History Buffs: The Founder
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- Опубліковано 14 лис 2022
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Hey guys, hope everyone is doing well! For this episode, let's see how historically accurate is The Founder! We hope you enjoy!
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The irony that McDonald's was built by a milkshake machine salesman yet their milkshake machines are always broken is almost poetic.
Well I mean Taylor pretty much a lot of stuff I recommend watching food theory about the ice cream machine
yin and yang
@@changsiah2 English.
Truth be told it’s not broken it has a very long cleaning times, if you tell someone no milkshakes because it’s cleaning, you think no worries tomorrow you go then.. they tell you it’s cleaning, you automatically assume it got dirty in less then 24 hours… so you tell them it’s broken instead, you assume it’s busy therefore you want it and demand it…
Or “supply and demand”
Lmfao. God tier
“It’s better to have one great restaurant than 50 mediocre ones.” It’s so weird to hear that in a story about McDonald’s.
Feels like a purposefully ironic line
McDonald’s have gotten so huge they lost that touch I’m glad we still have in n outs only here in the west coast and that it’s family owned
There’s In N Outs in every non California City though...
@@williamhanna9718 I know they’re branching out and west coast isn’t just cali lol they have in n outs up north too
@@williamhanna9718 the farthest east they’ve gone is like Texas it’s still a mostly California thing
If there was a third McDonald brother, Ray could have been the quarter founder with cheese.
Lmao noice
🤣
Haha!!
Bad dad joke...but funny! 🤣
You know what they call it in Paris? Royale with cheese
The McDonald brother who lived longer was interviewed in a documentary and it was said that the McDonald brothers knew Ray Croc would be successful so they invested in McDonalds and did quite well as a result. So, they felt very warmly toward Ray Croc because their stock really paid off. I recall reading that Ray had to borrow from all kinds of places such as foundations that lent out to pay off the McDonald brothers.
He borrowed of a bank
What? He totally screwed them over
@@Burialofagodno he didn't. Even the brothers themselves have disputed that narrative.
@@RobertK1993 Movie shows him borrowing from bank, but it was actually a life insurance company that loaned him the necessary funds, along with some of his suppliers.
@@paulheap1982what about the handshake deal of the 1% it’s confirmed he did not pay them their royalty’s
Let's all take a moment to appreciate Keaton's acting. He's such an understated, versatile actor that puts his all into every film. It's unreal.
Why is it unreal? Lol. There's plenty of others, both past & present, who are just as enjoyable.
@@pioneermac3802 this video isn't about those other actors, though. My comment wasn't exclusionary to other greats. I was just focusing on the subject at hand. Whataboutism is fun, though, apparently.
I understand your sentiment, but by definition, there's nothing "unreal" about an actor/actress playing a role; it's a pretty straightforward and understood profession. i.e. It's strange seeing an actor pretend?
@@pioneermac3802 🤓
@@pioneermac3802 🤓
When I was in rehab for addiction they played us this movie as an example that no matter where we were in life we could always recover and build great success. The next day they played 'What about Bob?' 🤣
"What About Bob? is a 1991 American black comedy film directed by Frank Oz and starring Bill Murray and Richard Dreyfuss.[4] Murray plays Bob Wiley, a troubled patient who follows his self-centered psychotherapist Dr. Leo Marvin (Dreyfuss) on vacation. When Bob befriends the other members of Leo's family, the patient's problems push the doctor over the edge." - Wikipedia
Haha they played it when I was in a 30 day program for abuse survivors!
@@kimifw58 Bill Murray and Richard Dreyfuss were both hilarious but I read thar afterward Dreyfuss couldn’t stand Murray!
I'm SAILING!!!!!
Wait, they saw this movie and were like: "ah, there's an example of morality for people to follow" ? Lol
The McDonald brothers continued to make appearances at annual owner conventions well into their later years. That's a fact rarely mentioned. If they were really upset with the corporation then I doubt they would have done this.
Not really. They could've been displeased with the corporation yet still willing to accept a check to show up at the conference. Not thag hard to imagine.
You can do things you hate to hold up a image. In fact I find it's in the nature of most humans
@@Toy1er True enough. I read somewhere that Col. Sanders positively hated what KFC had become after he sold his stake in the company. But he was still being paid to be a spokesman, so he sucked it up and did it.
@@Toy1er probably this with how badly they got bent over. They probably needed the money.
Mac died in 1971.
I worked at a McDonald’s restaurant during high school in the 1980s. I clearly remember that each location had a wall plaque commemorating Ray Kroc. I guess it was a corporate tactic to erase the legacy of the McDonald brothers.
Today, they still acknowledge Ray Kroc, and they kind of have to; they wouldn't be the business they are now otherwise. But they now also give the proper credit to the McDonald brothers.
Crock kept his spotlight burning bright while he was alive, but as time goes on, his luster is dimming, and I think peoples propensity for the historical and nostalgic, well river some disability to the brothers
@@troodon1096 they dont have to honour Crock at all
this ^^. I went on a tour with Cub Scouts to a McDonald's in the early 80s - we even got to tour parts of the kitchen - when they showed us the plaque out in the lobby, several of us asked how a company named McDonald's and founded by the McDonald's brothers (we knew of their existence as historical people, just not a lot of details) has some guy named Kroc (or Crock!) on their "founder" plaque. We knew that the word clearly meant something different than how they were trying to spin it... and we weren't having it. We were Scouts, not typical dumb kids who just accept what adults say.
They waved their hand and spewed some propaganda to us... we laughed and said they need to put the REAL McDonald's on the plaque. The McManager grimaced.... :D
@@troodon1096 to be blunt, they need to honestly admit that he was a complete conman, fraud and evil businessman. They don't get to perpetuate some myth about Ray being a good guy - too many of us know the reality and will actually laugh in the face of anybody who tries to praise a soulless bastard like him.
