The Formula (1980)

Two slightly aged actors who have in the past turned in magnificent performances. Well, one, really, George C. Scott as a detective sent to Germany to investigate the death of his friend. Marlon Brando, the phenomenally wealthy oil tycoon appears for some minutes at the beginning and end of the film. Scott is magnetic as usual, a Los Angeles cop out of his element in Europe, picking up Marthe Keller along the way, and unable to trust anyone. As in most detective stories, Scott bumps into one oddball after another in his search for the reason for the murder of his partner. There are some pretty good odballs though. Sir John Gielgud is memorable as the terminally ill ex Nazi scientist, claiming that the civilized world runs on oil and excoriating Scott because the US has its hands bloody too. Watch Gielgud lurch around with his walking stick and rasp out insults and self congratulations. Equally memorable is Brando as the slightly deaf old chap who chews out the "monkey" who chlorinated the pool at Brando's mansion and thereby seems to have killed a frog. "Well, I just hope that frog has Blue Shield! You pay these guys five dollars an hour and they think they own the place." There's a puckish wit in his every line and every movement. He never REALLY gets angry and never shouts. He doesn't have to. He owns 75% of all the coal in the country, ready to be converted to synthetic oil when the diminishing supply or real oil drives the price high enough. It's not a matter of morality and there are no dark ethical questions lurking in the background. It's all very simple. Money makes the world go round. And it must be true because Thomas Jefferson said something to that effect.Most of the film was shot in Germany, in murky, night-time, rainy atmospheres with menace in every shadowy cranny. As the detective Scott does a credible job although he's no longer the human dynamo of his films from the early 60s. (Who is?) There's very little violence. Dead bodies, yes, but not cascades of gore. Nor are there pursuits, people running with guns in their hands or speeding care rolling over before bursting into flame. It's a mystery, and a convoluted one at that.It teeters on the brink of boredom but the performances manage to keep it stable enough to be enjoyed.

Released in 1980, "The Formula" is a star-studded crime/thriller about a Los Angeles detective (George C. Scott) who investigates the murder of his friend, a retired cop, which leads to Germany and a Nazi formula for synthetic fuel that big oil naturally wants to suppress at all costs. Marlon Brando plays a shady oil tycoon but only appears for roughly 15 minutes of the almost 2-hour runtime.The film is top-of-the-line as far as cast, location and cinematography go. It starts off like a Dirty Harry flick substituting Scott for Eastwood with his Asian sidekick, but the plot's complicated and there's not enough action for Dirty Harry fans. The rest of the film seems like an episode of Columbo mixed with Scott's "Hardcore" (1979) where he goes undercover in Southern California investigating his daughter's disappearance.The highlights include the WWII and Nazi elements, acting giants Scott and Brando, the lovely Marthe Keller, the rest of the cast, the great locations (California, Germany and Switzerland) and the emphasis on dialogue above thrills, which may be a detriment to some. Regarding the Nazi elements, there's a brief strip club scene in Europe where Nazi imagery is used as a backdrop for the dancers, fittingly showing how yesterday's unspeakable horrors are forgotten by the next generation and utilized for entertainment or recreation.Brando has proved time and again that he has a knack for playing weird, quirky characters ("The Missouri Breaks", "Apocalypse Now", "The Godfather" and "The Island of Dr. Moreau") and he tries to do this here with his portrayal of an oil executive, but with so-so results. I didn't buy it; the character comes off as more of a performance rather than a real person. Still, you've gotta give him credit for trying and Brando is always entertaining, even when he fumbles.The main problem here is the convoluted plot. There are so many names it's hard to keep up (I recommend using the subtitles as it helps you keep track). The conclusion is both thought-provoking and unsatisfactory; a strange mix.So "The Formula" is a mixed bag, but its strengths outweigh it's weaknesses. It's worthwhile if you're a fan of the stars and if you're in the mood for a thought-provoking and globetrotting crime/thriller that's heavy on talk and light on thrills.This movie surprised me; after hearing all the criticisms I was ready for a dull experience, but this wasn't the case at all.GRADE: B-

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.

The reviews for this movie have been rather consistently poor--both when it was released and on IMDb. For some reason, I actually liked this film--maybe I have bad taste, but I found it to be a very pleasant surprise! Maybe some of my positive regard for this is because I like George C. Scott so much and because I like paranoid and depressing movies (and this one has all these elements). In fact, I am guessing that the depressing nature of the film is much of the reason why others dislike it (there are a lot of murders in the movie). But I liked it for the odd plot--about the evil oil producers trying to suppress a secret for a cheaper fuel through murders and payoffs. But, if you do decide to watch this film, please try to remember that it's only a film. This is not a piece of non-fiction!UPDATE--8/08. I re-watched this film (something I rarely do) and was surprised how dull I found it a second time. While I still liked the paranoid plot involving a worldwide oil conspiracy, this time I noticed that the film was a bit too talky and the plot a bit too convoluted. Plus, and I know Brando fans will hate me for saying this, but his acting seemed a tad over-done. Still, it's a decent film even if I did knock my original score from 8 to 6.