The Founder (2017) - McDonald’s History

Have you ever tried to learn about the history of popular American hamburger and fast food restaurant chain McDonald’s? I guess only few of us have known the history of the company, and for those who don’t – here is the movie The Founder to tell you the story behind the most successful burger business.

Director John Lee Hancock’s attempt to present this true story is certainly praiseworthy. The film presents the real story of how Ray Kroc, a salesman from Illinois, who met Mac and Dick McDonald in 1954, who were then running a burger operation in Southern California. Kroc saw huge opportunity in what the McDonald brothers were doing. He then joined them as a franchise agent and eventually purchased the chain.

Here is what written on the McDonald’s website

In 1954, Ray Kroc visited a restaurant in San Bernardino, California that had purchased several Multimixers. There he found a small but successful restaurant run by brothers Dick and Mac McDonald, and was stunned by the effectiveness of their operation. They produced a limited menu, concentrating on just a few items – burgers, fries and beverages – which allowed them to focus on quality and quick service.

They were looking for a new agent and Kroc saw an opportunity. In 1955, he founded McDonald’s System, Inc., a predecessor of the McDonald’s Corporation, and six years later bought the exclusive rights to the McDonald’s name. By 1958, McDonald’s had sold its 100 millionth hamburger.

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michael-keaton-in-the-founder — Michael Keaton plays businessman Ray Kroc in the film The Founder.

The Founder features a great story with some of the finest actors to take forward the vision of this biopic. The film is fact based that makes it ruthless by depicting the rough character of a salesman, in fact, the whole commerce thing and how deals are done. Michael Keaton as the self-made Kroc plays someone who is driven by success and the divisive factors involved, but that it seems is in the very essence of American Dream.

For many of us, The Founder may not be a feel-good movie, but that’s the whole reality of individual having high ambition and desire to surpass everything on his way. While McDonald brothers represent American values with their emphasis on quality and ethics, someone like Kroc represents ambition, power, business and egos that we see in most of successful businessmen.

Starring: Michael Keaton, Nick Offerman, John Carroll Lynch, Linda Cardellini, Patrick Wilson, B. J. Novak, Laura Dern.

The Founder (2017) – McDonald’s History