Henry Ford on American Experience

**Detroitgayhistoryguy** · January-30-13, 06:00 PM

Did anyone see the program last night on PBS about Henry Ford? I thought over all it made him look pretty bad.

I wonder how the Ford family feels about the program?

I was wondering if Jewish people to this day still don't buy Ford products? Maybe someone Jewish could chime in with their thoughts?

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexpe...lms/henryford/

**rb336** · January-30-13, 06:15 PM

Jewish people buy cars intricatly linked to the Nazis - Volkswagens, Mercedes, Porsches and BMWs. Why not Fords?

Quick! what jab did the Dodge Brothers take at Ford's antisemitism?

**Gary** · January-30-13, 06:46 PM

I saw the program. It didn't really tell me anything I didn't already know about Henry Ford, but I really enjoyed seeing the vintage footage of Detroit.

**Wheels** · January-30-13, 07:33 PM

Originally Posted by rb336

Jewish people buy cars intricatly linked to the Nazis - Volkswagens, Mercedes, Porsches and BMWs. Why not Fords?

Quick! what jab did the Dodge Brothers take at Ford's antisemitism?

The Chrysler logo. [[The star of David)

Attachment 18090

**gnome** · January-30-13, 07:35 PM

The bride sez I nodded off, but I contest that claim, and herewith proclaim they did not mention his run for US Senate ... as both a Republican and Democrat. Henry didn't want to pick a side until the Courts made him decide. Also the film makers never mentioned Evangeline Cote Dahlinger. ... Nor the little son that looked just like Edsel.

they also didn't mention John Cotes bar, Cliff Bells.

**401don** · January-30-13, 07:36 PM

I didn't see the program but I remember watching the A & E Biography episode about Ford several years ago. It was very favorable towards him. At the end it showed him skating on the Detroit river. It stated that at the moment his casket was lowered all of the auto factories and all of the cars in the city came to a standstill. I wondered if this really happened.

**rb336** · January-30-13, 09:56 PM

Originally Posted by Wheels

The Chrysler logo. [[The star of David)

Attachment 18090

47% right [[you lose 53 for saying chrysler!)

**Kathleen** · January-30-13, 10:20 PM

Agreed. Not much new re: Henry, but I thought it was a well done, well balanced look at him. And great video and pictures of Henry and of Detroit and environs.

BTW....They mentioned Henry the Deuce only once near the end when he took over the company...and no mention of the other grandchildren. Not surprising that they didn't mention the affair and illegitimate offspring.

**rutlev** · January-31-13, 01:02 PM

I would have liked more on the offspring, but then it was just supposed to be
about Henry Ford. It wasn't anything that I hadn't already read or knew, but I did like seeing it along with the photos and films. Would have liked to have seen more of the "battle of the overpass" and good old Harry Bennett. Watched the Lindbergh kidnapping special last night, a lot of similarities in these two icons.

**detroitsgwenivere** · January-31-13, 01:25 PM

I didn't think the program portrayed Ford in a bad light per se. It just painted a picture of a complex man in a changing world that he helped to put on wheels. Most movers and shakers in history had a monkey on their back. Not to mention the fact that the guy was a product of an environment that, at the time, didn't exactly lend itself to openmindedness or tolerance of others. It was what it was.

**rb336** · January-31-13, 04:05 PM

Originally Posted by rutlev

I would have liked more on the offspring, but then it was just supposed to be
about Henry Ford. It wasn't anything that I hadn't already read or knew, but I did like seeing it along with the photos and films. Would have liked to have seen more of the "battle of the overpass" and good old Harry Bennett. Watched the Lindbergh kidnapping special last night, a lot of similarities in these two icons.

That Lindbergh show was a joke. Shame on Nova - nothing but speculation, no science involved. their worst show - ever

**gnome** · January-31-13, 08:36 PM

I tuned to Channel 56 the other day and found a "salute" retrospective to Dallas.

Yeah, Dallas, with JR and Sue Ellen and Bobby and Miss Elly.

So, I guess they are turning away from insightful and thought-provoking program to cotton candy content.

**Ray1936** · February-01-13, 12:13 AM

Thanks to the link, I just watched the show. Nothing I didn't know, but great photos and film footage. A worthwhile viewing.

**Kathleen** · February-01-13, 06:35 AM

Originally Posted by gnome

I tuned to Channel 56 the other day and found a "salute" retrospective to Dallas.

Yeah, Dallas, with JR and Sue Ellen and Bobby and Miss Elly.

So, I guess they are turning away from insightful and thought-provoking program to cotton candy content.

Actually that show was the PrimeTime Soaps segment in the Pioneers of Television series. Dallas, Dynasty, Knots Landing, and Falcon Crest were a huge craze for the 80s. Each Pioneers episode covers a different topic: Superheroes, Miniseries, Game Shows, etc. Check it out: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/pioneers-of-...ring-programs/

**56packman** · February-01-13, 08:47 AM

Originally Posted by rb336

47% right [[you lose 53 for saying chrysler!)

Actually, you are both wrong, that is an urban legend. If you look closely at the original Dodge Brothers emblem you will notice that it is two intersecting triangles,Greek Deltas, one blue one black. These were meant to symbolize the two brothers, John and Horace and their interwoven relationship.
That urban legend persists to this day, but that's all it is.

**56packman** · February-01-13, 08:55 AM

One thing I really objected to with this documentary was the attempt to make a realistic soundtrack to what was very obviously silent film footage shot long before the advent of sound on film [[1928-1930). I just find this to be revisionist. Silent film uses music to give context to the visual on the screen, and they aren't serving history by doctoring this footage with traffic sounds, hammer blows, crowd noises and such. Half the audience under 40 probably don't know that film didn't have sound for the first 35 years, and doing this isn't going to educate them.