He actually did a handshake deal like in the movie with an ice cream supplier, who later sued McD and I think settled out of court for millions, so he was known to make deals like that and to break them.
Like a True Capitalist.
@@ianstallings
"Executions are like watermelons. Die traitor"
This is how we should deal with people with no honor
Thats just capitalism 101 my guy. There is a reason why capitalism is one of the most evil inventions humans have come up with.
@@SimpleNobody2420 like a true Bolshevik, you mean.
Kroc was clearly a POS who couldn't get successful on his own so he stole a business from people who had a successful business...Its amazing how many people worship the dude as a success.
This was such an underrated movie, and I'm surprised it didn't win any awards.
What was it up against?
@@kingloser4198 The Shape of Water, Dunkirk, The Darkest Hour, Get Out, Lady Bird, and Hail, Caesar. That was at least the ones mostly up for awards for the Oscars.
@@matthewjones12181 Ah yes. Tough opposition.
Michael Keaton won a Capri award for his performance for this film.
@@matthewjones12181 In the least why didn't Michael Keaton win best actor, or even get nominated? The Shape of Water was so gawd awful.
Fun fact: Joan Kroc gave $200 million to National Public Radio in her will. At the time, it was twice the annual NPR budget, and continues to fund the service today.
L
@@USA_UNITED1776 get a job mate
@@USA_UNITED1776big L
@@khure711Colossal L
That donation was such a waste of money....
From Mr. Mom to Pacific heights, to Batman, The Founder and more, Micheal Keaton has been a wonderful and versatile actor in many roles. I'm glad to see he is still active and I did like this movie. Thank you History Buffs for your analysis. Best to all.
"Spotlight" was his best IMO
Night Shift...
Don't forget Gung Ho.
No mention of Birdman? Tho it's a bummer he was done so dirty by the script of the flash.
My father, Carl Eriksen, was Ray Kroc's personal assistant from 1966 to 1970. He is briefly mentioned in Kroc's book. I knew Ray Kroc and his wife Jane. (there was a short-lived experiment called "Jane Dobbin's Pie Restaurant") I was around when Ray divorced her for Joan (not Joanne as you say in this video). In 1970, my parents and I went to Hamburger University in Elk Grove, Illinois (west of Chicago). I was the youngest graduate at age 14! I still have the diploma. Kroc was supposed to help my parents start up their own franchise but somehow that deal did not materialize. I can personally vouch for the portrayal of Kroc in the film. He was a ruthless and angry man with a huge ego. When he bought the San Diego Padres baseball team, he got into trouble with the Commissioner of Baseball because he used the PA system to apologize to the fans for his team's poor performance in 1977. He was a control freak and everything had to go his way. He would often visit a McDonald's in his Rolls Royce and if there was trash in the parking lot he would personally pick it up and then berate the manager.
Really interesting. Thanks for the story.
This comment should be pinned to the top....
I've been in the restaurant business for over 20 years and the nerve of some of the owners is astonishing. Kroc sounds like a world class D-bag.
@@patrickmcdaniel2048 Or like 90% of head chefs/restaurant owners. I've been working in restaurants since I was 13 and haven't met 1 owner/head chef that wasn't a complete and utter fucking psychopath/megalomaniac/narcissistic lunatic. No matter where you turn in the food service industry, you're going to be met with crazy fuckers and utter idiots at every single turn.
"He would often visit a McDonald's in his Rolls Royce and if there was trash in the parking lot he would personally pick it up and then berate the manager." That sounds like a very good CEO who takes pride in having things be the best they can be.
History Buffs understands that it’s better to have one great video than 50 mediocre ones.
Unfortunately, UA-cam doesn't see it that way.
A sum of 50 mediocre videos is still one mediocre video. Just say that you don't want to watch 50 videos on a topic in short form.
Just saying something obvious and easy for quick gratification.
Some youtubers like ivan djuric, in my opinion, has found the balance between the 2
@@super8bitvideos ronaldo fanboys recently 🤣
I think the most important aspect is the milkshakes. See, you really have to understand how they used to be made, milk, ice cream, flavour. Let me tell you about this time I worked as a Gelato maker. Very tiny factory making products for a restaurant chain. Within a couple of meters of floor space, we managed to fit in the production of ice cream / Gelato. It starts with the milk pasteuriser. A large machine which churns and heats the milk. Then, you have those soft serve machines, they mix and chill the milk plus two items, base and paste. The base makes the ice cream and the paste is what you add to it afterwards, drizzle on top.
So, there is a fundamental shift between a large factory making just ice cream, to the process of making ice cream being distributed. I would say this shift was the key to McDonalds long term success. Distribution is everything that makes a large business like this work. You couldn't possibly store all of that ice cream on site for so damn long, and to be honest with you, it's actually much easier then you might think to make ice cream. You can literally do it at home, the machinery is not as complicated as you might think, and I seriously laugh at the price tag placed on Italian ice cream, it's a joke.
Soft serve is simply just a less frozen version of ice cream. Ice cream was designed to be much colder for long term storage, by keeping soft serve a bit warmer, you reduce a substantial cost right there. People assume soft serve is an inferior product, no, they are just saving costs on refrigeration. And yeah, it cuts down on the cleaning costs as well.
imo, soft serve is superior. I love it.
Soft Serve has lower milk fat than Ice Cream.
United i if oiooj
there's powdered milk...I would think they could have figured out milkshakes with no refrigeration...that had milk
This is the kind of content that brings me back to a channel. Well-researched, thorough and interesting. History Buffs, and Gaming Historian videos will always get me to click on them.
I am not so sure the film was entirely I farted but I don't know if that's because dung beetle Michael Keaton auto correct
My dad disputed with me that McDonalds first restaurant was in Des Plaines Illinois I told him that’s a lie created by Ray Kroc and the real one was in Cali….needless to say he said “That’s a load of Kroc”
Did he concede after watching the movie?
