Overview
The Formula is a 1980 mystery film directed by John G. Avildsen. It was produced and written by Steve Shagan, who adapted his own 1979 novel The Formula. It stars Marlon Brando, George C. Scott, Marthe Keller, John Gielgud, G. D. Spradlin, and Beatrice Straight.
The film follows the attempts by different groups who wish to either secure or destroy a synthetic fuel formula invented by the Nazis at the end of World War II which would end reliance on the supply of oil.
Plot
In the final days of World War II, Soviet forces close in on the outskirts of Berlin. Panzer Korps General Helmut Kladen 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 and turned over to Army Intelligence.
In contemporary Los Angeles, 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. 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.
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