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19/12/1980 Thriller, Mystery, Crime 1h 57m
55
User score

Big Oil. Big Money. Big Mystery. Everyone’s out to make a killing.

Overview

While investigating the death of a friend and fellow cop, Los Angeles police officer Barney Caine stumbles across evidence that Nazis created a synthetic alternative to gasoline during World War II. This revelation has the potential to end the established global oil industry, making the formula a very valuable and dangerous piece of information. Eventually, Caine must contend with oil tycoon Adam Steiffel, who clearly has his own agenda regarding the formula.

  1. John G. Avildsen

    Director

Top billed cast

  1. George C. Scott

    Barney Caine

  2. Marlon Brando

    Adam Steiffel

  3. Marthe Keller

    Lisa

  4. John Gielgud

    Dr. Abraham Esau

  5. G.D. Spradlin

    Arthur Clements

  6. Beatrice Straight

    Kay Neeley

  7. Richard Lynch

    General Helmut Kladen / Frank Tedesco

  8. John van Dreelen

    Hans Lehman

  9. Robin Clarke

    Major Tom Neeley

  10. View more

Full Cast & Crew

Reviews

A review by Wuchak
Written by Wuchak on 2021-07-18
_**Odd, talky, convoluted, but worthwhile**_

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 17 minutes of the almost 2-hour runtime.

The film is top-of-the-line as far as cast, location, cinematography and score go. It starts off like a Dirty Harry flick substituting Scott for Eastwood...read the rest
Read All Reviews

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Status
Released

Original Language
English

Budget
$13,200,000.00

Revenue
$8,894,289.00

Keywords