@@Toosii2times I don’t think he has but I’m visiting him this thanksgiving so we’ll see
Pure dad joke. Bravo.
It wasn’t a lie per se. Des Plaines is the first franchise location and therefore (I believe) the first location Ray Kroc oversaw from the ground up. Combined with the fact that the San Bernardino location was left to the brothers after Ray screwed them over and took the business, and subsequently renamed and torn down, I can see why Ray would give Des Plains that designation.
@@nikig2382 yes we all watched the video.
OP didn’t say first franchise location (which it also wasn’t) he said first restaurant
Does anyone else get unreasonably excited whenever there’s another History Buffs video out? 😂
No. It's not unreasonable 😛
It hits the same nerve endings as the history channel did back when I was a wee lad 😂
I liked before I even watched a single second
welcome back nick
@@Talosbug only Nick doesn’t waste our time with Ancient Aliens. 🙄
Because the content is in moderate quantity. So it rises the value of the content, and the quality is always very good
Kroc was nothing but a true businessman, shrewd, conniving, inventive, sneaky,but still a true businessman.
All about the bottom line.
@@andrewhernandez2188 I hear Vito's bottom was impacted if that's what you're referring to.
@@flightofthebumblebee9529 are you suggesting that I'm referring to homosexual butt love?
@@andrewhernandez2188 Vito a captain? Right...of the good ship lollipop.
That pool cue, I wonder if it was chalked
@@flightofthebumblebee9529 You ok there, granddad? Sounds like it's time to take your brain medicine and go to bed.
As someone who was raised off baseline, I do have an immense pride for San Bernardino and San Bernardino county. It's crazy, the origins of Mcdonald's and Taco Bell are in San Bernardino and both franchises became what they are today by essentially appropriating hard-working SB restaurants; in Taco Bell's case a restaurant called Mitla Cafe that's still open. Even though Dino is a dump I'm glad my city/county is getting some love and recognition
Glen Bell did graduate San Bernardino High School. He was good friend with
Neal Baker who started Baker Drive thru here in and around San Bernardino.
california is a dump
I mean... it'd be nice if it had a lot less crime.
I find it amazing how In 'N' Out has kept it simple to just hamburgers, fries, and milkshakes. It is what Mcdonald's would probably be if it had never changed anything about itself from its first restaurants.
This was my exact thought when I was watching through the film
In N Out is what McDonald's would be if it was still owned by a McDonald.
Is it possible that there are more valuable things than profit? We can argue all day about who has the better fries, but it's undeniable that In n' Out has happier, better-paid employees. It's also not like In n' Out isn't hugely successful. Maybe that extra bit of revenue isn't worth grinding out the most productivity out of people in exchange for the lowest possible compensation.
@@TS57ovr4 see I like your point a lot. Sure profit is important to keep the business floating but there are more things to value
I was just thinking this earlier today when I was eating at one. Just the energy in the kitchen alone shows it, but you also see it in the menu, the colors, the same indoor layouts.
For a company that was all about speed and efficiency, it’s kinda weird that they dived into making pizza in the 80’s. Pizza can be made faster today, but back then it took a lot more time.
pizza was booming in the 80s and everyone wanted to make money
There are actually a couple McDonald’s restaurants that still make pizza actually
Everyone jumped onto the chicken breast sandwich craze after somebody got knifed trying to get a Popeyes sandwich.
A Big Mac Pizza sounds interesting.
Those pizzas were terrible. Worse than frozen pizzas.
Burger in 30 seconds? Oh dear, I wonder why that's not a slogan anymore 😂
The interesting thing about the Filet O'Fish is that the recipe for it was actually invented by the Cincinnati franchisee, who pitched it to the corporation. And the corporation just took it and rolled it out to the rest of the stores and the guy never saw a dime for it.
There was probably nothing illegal about the way they screwed the poor guy... Never trust a corporation, any corporation... Try never to work for one. No corporation will treat any employee fairly if they can possibly avoid it.
The crazy part was Kroc wanted to roll out a different sandwich and challenged the guy to a sales competition. Obviously, Kroc lost, and it wasn’t close. The Filet-O-Fish, per terms of the bet, was then added to McDonald’s menus. Kroc’s sandwich: the Hula Burger- a grilled pineapple ring on a bun.
Are you really surprised? That's the exact same thing Ray Kroc did to the McDonald's brothers.
they didn't need to give him a dime, he worked for them his ideas are theirs he didn't open his own store and sell fliet of fish sandwiches, he talked to mcdonald corporate about adding it. So they did. Nothing crooked, wrong, or weird about it. Since the owners can't just serve what they want, they HAVE to give the ideas to corporate. Sure he didn't get extra money for a successful idea, but Lou Groen is the man who brought the fillet o'fish to mcdonalds and the world. And he always will be.
@@veritas41photo ... 100 percent fact. I work for one now. We are all replaceable. A spoke in the wheel.
I had to do a paper on this movie once. My favorite part has always been Ray Croc in his car, staring menacingly at a McDonald's from afar like a stalker.
Well, you're not wrong.
Ray Kroc was a stalker and a shrewd businessman.
tf
Ray Kroc also knew Walt Disney the creator of Disney and was close friends with him as they both served in the same ambulance corps as ambulance drivers during ww1 which was when they met.
Well that’s one why if meeting two successful businessmen
Yup, there was almost an agreement for a McDonalds to be opened up at Disneyland, but Disney wanted to raise prices on the food by 5 cents, and Kroc refused.
The partnership of Disney and McD's goes back further than I thought.🙂
They were in the same corps, but were they friends? Kroc thought very highly of Disney, and the McDonaldland was inspired by Disney’s theme parks. But my understanding was that Disney didn’t quite reciprocate that same esteem.
