angeles. George C. Scott is the LAPD detective put in charge of the case. The former cop's widow Beatrice Straight is also murdered along with just about everyone else who talks with Scott during the course of the investigation.

Said investigation takes Scott from LA to Germany and back to LA and mysterious gazillionaire Marlon Brando. The story takes in old Nazis, new Nazis, Arab terrorists, and the oil establishment who wants The Formula on its terms.

What I don't understand is that if the powerful conglomerate that Brando controlled wanted things shut down, why in heaven's name was Scott put in charge of the investigation? Doesn't make a lot of sense when you think about it.

Brando and Scott together in their final confrontation scene are fabulous. Would that the rest of The Formula was done so well.