**jackie5275** · February-01-13, 02:42 PM

I might have dozed off for a couple of minutes, but I didn't see anything about the airport he had where the proving grounds now are. They didn't talk much about his delve into the soybean industry too. I was somewhat surprised how they said near the end of his life that he roamed around Greenfield Village at night. That sounds kind of weird.

**gnome** · February-01-13, 03:02 PM

Originally Posted by Kathleen

Actually that show was the PrimeTime Soaps segment in the Pioneers of Television series. Dallas, Dynasty, Knots Landing, and Falcon Crest were a huge craze for the 80s. Each Pioneers episode covers a different topic: Superheroes, Miniseries, Game Shows, etc. Check it out: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/pioneers-of-...ring-programs/

thanks for setting me straight Kathleen. I must admit I changed the channel pretty quickly when I saw JR and Sue Ellen doing the lip lock. I should have hung around to hear the commentary, but I truly thought it was another pledge drive pitch for their Collectors Edition library ... on Betamax.

**gnome** · February-01-13, 03:25 PM

The thing they missed about Henry Ford was that he was a contradiction.

They painted him as a grumpy, schemer who got schemier as he got older; maybe to a degree, yes; but we were watching a show about a man who was devoted to his wife but carried on an affair for 30 years. A father who loved his son, but emotionally beat him to death. An industrial giant who feared technology. An anti-Semite who had Jews in his inner-circle of advisors. A pacifist who hired thugs to beat people. A man who ran for Senate as both a Republican and a Democrat.

Henry Ford was an uneducated genius. Not a just grumpy schemer.

Now, maybe it is just because we know so much about St. Henry that to delve too deep into the minute details of his life would bore the rest of the country's viewers. But I think they locked into a single view and stuck with it.

**p69rrh51** · February-01-13, 04:28 PM

Originally Posted by gnome

The thing they missed about Henry Ford was that he was a contradiction.

They painted him as a grumpy, schemer who got schemier as he got older; maybe to a degree, yes; but we were watching a show about a man who was devoted to his wife but carried on an affair for 30 years. A father who loved his son, but emotionally beat him to death. An industrial giant who feared technology. An anti-Semite who had Jews in his inner-circle of advisors. A pacifist who hired thugs to beat people. A man who ran for Senate as both a Republican and a Democrat.

Henry Ford was an uneducated genius. Not a just grumpy schemer.

Now, maybe it is just because we know so much about St. Henry that to delve too deep into the minute details of his life would bore the rest of the country's viewers. But I think they locked into a single view and stuck with it.

gnome while I agree with your points, the documentary did touch a little on his contradictions. This was the first time I have ever seen anything that mentioned how Henry treated Edsel.
I think time is the biggest factor to satisfy the hard core Ford historians in us and 2 hours is just not enough time to do the job.
I do have one request can a limit of one Model T body drop per documentary be imposed. They must have used that clip at least 3 times if not more. We have seen that clip enough!

**Ray1936** · February-01-13, 05:40 PM

Being a license plate collector, I noted several times the audio giving a certain year did not match with the year of the license plate being shown. But I nit-pick. Thought it was an excellent presentation.

**grancan** · February-03-13, 11:29 AM

A side note: my daughter and her fiance last week put a deposit down on the venue where they are going to be married - the Ford Assembly Plant on Piquette Ave., a fantastic building where the first 12,000 Model T's were built. The place is in great shape [[basically just the way it was left in 1910 when Ford moved to Highland Park) but was full of old Ford cars and memorabilia. The wedding will take place on the second floor among all the cars and the reception is the next bay over with more cars and displays. Well worth the visit if you get the chance during their tour season [[April to October). TPlex is the website. Check it out. Another hidden Detroit gem!

**Honky Tonk** · February-03-13, 11:51 AM

Originally Posted by grancan

A side note: my daughter and her fiance last week put a deposit down on the venue where they are going to be married - the Ford Assembly Plant on Piquette Ave., a fantastic building where the first 12,000 Model T's were built. The place is in great shape [[basically just the way it was left in 1910 when Ford moved to Highland Park) but was full of old Ford cars and memorabilia. The wedding will take place on the second floor among all the cars and the reception is the next bay over with more cars and displays. Well worth the visit if you get the chance during their tour season [[April to October). TPlex is the website. Check it out. Another hidden Detroit gem!

How cool! Good info, I had no idea. Congratulations on your daughters wedding.

**Hermod** · February-03-13, 12:17 PM

David Halberstam's book "The Reckoning" gives a pretty good look at Henry, Edsel, and the Deuce.

**rooms222** · February-03-13, 03:39 PM

Originally Posted by gnome

The thing they missed about Henry Ford was that he was a contradiction.

They painted him as a grumpy, schemer who got schemier as he got older; maybe to a degree, yes; but we were watching a show about a man who was devoted to his wife but carried on an affair for 30 years. A father who loved his son, but emotionally beat him to death. An industrial giant who feared technology. An anti-Semite who had Jews in his inner-circle of advisors. A pacifist who hired thugs to beat people. A man who ran for Senate as both a Republican and a Democrat.

Henry Ford was an uneducated genius. Not a just grumpy schemer.

Now, maybe it is just because we know so much about St. Henry that to delve too deep into the minute details of his life would bore the rest of the country's viewers. But I think they locked into a single view and stuck with it.

In reading your message, I think you described a lot of the contradictions of our area as a whole, what makes it both so wonderful and so frustrating, at times.