Well they may not have been friends but they still knew each other since they were young people working in the same ambulance corps during ww1.
Funny story. My class watched this movie in social studies and we actively cheered when Ray Croc got divorced because we all hated him so much. This is a great movie
the divorce was his idea dude. and he divorced her because he was in love with another women. he got exactly what he wanted what is there to cheer about?
In reality Kroc had a second marriage never mentioned in the film, and didn't marry Joan Mansfield until 1969.
I was the extra in this movie at 24:40 smoking the cigarette 😂 Did a lot of background work while I lived in Georgia but this was by far one of the more fun sets to work on
Same! I was in stranger things! I was one of the protesters.
You forgot to mention the scene where the brothers put a voodoo curse on every restaurant so their ice cream machines are always broken. Can we take a moment to admire Michael Keaton’s acting in this movie? He plays Kroc as such a BASTARD, and evokes such an angry reaction from the audience (at least from me) that you forget at times that you’re watching Michael Keaton playing someone else and not just seeing the person he’s portraying. Keaton’s acting talents aren’t discussed anywhere near as much as I think they should be these days.
Croc
I really enjoy this film
Such kind words abiut an imperialist from the supreme leader.
Legit though. Micheal Keaton is one of my all time favourites. From action roles like Batman, comedic roles like the other guys and serious films like this one the man has range and a certain ability to drag you into the character that few possess. Truly one of the GOATS
Tom Hanks in Elvis be like
@@ryansantiago941 there's alot of material out there now adays.
Basically it's a right to repair issue.
Newer ice cream machines in McDonald's are quite high tech years ahead of alot of other places.
The main issue is that basically McDonald's the company screws the franchise and employees over because the manufacturer is the only one allowed to "fix it"
The issue is that when your talking about an extremely precise industrial rated food processing machine that can completely make ice cream from scratch with perfect consistency it means that shit can easily go wrong.
The issue with that is there are plenty of problems with these machines that can be easily fixed by the operator.
McDonald's the corporation doesn't allow that.
Imagine working at a factory and the only person who could recalibrate the machine is a technician who has a 200 dollar hourly rate and he doesn't follow any schedule so he could take days to come.
Yeah.
There's a ton of lawsuits from franchise owners trying to get the right to fix it themselves using proper tools and knowledge or third party stuff.
(The company in qeustion who makes the machines makes there majority profits from maintenance and service visits like legit 90 percent of there money)
The Fillet-O-Fish wasn't created by Ray Croc, it was created by Louis Groen the Cincinnati McDonald's operator, Ray Croc wanted the "Hula Burger" which replaced the burger with pineapple there was a competition at the store who sold more and the fish won
the fish won
And Halibut, cod and now Pollack sticks have never been the same
He did it for the halibut
@@Gabriel87100 _The fish always wins._
I believe that was depicted in the movie. Or maybe I'm crazy because I remember that story...
Thank you for this one. I've been wondering about the accuracy of The Founder since I first watched it.
Its so weird that if you are like me and grew up in Illinois, the knowledge that Ray started McDs and built the first one (which I drove by a lot growing up in IL) is almost gospel. Another great vid!
Before they owned a restaurant, the McDonald brothers had a theater and a hot dog stand. In 1930, with whatever money they had scraped together, they purchased a 750-seat movie theater 20 miles outside Los Angeles in Glendora, calling it the Beacon Theatre. But this being the Great Depression, it did poorly. They noticed that kids seemed to always have enough money for food like burgers and soda. So with a $5,000 loan, the McDonald brothers started the Airdrome hot dog stand in 1937 by an airfield in Monrovia, calling it The Airdome, and they targeted spectators who were watching the planes. This was a success, but they predicted that in the future, they'd need to appeal to cars. So they moved to San Bernardino, changed the name to McDonald's, and the rest is history.
Despite hot dogs being their heritage, Ray Kroc didn't even want to serve hot dogs even if there was demand for them. Why? Because to him, there was no way of knowing what was inside them.
Ironic as there is little in the way of knowing what's inside the burger too, with all the rumors of it containing all kinds of preservatives and substitute
@@johan13135 “rumors”
@@johan13135 horses
@@johan13135 Burgers make my stomach hurt. Quarter pounders from McDonalds and home-made beef alike.
Cheeseburgers, McDoubles, and Double Cheeseburgers from McDonalds don't make my stomach hurt.
Make of that what you will.
@@Bova-Fett So waht youre saying is QPs are real beef and everything else is not :P
I remembered watching this movie with my dad. When they did the montage of new restaurants opening up in the Midwest, he was surprised to see his hometown as the home of the first Mc D’s in the state.
haha, gay
Alrighty.
My father who was a researcher and diabetes professor actually knew Mr Ray Kroc and was invited to his mansion several times during the years for dinner. Mr Kroc has donated a great deal of money for diabetes research and every year the worlds leading researcher is awarded the "Ray A. and Robert L. Kroc Award" in Uppsala, Sweden. Some of the researchers have been candidates for the Nobel Prize. To conclude, Mr Kroc might have been a tough "businessman" but did a lot of good stuff too! My father liked him a lot./Ulf Hellerstrom, Sweden
Ray suffered from diabetes, his sister Lorraine had Multiple Sclerosis, and his brother Robert was a brilliant scientist who ran the Kroc Foundation for many years and supported both diabetes and MS research.
Yes, I have designed the yearly Kroc diplomas since the 80´s and they read "...The Annual Ray A. & Robert L. Kroc Lecturer..." so they where both very engaged for the diabetes research.
@@canons90 Thank you for sharing many of the good things done by McDonald's, the Kroc family, and the Kroc Foundation.
I am the oldest grandson of Lorraine Kroc Groh and I serve on the board of directors of the Ronald McDonald House of North Central Florida. It is just a small way for me to continue to honor our family and their involvement with McDonald's.
