The Rank Organisation was a British entertainment conglomerate founded by industrialist J. Arthur Rank in April 1937. It quickly became the largest and most vertically integrated film company in the United Kingdom, owning production, distribution and exhibition facilities. It also diversified into the manufacture of radios, TVs and photocopiers (as one of the owners of Rank Xerox). The company name lasted until February 1996, when the name and some of the remaining assets were absorbed into the newly structured

Rank Group plc The Rank Group is a gambling company based in the United Kingdom. Rank was involved in the cinema and motion picture industry until 2006, and continues to use the Gongman logo originally used by the Rank Organisation's film distribution subsi ...

. The company itself became a wholly owned subsidiary of Xerox and was renamed XRO Limited in 1997. The company logo, the Gongman, first used in 1935 by the group's distribution company General Film DistributorsThe Independent July 16, 1999: Obituary: Sir John Woolf
Retrieved 2011-09-02 and seen in the opening titles of the films, became a celebrated and enduring film emblem.

Origin

J. Arthur Rank, born in

Kingston upon Hull Kingston upon Hull, usually abbreviated to Hull, is a port city and unitary authority in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies upon the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber Estuary, inland from the North Sea and south-ea ...

, UK, was already a wealthy industrialist through his father's flour milling business, Joseph Rank Ltd, before making his start in film-making by financing short religious subjects in line with his

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...

beliefs. Rank was a Methodist Sunday School Teacher and wished to introduce these beliefs to a wider audience. The Rank Organisation was founded in 1937 as a means for Rank to consolidate his film-making interests.

Growth

The company grew quickly, largely through acquisition. Significant developments included: * 1938 –

Odeon Cinemas Odeon, stylised as ODEON, is a cinema brand name operating in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Norway, which along with UCI Cinemas and Nordic Cinema Group is part of the Odeon Cinemas Group subsidiary of AMC Theatres. It uses the famous name ...

was purchased. * 1939 –

Denham Film Studios Denham Film Studios was a British film production studio operating from 1936 to 1952, founded by Alexander Korda. Notable films made at Denham include ''Brief Encounter'' and David Lean's ''Great Expectations''. From the 1950s to the 1970s th ...

were merged with the facilities at Pinewood and the Amalgamated Studios in

Borehamwood Borehamwood (, historically also Boreham Wood) is a town in southern Hertfordshire, England, from Charing Cross. Borehamwood has a population of 31,074, and is within the London commuter belt. The town's film and TV studios are commonly know ...

were acquired, but not used for making films. * 1939 – UK sites of Paramount Cinemas purchased. * 1941 – Purchase of the

Gaumont-British Picture Corporation The Gaumont-British Picture Corporation produced and distributed films and operated a cinema chain in the United Kingdom. It was established as an offshoot of the Gaumont Film Company of France. Film production Gaumont-British was founded in 18 ...

, which also owned

Gainsborough Pictures Gainsborough Pictures was a British film studio based on the south bank of the Regent's Canal, in Poole Street, Hoxton in the former Metropolitan Borough of Shoreditch, north London. Gainsborough Studios was active between 1924 and 1951. The com ...

, 251 cinemas and the Lime Grove Studios. * In the mid-1940s

Two Cities Films Two Cities Films was a British film production company. Formed in 1937, it was originally envisaged as a production company operating in the two cities of London and Rome which gave the company its name. The driving forces behind the company were ...

became part of the Rank Organisation producing key films such as ''

Odd Man Out ''Odd Man Out'' is a 1947 British film noir directed by Carol Reed, and starring James Mason, Robert Newton, Cyril Cusack, and Kathleen Ryan. Set in Belfast, Northern Ireland, it follows a wounded Nationalist leader who attempts to evade polic ...

'' (1947), ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

'' (1948), ''

Vice Versa References

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'' (1948) and ''

The Rocking Horse Winner "The Rocking-Horse Winner" is a short story by D. H. Lawrence. It was first published in July 1926, in ''Harper's Bazaar'' and subsequently appeared in the first volume of Lawrence's collected short stories. It was made into a full-length film di ...

'' (1949). * 1946 – Bought for £1 million+ a 50 per cent share in a chain of 133 cinemas from New Zealander

Robert James Kerridge Sir Robert James Kerridge (30 October 1901 – 26 April 1979) was a New Zealand businessman, cinema proprietor, film distributor, tourism promoter and entrepreneur. Kerridge was born in Christchurch, New Zealand, on 30 October 1901. He develop ...

, the biggest exhibition chain in

Australasia Australasia is a region that comprises Australia, New Zealand and some neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term is used in a number of different contexts, including geopolitically, physiogeographically, philologically, and ecologi ...

