When it was built in 1918, the Ford motor plant in Detroit was the largest industrial complex in the world. The plant was the embodiment of Henry Ford's vision to build cars that every American working man could afford to buy. Using old footage, The Rouge captures the flavor of the early part of the century when thousands of workers flocked to Detroit in search of a better life. They came from Europe, from Mexico, and the southern United States to work on the assembly line.

The Rouge became an important part of labor history from the time it was built until the time it was organized by the United Auto Workers in 1941. When the Depression hit the country, the Rouge workers were laid off and suffered in great numbers. At the height of the depression, five workers were killed outside of the plant's gates while participating in a hunger march. In another labor incident, Walter Reuther and other United Auto Workers organizers were beaten up by Ford's security guard in an incident known as the Battle of the Overpass. Through archival footage and first-hand accounts by the Italian, Ukranian, Mexican, African American and Irish who spent their lives in the factory, the struggle of the workers is made vivid for a new generation.

"A first-rate use of film and interviews to depict the work experience of Ford workers from the early days until WWII." - Sidney Fine, Prof. of History, University of Michigan
"A fine piece of documentary history." - Howard Lindsey, Asst. Prof. of History, Depaul University
"This invigorating documentary…chronicles the history of the huge industrial complex, including Henry Ford's reluctance to allow workers to unionize." Booklist