@edpotts7577 Thank you sir, nice to have come in contact with you!
This is a fairly decent movie adaptation and yes, it does cut a few corners and leave some historical facts out to help the pace of the film. About 20 years ago I bought a book called McDonalds: Behind The Arches by John F. Love. I still have it and have read it many times. It is a fascinating read and goes into much of the pre-history of the McDonald brothers and various other California fast food operations that began around the same time as well as the development of the company after Ray Kroc took full control and goes well into modern times. I recommend getting a copy if you are genuinely interested in the history of McDonalds.
I liked "The Founder". It was directed by the same guy who did "Saving Mr. Banks", another period piece that's a look behind the curtain of a beloved product, in that case, the film "Mary Poppins". Interestingly, both movies had BJ Novak, playing Harry Sonneborn and Robert Sherman, respectively.
Ray Kroc truly was the hero AND the villain of his own life's story.
One thing they don't mention was that before meeting the McDonald brothers, Kroc had already met Carl Karcher of Carl's Jr. fame. He had developed a kitchen system similar to the Speedee system, though a little different.
I think the film was overly charitable to the McDonald's Brothers and overly harsh towards Kroc. White Castle also had a fast prep system, for example using small squares of beef with holes poked in them. The holes to make them cook faster, the square to fit more on the grill. The McDonald brothers were innovators but it's not like they were the first ones to think "hey, maybe there is a faster way of doing this?"
@@kev3d McDonald's Bros got paid $25 million equivalent in today's money for something they had already tried and failed to do until Kroc came along. It wasn't a bad deal by no stretch of imagination.
@@TheBaldr nope... the McDonald's brothers were paid for the Trademark of the McDonald's name. That's literally the only thing that Kroc wanted which had value... the name
@@nationalsocialism3504 In 1961 Ray Kroc bought the McDonald's company for $2.7 million from the McDonald's Brothers, which is the equivalent to $26,910,782 in 2022. There was also a proposed deal for .05 percent of McDonald's profits, but it never made it into reality.
@@TheBaldr my point is that the McDonald's brothers were paid off to get the McDonald's trademark... that's all that they had which Kroc wanted. The McDonald's brothers ended up getting filthy rich cause they took the payout then invested it heavily in McDonald's Corporation stock fairly early on when the stock price was low
Ray Kroc was a SOB and that’s why he was so successful. One thing you can be sure about in life; shit always floats to the top. I loved your review. I always look forward to a new episode of History Buffs.
Is that why? He was working hard and he wasn't making any money due to the harsh terms set by the Brothers.
@@Edax_Royeaux would you like to be scammed?
@@Edax_Royeaux because that attitude is how you get scammed.
It also sticks on the bottom
@@CartakuBeast2326 Scammers tend not to be successful in life.
I worked at Mcdonalds since 2020 having since left early this year and while I heard of this movie before working there, I didn't actually watch it until I started and at the time I was surprised that this is how they do things and in terms of the cooking side, it hasn't changed much apart from the expansion of the menu
The entire franchise thing is actually crazy when you think that there can be 100s of franchisees depending on the country, the franchisee I used to work for owned 3-4 stores in two different cities. I only saw him once since they don't visit stores too often in the year and its mainly the assistant franchisee who makes these visits. (Normally during a new promotion)
But from what little I saw from him as well as hear about, he's what you expect, only cares about the profits sees the crew members as numbers etc although the assistant franchisee seemed much more active willing to help out in the kitchens and anywhere he can and was alright to deal with
But it's fascinating how one guy started all this by basically stealing another business, in fact I remember that my store had put up a lot of motivational quotes for morale purposes and I remember seeing one quote by Ray Kroc. I don't remember what it was exactly but I found it funny knowing what he is actually like although I guess in a way he was the founder of the Mcdonalds my store was based on.
So yeah really enjoyed the film and I'm glad to be out there and just one little thing, when I first watched the film I noticed that the franchisee at 13:19 wears clothing that is similar to what the shift managers wear in UK Mcdonalds, I'm guessing this was a style at the time but back then I thought maybe the outfits hadn't changed in the last 70 years so
And to finish off, the ice creams and milkshakes at my store works fine
Met the franchisee of my location before twice. I shook his hand once and he saw me with my energy drinks and said "you'll be up all night with those" he seemed like a nice enough guy albeit a businessman.
This is late, but it's unfair to say he stole the business. There was the initial contract and payments, but the brothers also made quite a bit of money from McDonald's stock.
Hello Nick Hodges,
I just wanted to say that I have enjoyed your work so far. It's honestly refreshing to see people examine the historical accuracy of films, especially for one that has been doing for over seven years. I just have one humble request: For any future History Buffs episode, I would recommend reviewing "Thirteen Days". It goes over the Cuban Missile Crisis from the perspective of the politicians and officers in the U.S. government and military respectively, with Kenny O'Donnell (played by Kevin Costner), John F. Kennedy (portrayed by Bruce Greenwood), and Robert Kennedy (played by Steven Culp) as the main figures. From what I've researched, the film was close to historically accurate as one can get, with the exception of Kenny's role in the film. In the film, Kenny was portrayed as the one man who kept everyone together in working out a solution for the Cuban Missile Crisis, when in real life, it was Ted Sorenson, at least according to Robert McNamara. With that said, it would be interesting to see how you dissect this film for any historical inaccuracies or otherwise, which is something I and many of your fans would be greatly interested in and will be looking forward towards.
With that said, I wish you the best in your future endeavors.
Neil Jordan's 1996 Biopic of Michael Collins starring Liam Neeson would be a great video topic. So much context to go over, not to mention how he died 100 years ago this past August
"The Long Man" fucked him in the ass over the Anglo-Irish treaty.
Agreed yes.
Totally on it
What? How could he have died 100 years ago, the moon landing was barely 50 years ago. Was he a ghost when he went to the moon?