; it was renamed Kerridge Odeon. * Late 1940s – A majority shareholding in Allied Cinemas and Irish Cinemas Ltd was gained, becoming the largest exhibition circuit in Ireland (a position maintained until the early 1980s). By the late 1940s J. Arthur Rank (or the Rank Organisation as it was now called), owned: * Five major film studio complexes, Pinewood Film Studios,

Ealing Studios Ealing Studios is a television and film production company and facilities provider at Ealing Green in West London. Will Barker bought the White Lodge on Ealing Green in 1902 as a base for film making, and films have been made on the site ever s ...

, Lime Grove Studios and

Islington Studios Islington Studios, often known as Gainsborough Studios, were a British film studio located on the south bank of the Regent's Canal, in Poole Street, Hoxton in the former Metropolitan Borough of Shoreditch, London between 1919 and 1949. The studio ...

(the studios at Lime Grove were sold to the

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...

Dorothy Collins Dorothy Collins (born Marjorie Chandler;
''

The Fireballs The Fireballs, sometimes billed as Jimmy Gilmer and the Fireballs, were an American rock and roll group, particularly popular at the end of the 1950s and in the early 1960s. The original line-up consisted of George Tomsco (lead guitar), Chuck ...

. Rank Audio Visual was created in 1960, bringing together Rank's acquisitions in multimedia, including

Bell & Howell Bell and Howell LLC is a U.S.-based services organization and former manufacturer of cameras, lenses, and motion picture machinery, founded in 1907 by two projectionists, and originally headquartered in Wheeling, Illinois. The company is now ...

(acquired with Gaumont British in 1941), Andrew Smith Harkness Ltd (1952) and Wharfedale Ltd (1958). Subsequent acquisitions included Strand Electric Holdings (1968) and H.J. Leak & Co. (1969). In the mid and late 1970s, Rank Audio Visual made a 3-in-1 stereo music centre, as well as TV sets in conjunction with NEC of Japan. The production of the "classic" Rank TV ran in the mid to late 70s, some interim models appeared and the "modern" Rank TV appeared in the early 1980s. The NEC

badge A badge is a device or accessory, often containing the insignia of an organization, which is presented or displayed to indicate some feat of service, a special accomplishment, a symbol of authority granted by taking an oath (e.g., police and ...

did not appear in the

PAL Phase Alternating Line (PAL) is a colour encoding system for analogue television. It was one of three major analogue colour television standards, the others being NTSC and SECAM. In most countries it was broadcast at 625 lines, 50 fields (25 ...

/220/240 volt countries until the mid-1980s. Top Rank was one of the early operators of

motorway service area Motorway service areas in the United Kingdom and Ireland, also known as services or service stations, are rest areas where drivers can leave a motorway to refuel/recharge, rest, eat and drink, shop or stay in an on-site overnight hotel. The va ...

s in the UK, opening its first services at Farthing Corner on the M2 in

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

in 1963. Top Rank operated a portfolio of 10 service areas until the takeover of

Mecca Leisure Group Mecca Leisure Group (also known as Mecca Leisure Ltd, Mecca Ltd, and Mecca Dance Ltd) was a British business that ran nightclubs, hotels, theme parks, bingo parlours and Hard Rock Cafes. During the 1960s, Mecca was a centre of entertainment wit ...

by the Rank Group in 1991, when they were spun off to ex-Mecca CEO Michael Guthrie under the name Pavilion (later acquired by Granada and now forming part of

Moto Hospitality Moto Hospitality, branded as Moto, is a British service station operator which operates 59 motorway service stations across the United Kingdom. It is currently the UK's largest service area operator. History Operations (2001–2020) Granada ...

). There were other small specialised groups, these included Rank Taylor Hobson who made inspection equipment. Rank Cintel who made telecine (television film scanners) machines and Gaumont Kalee who made audio analysis equipment. J. Arthur Rank had stepped down as

managing director A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

of the Rank Organisation in 1952, but remained as chairman until 1962.

Declining involvement in the film industry

From the 1950s, fewer adventurous films were produced and solidly commercial ventures, largely aimed at the family market, were made instead. These include the popular Norman Wisdom comedies, the

Doctor Doctor or The Doctor may refer to: Personal titles * Doctor (title), the holder of an accredited academic degree * A medical practitioner, including: ** Physician ** Surgeon ** Dentist ** Veterinary physician ** Optometrist *Other roles ** ...

films series and, later, Rank took on the Carry On film series from

Anglo-Amalgamated Anglo-Amalgamated Productions was a British film production company, run by Nat Cohen and Stuart Levy, which operated from 1945 until roughly 1971 (after which it was absorbed into EMI Films). Low-budget and second features, often produced at M ...

. However some films of note were produced during this era including '' Carve Her Name with Pride'', ''

Sapphire Sapphire is a precious gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum, consisting of aluminium oxide () with trace amounts of elements such as iron, titanium, chromium, vanadium, or magnesium. The name sapphire is derived via the Latin "sa ...

