''The Formula'' is a 1980

mystery film A mystery film is a genre of film that revolves around the solution of a problem or a crime. It focuses on the efforts of the detective, private investigator or amateur sleuth to solve the mysterious circumstances of an issue by means of clues, i ...

directed by

John G. Avildsen John Guilbert Avildsen (December 21, 1935 – June 16, 2017) was an American film director. He is perhaps best known for directing ''Rocky'' (1976), which earned him the Academy Award for Best Director, and the first three ''The Karate Kid'' fil ...

. It was produced and written by Steve Shagan, who adapted his own 1979 novel ''The Formula''. It stars Marlon Brando,

George C. Scott George Campbell Scott (October 18, 1927 – September 22, 1999) was an American actor, director, and producer who had a celebrated career on both stage and screen. With a gruff demeanor and commanding presence, Scott became known for his port ...

Marthe Keller Marthe Keller (born 28 January 1945) is a Swiss actress and opera director. She is perhaps best known for her role in the film ''Marathon Man (film), Marathon Man'' (1976), for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting ...

John Gielgud Sir Arthur John Gielgud, (; 14 April 1904 – 21 May 2000) was an English actor and theatre director whose career spanned eight decades. With Ralph Richardson and Laurence Olivier, he was one of the trinity of actors who dominated the Briti ...

, G. D. Spradlin, and

Beatrice Straight Beatrice Whitney Straight (August 2, 1914 – April 7, 2001) was an American theatre, film and television actress and a member of the prominent Whitney family. She was an Academy Award and Tony Award winner as well as an Emmy Award nominee. ...

Plot

The film opens in the final days of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

as Soviet forces close in on the outskirts of Berlin. Panzer Korps General Helmut Kladen (

Richard Lynch Richard Lynch (February 12, 1940 – June 19, 2012) was an American actor best known for portraying villains in films and television. His film credits included ''The Sword and the Sorcerer'', '' Invasion USA'', ''The Seven-Ups'', ''Scarecr ...

) is dispatched to the Swiss frontier with top secret documents to be used as a bargaining chip with the Allies to save Germany from the Soviets. He is subsequently intercepted by the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

and turned over to Army Intelligence. In contemporary

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, Lt. Barney Caine (

) is assigned to solve the murder of his former boss and friend Tom Neeley, which presumably occurred during a drug deal gone wrong. However, Neeley has written "Gene" on a newspaper in his own blood, and Caine finds a map of Germany with the name "Obermann" on it. Caine is surprised to learn that Neeley provided drugs at parties hosted by the tycoon Adam Steiffel ( Marlon Brando). When he interviews Neeley's ex-wife (

), he quickly catches her in several lies, and when he returns to interview her a second time, he finds her shot dead in her hot tub. Steiffel reveals in his interview that Neeley was working for him as a

bagman The term bagman (or bag man) has different meanings in different countries. One group of definitions centers on the idea of traveling. In British usage, "bagman" is a term for a traveling salesman, first known from 1808. In Australian usage, ...

. Neeley was sent overseas by the company to deliver money to business partners. Caine becomes convinced he must go to Germany to solve Neeley's murder, he convinces his Chief (

Alan North Alan North (December 23, 1920 – January 19, 2000) was an American actor. Early life North was born in Bronx, New York, and joined the United States Navy during the Second World War. Career After the war, he became a stage manager and made ...

) to allow him to go to Germany to continue the investigation. Later, the Chief is seen phoning one of Steiffel's cronies ( G. D. Spradlin) to tell him that Caine has taken the bait. Once in Berlin, Caine meets Paul Obermann (David Byrd) at the Berlin Zoo. Obermann explains operation "Genesis" - a synthetic fuel formula that the Nazis had produced (and could wreck the current oil-economy). This confirms Caine's hunch that Neeley was killed over Genesis. Obermann is then murdered outside the zoo. At his apartment, his niece Lisa (

) shows up to be interviewed by the police. At Obermann's memorial service, Caine asks Lisa to accompany him to act as his interpreter. Lisa agrees and they follow up on a lead that Obermann gave him regarding Professor Siebold who worked on the formula. During their interview with Siebold (

Ferdy Mayne Ferdy Mayne (or Ferdie Mayne) (born Ferdinand Philip Mayer-Horckel; 11 March 1916 – 30 January 1998) was a German-British stage and screen actor. Born in Mainz, he emigrated to the United Kingdom in the early 1930s to escape the Nazi regi ...