I posted this in another video in the past, I think it was on the braveheart video, stilll waiting 😂
People forget that Kroc saw Californians as wanting customization and therefore an inconsistent menu would happen. But by opening the Midwest, you get employees from a culture that does not like to rock the boat. And he even said so. Illinois also had Route 66 and was a popular gateway when the US Highway System built that took people out west.
Neat to know and think about.
Kind of hard to believe that that is Nick Offerman playing one of the McDonald's brothers without the beard.
This an excellent and underrated film, with one of Michael Keaton’s superb portrayals.
When you get your first acting job after working at McDonalds for 5 years and then you play a McDonalds worker 💀
First day of new life in acting and I'm going to.... Burger university... Not again!
Learning about the history of fast food restaurants is always fascinating, such a huge part of most of the lives in America and most people dont look deeper.
Eh, if you say so. It always boils down to "How to make money by underpaying your employees, cutting corners on production, and peddling overpriced crap to the masses that don't know any better or are too lazy to make it themselves for less than half the price."
It’s a pretty similar story in all American industries if you ask me. It’s just the way capitalism works in our country, for better and worse.
But it is a good movie and I’m glad fast food has one
KFC is slightly interesting. After the colonel no longer had vested interest in the USA KFC he went up to Canada and kick started the franchise up here. When Sanders left the USA restaurants they changed the spices. For awhile Canada's KFC were more authentic to the original. There's a chicken outlet in Ireland called Grace's Famous Chicken that also still serves the original recipe. Marion Kay 99X spice is said to be more or less the original spice mix.
@@claytonberg721 this true why outside USA KFC much better then domestic KFC
@@SaltoDaKid I wish I could link you but youtube comment sections aren't friendly to links. There's a video on youtube explaining the history, everything about Grace's famous chicken, marion kay 99x and all that stuff.
Essentially these multinationals aren't monoliths, they do have differences country to country. Even McDonald's menu is different in various countries.
Long story short, if you're canadian and like me you're in your late 40's you aren't imaging it, KFC was better when you were a lad. If you're from the US and you're in your mid 50's, yes KFC was better when you were a lad. The only way to taste the original KFC is to either fly all the way to ireland or buy a good pressure cooker, some marion kay 99x and make it yourself.
My friends from australia claim KFC is way better there as well. Dunno.
The story of KFC is actually a little deeper than what's shown on A&E biography. Sanders spent a solid decade in Canada getting everything up and going, he did a lot of public appearances opening new locations. There's still photographic evidence at some of the older stores, in calgary the location in crowfoot village in calgary has a picture of Sanders opening the restaurant in like '78.
One thing I went into this movie in mind was that this was a Business man, building a brand into a powerhouse, so I already knew that there were going to be morally unusual choices made to expand his fortunes.
My question is....I remember in the 70s when McDonald''s was still fast. Real fast. And now, I mean hell, if you get your order in 10 mins you're lucky.
I remember McDonald's in the 1970's. It was yummy and delicious. But I was in kid. Today it is gross. I can't eat it. Rip McDonald's
The thing is with franchising it varies a ton location to location that experience isn't universal
And depending on the location they can be dirty and the bathrooms filthy.
Don't see a question.
@@karlvincent5291 well rememeber as you get older your taste buds kinda get diminished and change
This movie makes me hungry for Wendy’s. I also love how the running joke now is that the milkshake machine never works at a McDonald’s restaurant.
This is one of my most favorite films. It may be "off the beaten path" unlike the super-popular films that everyone knows, but it's written well and tells a great story.
le hidden underrated gem
In a few years, it becomes eligible
to be included in The National
Film Registry. At that point,
you & anyone else who wants to
can nominate it for being added.
I certainly plan on doing so.
There are plaques on the walls of thousands of McDs around the world right now with Ray Croc's image on them stating that he was the Founder of McDs.
He was the founder of the McDonald’s corporation
History books are written by winners not losers.
I remember wondering as a kid back in the 90s why it was called McDonald’s if the “founder” was named Ray Kroc. It wasn’t until fairly recently (before the movie) that I learned the answer to that.
It’s always a good day when a new History Buffs drops!
a good day twice a year lol
Wait until he does Andor next, im gonna lose my shit
This was such a great movie. Keaton’s performance was superb, as were Nick Offerman and John Caroll Lynch as the brothers. Heart breaking scenes near the end.
I find it funny that Ray Kroc hated the idea of his business partners selling fried chicken at McDonald’s restaurants even though today they sell Crispy Chicken Burgers
No it isn't, fried chicken is different than a breaded chicken breast and it's about sticking to the approved menu. Things got added to the approved menu but breaded or grilled chicken is just an alternative to beef it's still a sandwich. Not a completely unrelated food item, it doesn't disrupt or change the system very much if at all. It's about what can be added to the system with little disruption as their volume grows and staying on brand. They are a quick sandwich shop with a few side and drink options. Not a chicken leg or spaghetti restaurant.
Hell, where I used to live the McDonald's restaurants there serve fried chicken _meals,_ complete with rice and/or spaghetti as a side if you want.
Yeah. But he knew the brothers had done their homework and the other stuff wasn't necessary.
People waiting too long, employees with too many things to take care of. That conveyor belt of happy customers quickly getting their food he knew was the trick the brothers figured out.
I remember when they used to have a bunch of burgers pre-made and wrapped under heat lamps, they knew they'd sell them quickly enough every lunch rush.
I think it was just at one international location, but I remember a KFC that had a hamburger.
I thought that was genius...obvious, I guess. They have chicken sandwiches, so they have everything else ready for a burger. You have a family or other group and they don't all want fried chicken... How hard is it to have an okay hamburger?
This thing was really processed. You could see layers from top to bottom, the juice coming out of definite lines where it was put together like ply wood. Tasted good enough, for a quick bite.