'', '' A Night to Remember'' and '' Victim'', as well as a clutch of prestige topics such as the

Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II The coronation of Elizabeth II took place on 2 June 1953 at Westminster Abbey in London. She acceded to the throne at the age of 25 upon the death of her father, George VI, on 6 February 1952, being proclaimed queen by her privy and executive ...

and filmed performances by the

Royal Ballet The Royal Ballet is a British internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London, England. The largest of the five major ballet companies in Great Britain, the Royal Ballet was founded in ...

. During the 1950s, the British photographer Cornel Lucas set up the Pool Studio at Pinewood where he photographed many of the movie stars of this era of cinema, such as

Marlene Dietrich Marie Magdalene "Marlene" DietrichBorn as Maria Magdalena, not Marie Magdalene, according to Dietrich's biography by her daughter, Maria Riva ; however Dietrich's biography by Charlotte Chandler cites "Marie Magdalene" as her birth name . (, ; ...

and

David Niven James David Graham Niven (; 1 March 1910 – 29 July 1983) was a British actor, soldier, memoirist, and novelist. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance as Major Pollock in '' Separate Tables'' (1958). Niven's other roles ...

. In 1960, John Davis announced that Rank would concentrate on bigger budgeted, internationally focused productions. In 1961 they announced a production slate of a dozen films worth £7 million. From 1959 to 1969, the company made over 500 weekly short cinema films in a series entitled '' Look At Life'', each film depicting an area of British life. From 1971 to 1976, Rank only invested around £1.5 million a year in film production. According to executive Tony Williams "the two main streams that they were down to was Carry On pictures and horror films made by Kevin Francis".ony Williams Interviewed by Andrew Spicer, London, 18 March 2011, ''Michael Klinger Papers''
accessed 16 April 2014 However, in 1976, Rank enjoyed much success with ''

Bugsy Malone ''Bugsy Malone'' is a 1976 gangster musical comedy film written and directed by Alan Parker (in his feature film directorial debut). A co-production of United States and United Kingdom, it features an ensemble cast, featuring only child actor ...

'' (which they co-produced with Paramount Pictures, who held its American rights). This encouraged them to re-enter film production.

Temporary revival and last years

In 1977, Rank appointed Tony Williams head of production and over two years Rank made eight films worth £10 million, including '' Eagle's Wing'', ''

The Shout ''The Shout'' is a 1978 British horror film directed by Jerzy Skolimowski. It was based on a short story by Robert Graves and adapted for the screen by Skolimowski and Michael Austin. The film was the first to be produced by Jeremy Thomas under ...

'', '' The Thirty Nine Steps'', '' Riddle of the Sands'' and '' Silver Dream Racer''. Many of these stories were set in the past. "You have to go back in time to tell a story that doesn't have to face seventies problems", said Williams in 1978. "What people are nostalgic for isn't necessarily any particular period, but the happier values that are missing today." Few of these new Rank films performed well at the box office, losing £1.6 million overall. (The company's pre-tax profit was £131 million.) At the Cannes Film Festival in 1980, Ed Chilton of Rank announced a £12 million slate of projects. However, by June, they withdrew from production once again.Alexander Walker, ''National Heroes: British Cinema in the Seventies and Eighties'', Harrap, 1985 p 207-208John Huxley. "Losses of £1.6m sound the knell for cinema production." ''The Times'' ondon7 June 1980: 17. The Times Digital Archive. Web. April 16, 2014. "The decision was made to plunge on in and then it was pulled back", said Williams. The Rank films that had been announced for production – including an adaptation of '' HMS Ulysses'', ''The Rocking Horse Winner'' and a film version of ''

To the Manor Born ''To the Manor Born'' is a BBC television sitcom that first aired on BBC1 from 1979 to 1981. A special one-off episode was produced in 2007. Starring Penelope Keith and Peter Bowles, the first 20 episodes and the 2007 special were written b ...

'' – were cancelled. "It now takes too long to recoup money on films," said a spokesman for Rank. The following year, Rank reported a record pre-tax profit of £102 million.Alexander Walker, ''Icons in the Fire: The Rise and Fall of Practically Everyone in the British Film Industry 1984–2000'', Orion Books, 2005 p4 According to Tony Williams:

After a time Rank Film Distributors was in trouble because they hadn’t got any new product. So Rank Film Distributors was then given chunks of money to go and buy into pictures because they made a blunder. And they carried on, on that basis, not directly making them and they had no direct control over what they made at all, no influence. They just bought into pictures. They did an output deal with Orion and that carried on until they sold the shooting match. Then the decision was made to get out of (the) film (industry), so RFD was closed down, Rank Film Advertising was sold off, eventually, the laboratories went. Cinemas was the last one to go.

In 1986, Rank Film Distributors, and archrival

Cannon Screen Entertainment The Cannon Group, Inc. was an American group of companies, including Cannon Films, which produced films from 1967 to 1994. The extensive group also owned, amongst others, a large international cinema chain and a video film company that invested ...

had inked a deal with the

...

Origin

Growth

Film making in the 1940s

Crisis and diversification

Declining involvement in the film industry

Temporary revival and last years

Filmography

See also

References

Bibliography

External links