Although President Ford is often overlooked in the pantheon of U.S. presidents, his story illuminates a vital and fascinating moment in U.S. history. Ford assumed the presidency when the twin crises of Watergate and Vietnam threatened to undermine our democracy. Having never stood for election to national office, Ford was all but unknown to the American public. Whether he had the skill and character to steer the country through this period was an open question.

The film features in-depth interviews with major figures from the period, including Tom Brokaw and Dan Rather, who covered the Ford presidency as young reporters; Ford’s cabinet members and staff including Dick Cheney, Henry Kissinger, and Donald Rumsfeld; two of Ford’s children, Steven and Susan; and the historian, Richard Norton-Smith, among many others.

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