So glad you're back!! Love your videos!!
Many, many, thanks!
Outstanding as always. It's a really small thing but John Carroll Lynch is such an underrated character actor. Everything he does is awesome. Thanks for all the hard work.
“I am not the Zodiac…..but I wouldn’t tell you if I was..”
He's the best character actor in the business. You don't know his name but you know his face and appreciate his skills as an actor.
Loved him as the Zodiac suspect "Arthur Lee Allen" in 2007's Zodiac
Yeah. The guy hasn't aged much in over 20 years.
He rightfully belongs in the 'Oh, hey, it's that guy!' Hall of Fame for Great Character Actors.
Half in the Bag and History Buffs in the same day?? Must be heaven
WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOUR FACE!
A new HitB? From those hack frauds??
@@Smile4theKillCam456 why? What did they do?
@@rockoorbe2002 It's an in joke calling them hack frauds.
Ahh a fellow fan of both channels lol
it's kinda surreal actually living like a block away from the Downey McDonald's cause I see tourists all the time and think "I've been going here my whole life like normal and for some, this is a destination."
One man's home is another man's destination. I like that.
@@DellDuckfan313 damn, that's good
I grew up in Elk Grove Village, Illinois. We frequented the McDonalds on Higgins Rd and I always remember Hamburger University right next door. I had no idea about this history even though I was raised in that town.
I worked a wedding reception there. Odd place to do one but her free burgers
It seemed to gloss over the fact Kroc had exponentially more financial resources the brothers did. Knowing a CEO of Tasty Freeze for one ... I'm sure the " country club " guys had names too.
More a" rich taking from hard working folks and getting richer" story, than a "pulled up by boot straps" story.
what i always saw
Ray Crook
@@windmillin-in-the-dirt2489 Ray Kock!
I grew up in Devon in the 1970s. My mum was from London, my dad was Irish. My mum's mum, my grandmother used to come and visit us in the summer and I remember her telling me about McDonalds and how it was like INSTANT cooked food that was really tasty. I think I first tried one when I was ten. She said "Its all the new thing. Fast food." I kind of imagined chefs on roller skates hahahaha
Thanks for for putting the sponsor break at the end. You're the real MVGOAT
Thanks for reviewing this movie. the story of a salesman who founded a fast-food franchise worth millions of dollars doesn't sound like world changing drama. Except he did change it, just a little bit, and that's dramatic enough. I was impressed by how hard the movie tried to get the USA of the Fifties right. Lots of the scenes looked like they came from my grandparents' photo albums.
Babe wake up, new History Buffs!
Yes love
Ray Kroc reminds of something a business man once said, "You can make friends and you can make money, but you can't at the same time." I don't agree with that but others do.
Gotta say, I absolutely felt that the company 100% Beef scared me when I was young. I was convinced that meal worms were being used.
Ray Kroc is one of those guys who you would usually admire but insists on acting so much like a child that you can't
I was born and raised in San Bernardino. My aunt worked at the first Mc Donald's as a car hop and my mom worked at the one across the street years later. Fun fact: The site of the original is a parking lot and the one across the street is a Mc Donald's museum.
And there are some real fries from God knows when on display there, they look fresh.
@@leonarddiiorio4337 i Think They Use Fake Ones at the Museum
@@RandomManIncorperated you know Mitchell, I actually asked the guy at the museum. Nice fellow who was, I believe, a tad more enthusiastic about McDonald's than anyone has a right to be and he assured me that indeed, they were real, authentic McDonald's French fries. They had a few apple pies as well. There was a collection of pies from all over the world there. I am still jealous that we In the u.s. cannot get mango, durian, mung bean and sweet potato pie.
What I thought there were no car hops 🤨
@@Axle-F at the very beginning there was... they were dressed like cowgirls. no roller skates.
1:34 I’d argue that he revolutionized restaurants on a global scale considering how big a lot of these franchises are globally
Quality video as always Nick. Would love for you to make a video on The Big Short
Thanks for the vid. Always great.
It is a testament to his ego that most if not all McDonald's have a plaque with Ray's version of the story on display.
Nick, you knocked another one out of the park. This was excellent.
I have Ray Krocs book "how to run a restaurant" published by Iowa State University Press back in the 1960s. As a former restaurant manager it is worth its weight in gold
I’m just glad they named the Big Mac after Mac and not his brother …
😂😂😂😂
I really enjoyed that movie, the story was just heartbreaking so I'm happy that you're making an episode about it. I also love mid 20th century Americana and something about retro McDonald's is so cool
There is a documentary that came out after this movie called “The Real Founder” and featured a 1980’s interview with the surviving McDonald brother.
I highly recommend it, it’s Basicly his version these events.
And one note I make, Kroc did go though a period when he had to go public and sell shares of the restaurant to keep it afloat.
Anyway at the end of the documentary, they ask about the sale to Kroc and if he was bitter about it. The brother had them turn the camera off and according to the interviewer leaned toward him and said, “Do you know how many shares of McDonalds I own”
Seems he rolled his sale money into buying McDonalds stock when Ray took it public. So he did alright
I wouldn't call the story heartbreaking per say. Morally dubious at times. But it seems that the McDonalds brothers did alright.
@@watching7721 Tbh I watched it years ago when it came out during a roadtrip so I def don't remember all the details haha
@@NikHYTWP Happens to me all the time
This one of those movies that I could watch and watch again. Most people I know found it boring but I found it very interesting.
In an ironic twist of giving Ray credit for something he didn't technically do, this video attributes the Filet-o-fish to him though he didn't introduce nor invent it. It was actually the idea of one of his bigger franchisees, which Ray fought against due to the costs of sourcing the fish patties, instead wanting to push his idea for a no-meat burger with a slice of pineapple instead of a patty. To choose the option to adopt, they put both on the menu in a test area, and the fish sandwich trounced the pineapple one by a landslide.
