Henry Ford II saved the Company after his grandfather's death by staking everything on the success of an all-new post-war car. The gamble paid off big! A Ford company film, The Human Bridge, in full color, shows what it took to completely redesign and retool for the revolutionary new '49 Fords.

This high-quality film shows Henry Ford II with his staff planning the new designs, as men sculpt day mockups. Then you'll see workers at the big Rouge plant making body-stamping dies, casting engine blocks, fashioning parts and building engines. Learn about other fascinating operations, from stamping the frames and bodies, to painting and upholstery, to complete car assembly. Then you'll witness the grand debut of the new Fords at the Astoria Hotel in New York City! On a huge turntable in the magnificent ballroom, glamorous models present the exciting new sedans, coupes, convertibles, and station wagons. You'll even see descriptions and close-ups of the cars' features and details, like interior and engine choices.

Return to those good old times with the story of the new 1950-1951 Fords told in this compilation of Company films: Triumph of the Track, Ford Overdrive, 6,000 Partners, and Care of the Convertible. It begins in amazingly well preserved color with the full line of 1950 Fords, including the Convertible and Country Squire wagon passing in review on the Dearborn test track. You'll see a terrific film featuring a new Ford convertible and demonstrating how easy the optional Overdrive works. Great close-up details! Other neat footage includes a family at their local dealer buying a car as the kids check under the hood. A short about the correct way to park your '50 Ford has some great mid-America street scenes. A piece about how Fords are made, includes what it takes to tool up the '50 model as well as how parts are produced, from tires to sparkplugs, bumpers to roller bearings.

The excellent 1951 film coverage includes models on the test track. Ride along with a young couple in a snazzy new convertible, at a gas station fueling up and checking tires, then going to a garage where they put it up on a rack to show us how to keep up other maintenance.

This. compilation of official Company films features footage from 1953 and 1954 showing step by-step how the 1953 Ford cars were designed and produced from body-building to assembly, and how independent parts suppliers across the U.S. played a big role. Shop with a family at a dealer showroom buying a beautiful new '53 Victoria. Watch parts being produced, from speedometers to wheels. You will be at the unveiling of Lincolns and Mercurys as the new models are presented to the public. Attend preparations for celebrating the Ford 50th Anniversary. TV commercials introduce the various Fords including such models as the Sunliner Convertible, Ranch Wagon and Country Squire.

The 1954 film begins in glorious color with visitors at the Ford Rotunda showplace in Dearborn strolling through exhibits from futuristic" dream cars" to tractors. Then they tour the big Rouge plant where they see the manufacturing process and cars being assembled: A series of informative film shorts and TV ads introduce the new models, show details and interiors, the new OHV V-8 engine, and power options like brakes, windows and steering. The new passenger models are shown on the open road. The new F-100 Pickup and big trucks are pictured at work.

This compilation of Ford Motor Company film shows how the new 1955 Fords were created from drawings that took cues from futuristic models. On the assembly lines engines are built and finished Fords, Lincoln, Mercurys and trucks take shape and are driven on the Dearborn test track. Revisit a series of rare TV commercials introducing for the first time the new 1955-1956 cars with such enticing models as the Crown Victoria, Sunliner Convertible, Country Squires, and the F-100 Pickup. One series in color stars comedian Ernie Kovaks. Other ads go under the hood to explain the engine choices and interiors. Your favorite Fords are pictured in dealer showrooms, Mobilgas Economy Runs, flying through the air in the "Tournament of Thrills", and racing in the Darlington 500.

The grand finale is a trip back in time to the 1956 NASCAR races at Daytona Beach. Filmed in full color, it pictures Fords and Mercurys going against the competition, the flips and crashes, and the drivers like Fireball Roberts, Joe Weatherly, and Curtis Turner. Former Indy champ Peter DePaulo runs the Ford team. Speed-burner Turner wins the first-ever NASCAR convertible race.

Ford sales were hot in 1957 with good looks and hi performance. This series of commercials and Ford promotional films takes you back to the public introduction of these cars as they were sold on TV. You'll see a family getting a new Ford Sunliner, taking it on their first ride and introducing the American TV audience to the new Hardtop Retractable with its spellbinding disappearing top. Other film shows such models as the Fairlane Hardtop and station wagons in various settings. A rare series of color ads features the '57 models like the Pickup and Ranchero. Great footage shows the cars being explained by a salesman.

The 1958 Fords make their debut at a glamorous showing on stage by popular TV host Hugh Downs. Coverage includes details and models like the Fairlane 500 Hardtop, Convertible, and Retractable Hardtop.

The 1959 Ford models make their introduction in a glamorous setting at the World's Fair in Brussels. A great series of TV ads in color promotes the '59s with stars Tennessee Ernie Ford, Ward Bond, and Robert Horton demonstrating the wagons and the flip-top convertible.

Three unforgettable Ford cars star in this edit of the original promotional films that introduced them: the 1956 Continental Mark II, 1957 Ford Hide-Away Hardtop, and 1958 Edsel. A 1953 Ford company film explains events leading up to the decisions to make such cars. Another film explains how young Wm. Clay Ford was put in charge of the project to bring back his father Edsel Ford's classic Continental nameplate. It shows the design process, and such operations as hand building the bodies of these elegant cars.

The Ford film The New Fairlane 500 Hide-away Hardtop follows with a look in full color at the conventional '57 convertible. A pretty driver then proceeds to show all the details of the new "better idea" Ford "flip-top", from tipping back the top to explaining the luggage compartment.

The Company film The Edsel Story, also in color, features the men who designed this novel but ill fated car explaining how it came about. More footage shows the cars in styling, and on the assembly line. It ends with a young couple on a cross-country honeymoon in a snazzy new red Edsel convertible.