EDITOR’S NOTE: The following is the first installment of columns by my former college roommate, Walter G. Tarrow of Southgate. A Vietnam veteran, he’s always been a bit of a film buff, so I invited him to share his expertise by reviewing videos and films for readers’ edification and amusement.
by Walter G. Tarrow
“The Founder, ”with Michael Keaton as Ray Kroc portrays the man beneath the iconic Golden Arches as the original Hamburglar robbing the McDonald brothers, two small business restaurateurs, of their American dream.
As a traveling milk shake machine salesman in Illinois working out of the trunk of his car, Kroc had always be driven by big ideas and the need to achieve greatness, but he wheels and deals to no avail. A whopper of an order for six machines from a single burger stand in San Bernardino, Calif., intrigues him enough for an impromptu cross-country trip.
Ordering a hamburger, French fries and a Coca-Cola, Ray is blown away by the Speedee service, the crowd of satisfied diners and a subsequent tour of the restaurant by Richard and Maurice McDonald. He begins to envision McDonald restaurants dotting the US of A from coast to coast and proposes the brothers bring him on board to grow the business through franchising.
“McDonald’s can be the new American church.”
Now apart from the brothers on the West Coast, Kroc builds his empire, making business decisions and deals in the Heartland without involving the McDonalds and ultimately learning the secret to success is not franchises but rather real estate. You own the land under the store, you make the money.
His McDonald’s Corporation is on its way to becoming the global juggernaut we all know so well and Ray makes the two founding brothers an offer to sell their interest in the chain – an offer they feel they can’t refuse. From powdered milk shakes to faked hand shakes, Ray betrays them again and again even ultimately taking corporate ownership of their name.
Along the way to becoming chief executive of one of the richest and most powerful enterprises in the world, Ray marries three times, including a third wife he stole from a franchisee, writes a business/motivational book, and continues to campaign even though he’s clearly achieved his American Dream at the cost of theirs.
A tale of promises made and not kept, American mass appeal, using the system for self indemnification, religious fervor as a means to sell and recruit, and winning without any consideration for the small business, and common man seems a cautionary tale of not yesteryear, but of right now, of today.