Great quality content mate! Keep it up, would love to hear your take on The Alamo from 2004. Cheers!
Mark Knopfler wrote a song about Ray Krok and McDonalds called Boom, Like That which is basically the entire story of the Founder, I always thought it odd that it didn't play in the end credits of the movie.
I'm glad you can still make shorter but still detailed videos
14:14 I was hoping he would say “your not in the burger business your in the empire business” like in breaking bad (;
I remember the QSCV motto when I worked @ McDonalds when I was 15. Loved this movie
This is insane. Wanted to watch this movie for a long time. Finally did just a week ago! Love new History Buff videos and especially since I am prepared for this one! Thank you so much for your work
The casting was incredible. I had no idea how close the Brothers looked like that. 3:50
😂
my father is a Project Manager at Mcdonalds in Chicago. i was taken to visit the new HQ which sucks and the old Sugar Grove HQ qhich was amazing to tour. i remember evertime i went there we would drive past Hamburger University and go into the main building to see the artwork lining the walls and the open lighting style. now they are in a generic office building with exposed support beams to make it look rustic. anyone who knows anyone who worked in Sugar Grove knows how great of an HQ it was.
He founded the company that exists. He founded the company that expanded, standardized and monetized the franchises. He founded the company that bought out the original company. He is the founder of the business. The other guy's were founders of burger cooking and selling.
I love this movie. Keatons portrayal of Kroc is a role model of mine. He did what he had to do and made it happen and happen big.
I had a very good friend (practically a grandmother) who passed away last year at age 89. She was Ray Croc's Personal Secretary at McDonalds, and after he left, she ran the operations in the region between the US West Coast and the Mississippi River. She's not depicted in this film but she did see it. She did not receive this film well, as she knew Ray and she says he was not like this at all. She was by far the most sincere, humble and nicest person I've ever known, and retained a strong mind, so I take her at her word. If she was still with us, I would absolutely watch this video with her. For now, i'll just have to wait till I get home from work.
It's not to think he was as portrayed in the film. I mean he was a huge Reagan donor.
Interesting. I think it is important to say she was of no threat to Ray and only helped with whatever he asked. Big difference.
even the kindest people can be biased for bad people.
He was probably nice to her. But that's a personal relationship that doesn't necessarily carry over.
We all know people different ways. But the shady things that Ray Kroc did are on public record, regardless of how nice he was to certain people.
Underrated movie. 'McDonalds: The Movie' was excellent and overall, for a Hollywood movie, they did good job balancing this where Crok is no hero but he's not a bad guy either. Neither were the McDonald brothers heroes or villains. It was legit fascinating to see what became a massive cultural phenom, the quirky things, the biggest moves dared and the whole thing was very very well done
Again another flawless video.
"Contracts are like hearts. They're made to be broken."
Cold AF
I can't help but notice a pattern in these stories. It starts out with a pair of partners/co-founders: one does the business and the other is the creative mind. The idea takes off and becomes a booming success. However, one of the partners eventually betrays the other and seizes full control of the company. More often than not, it's the buisnessman screwing over the creative mind/s. For example: Jobs and Woz, and here with Kroc and the McDonalds brothers. I think one of the only times it was the other way around was when Mark Zuckerberg cut Eduardo Saverin from Facebook.
Sadly I think its quite rare for companies to get this huge without people getting screwed over
An example of the exact opposite is Walt and Roy Disney. Walt was the creative mind while Roy was the business. The two stuck together from Day One and never fell out until their deaths.
Facebook story is nonsense though, it was developed by DARPA called " Lifelog " years before.
Wait so the Brothers were the businessman screwing over Kroc? Because remember Kroc was doing all the hard work and making no money for a long time due to the harsh terms of their contract.
@@Edax_Royeaux I was going to give you crap for worshiping at the corporate altar, but then I realized that I've already done that twice in this comment section, so I'll give you a simple math formula before I hit ALT-F4:
_Your Head_ minus _Your Ass_ equals _A Decent Human Being._
Great content like always!! Hey Nick...Have you ever thought about an International History Buffs movie reviews? There are lots of historical movies out there which aren't necessarly made in Hollywood and have lots of efforts and love in their making. It could help people extend their knowledge and their attention towards a wider selection of historical movies.
I am still waiting for Das Boot, but no luck yet
@@TheRealDoctorBonkus Yeah there are plenty of amazing international historical movies out there, The Last Emperor, Stalingrad, Aguirre the Wrath of God, Un long dimanche de fiançailles, etc...
@@EyFmS i Mean I get that but look at it from a business perspective. I mean most of his demographic are either native english speakers or speak enough to get by and if he did a foreign film no one has heard of , this may hurt his large demographic. I would say those videos would have far less views, and lets be honest, on his upload schedule he cant really affoard that
@@ruairiodonohoe2533 idk about that....he put Tora! Tora! Tora! as one of his top videos and its partially a Japanese production. It's a risk I will agree on that, but...."Who dares Win".
@@EyFmS Last Emperor's a good one
I’d love for you to do a video on The Social Network. Your insight is amazing and I love watching all of your videos. Thank you :)
Watching Keaton pushing the franchise idea reminds me of his acting in Beetlegeuse... it's show time...
Another inconsistency - if anyone's ever been to San Bernardino, they know there isn't much lush greenery around like in the film. It's in the desert. Minor thing, but stuck out to me!
Great History Buffs video!!!
There's plenty of lush greenery in San Bernardino, the tree's leaves don't even change color and fall off until December.
I am glad you are covering different movies (such as this one) and not just the most known historical ones.
You've got to be a really wholesome person to title your autobiography "grinding it out".
"Some people could never be CEO of a large corporation, because to become a CEO, you need to be willing to step on, squash and crush everyone around you. If you're kind, caring and considerate, you will never have the ego or narcissism required to be a CEO"