), he reveals that the inventor of the formula, Dr. Abraham Esau (

), is still alive. After they leave his apartment, Siebold is shot in the head through a window. When they meet up with Esau, he writes down the formula for Caine, after he makes Caine promise to make it public. Lisa and Caine make photocopies and send them to the LAPD and a Swiss energy company. Caine also hides two copies from Lisa, depositing them in the hotel's safe. Subsequently, he reveals that he has deduced that she is not Obermann's niece at all, but a spy sent to keep tabs on him. Lisa admits it, but claims she didn't sleep with him because of her orders. At the border with East Berlin, Caine confronts Tadesco who relates how he knew Neeley, and what transpired after his capture by the Americans. As Tadesco walks towards his car, Lisa kills Tadesco, then walks towards

East Berlin East Berlin was the ''de facto'' capital city of East Germany from 1949 to 1990. Formally, it was the Allied occupation zones in Germany, Soviet sector of Berlin, established in 1945. The American, British, and French sectors were known as ...

. At the airport before flying home to Los Angeles, Caine realizes the two copies of the formula in the hotel safe were replaced with fakes by Lisa, and that the only real copies are with the LAPD and the Swiss. After landing in Los Angeles, he heads straight to Steiffel's office. Steiffel has kidnapped Caine's partner (Yosuta) and is holding him to exchange for the copy of the formula. After exchanging the formula for Yosuta's release, Caine demands answers from Steiffel. Steiffel then outlines the cartel's plan since the end of the war, to keep the formula secret. They had been able to keep it secret until Swiss businessman, Tauber, began searching for the members of the original Genesis team, in the hope the team could recreate the formula. Tauber's actions made the members of the Genesis team a liability to the cartel, so Steiffel had pulled strings to get Caine sent on a trip to Germany, which would serve as a cover for the cartel's plot to eliminate the remaining members. Just before leaving, Caine reveals that he sent the formula to Tauber. After their meeting, Steiffel makes a phone call to Tauber, asking him to keep the formula secret for another 10 years in exchange for a 25% share of his anthracite holdings. They negotiate briefly, and Tauber agrees to not use the formula for 10 years.

Cast

Production

''The Formula'' was partly filmed at the

Spandau Studios The Spandau Studios or CCC Studios were film and television studios located in Spandau, a suburb of Berlin. They were established in 1949 following the Second World War by the producer Artur Brauner controller of CCC Films, on the site of a form ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

, with

location shooting Location shooting is the shooting of a film or television production in a real-world setting rather than a sound stage or backlot. The location may be interior or exterior. The filming location may be the same in which the story is set (for ex ...

in St. Moritz and

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

. The remainder of the film was shot at the

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 ...

studios in

Culver City, California Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. Founded in 1917 as a "whites only" sundown town, it is now an ethnically diverse city with what was called the "third-most d ...

Reception

Critical response

On review aggregator

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, the film holds a 30% rating based on 10 reviews.

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or t ...

says- "Dull, contrived, and ploddingly directed by John G. Avildsen, this film is a never-ending series of repetitive interviews in which Barney asks questions of a recalcitrant informant. Ultimately, the trail leads back to Brando's corpulent oil magnate. Brando, who appears in only three scenes and walked off with $3 million for his performance, is the only spark of life in the entire film, albeit a highly bizarre one".The Formula review at TV Guide
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Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Formula, The 1980 films 1980s crime thriller films American crime thriller films American mystery thriller films American political thriller films Films scored by Bill Conti Films based on American novels Films directed by John G. Avildsen Films set in Berlin Films set in West Germany Films shot at Spandau Studios Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films American police detective films Peak oil films Films set in 1945 Films set in 1980 Films set in Los Angeles West German films German mystery thriller films English-language German films German crime thriller films Films shot in Hamburg Films shot in Berlin 1980s English-language films 1980s American films 1980s German films