I saw THE FORMULA years ago and then caught it again recently on TCM and remembered it was hard to follow, so made sure to pay attention this time, especially to names that were thrown out that only later were put to faces (and so hard to remember) and the effort paid off. I really enjoyed all aspects of the movie (with the exception of the actor who plays George C. Scott's partner, whose acting is quite weak, especially against the fine acting of the rest of the cast). Only after seeing THE FORMULA the first time, did I learn Brando's Adam Steiffel was based on then-head of Occidental Petroleum, Armand Hammer (who Trevor Loudon describes as, "the leading American Soviet agent of the early 20th Century" who mentored "Al Gore Sr.," who, himself, ran the anti-American "Council for a Livable World" created "to gut the U. S. military" who itself got the 29-year-old Joe Biden elected senator). I know Brando's assistant, who was working for Brando when he made THE FORMULA, and she said, "It was known on the set that Adam Steiffel was based on Armand Hammer." Almost comically, in the Armand Hammer biography DOSSIER, after Hammer learned that Brando's murderous character was based on him, Hammer's only complaint was, "Brando is fat in THE FORMULA and I'm thin." Anyway, I recorded THE FORMULA off TCM and expected to delete it after I recently watched it, but decided not to, knowing I'll watch it again.
Review of The Formula
