Ford: The Man and the Machine

Within the baronial splendor of his mansion, Henry Ford possibly the richest man alive, sleeps fitfully. Soon to face libel charges for alleged anti-Semitic attacks, his loyal wife Clara, lies beside him. Slipping in and out of sleep, he remembers the old days....

And what memories they are, as he recalls the earliest days; his decision to devote his entire life to machines, and his first involvement with the automobile, launching the Detroit Automobile Company. The major pioneer in a new world.

Realizing that the only solace he has left to him, lies in his dreams, he continues to relive his greatest achievements; as a successful, amateur racing driver, and as the founder of the Ford Motor Company in 1901, which was destined to become a household name and the leader in its field. But it is clear, that despite all his phenomenal success in his working life, something is dramatically missing.

His personal life is a disaster. A stranger to his family, he continues to find satisfaction in the company of other women and, even more crucially, fails to establish a close rapport with his son, Edsel, whom he regards as a weakling and a hopeless under-achiever.

As World War Two breaks out, however, all of Ford's old energies are rekindled. Dedicating his time and money to stop the war, he turns his motor plant into a war factory. And by now, he is a man of such incredible power and wealth, he has the ear of the country's most powerful leaders, including President Wilson, who urges him to run for the Senate.

But once again, the failure of his personal life continues to haunt him. Continually criticized for his anti-Jewish attitudes, he becomes suspicious of strangers and their motives. Becoming more and more egotistic and introspective, he finds comfort within, especially in the notion of reincarnation, which he sees as definitive proof of his genius.

It finally takes a tragedy of enormous proportion for Ford to realize the error of his ways. Edsel is dying of cancer, but Ford thinks that his son is too weak to kick the disease and demands that he gets better. For the first time, Ford seriously questions not only his relationship with his son and his family in general, but also his priorities and personal philosophy towards life. Money and power are not, he realizes, the only important things to strive for. But it is too late. Edsel dies and finally, Clara intervenes. She gives Ford an ultimatum. Either relinquish his hold on the empire he has built, for his and his family's sake, or lose everything. He concedes and as a tribute to his dead son, he offers the presidency of the Ford Company to his grandson Henry II.

And now, as in the beginning, the focus returns to Ford's bedside, although this time he is dying, with the stoic Clara forever by his side. Now only one vision remains: Ford is a boy again, dreaming of machines and the life he will spend with them...