The Rank Organisation (founded as the J. Arthur Rank Organisation) is a British entertainment conglomerate founded in 1937 by industrialist J. Arthur Rank. It quickly became the largest and most

vertically integrated In microeconomics, management and international political economy, vertical integration, also referred to as vertical consolidation, is an arrangement in which the supply chain of a company is integrated and owned by that company. Usually each ...

film company in the United Kingdom, owning production, distribution, and exhibition facilities as well as manufacturing projection equipment and chairs. It diversified into the manufacture of radios, TVs and photocopiers (as one of the owners of

Rank Xerox Rank Xerox Limited was formed in 1956 as a joint venture between the Xerox Corporation of United States (a.k.a. Haloid Photographic) and The Rank Organisation of the United Kingdom, to manufacture and market Xerox equipment initially in Europe ...

). 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 plc 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 su ...

. The company itself became a wholly owned subsidiary of Xerox and was renamed XRO Limited in 1997. The company's logo, the

Gongman The Gongman (also known as the "man-with-the-gong") is a company trademark for the J. Arthur Rank Organisation. It was used as the introduction to all Rank films, many of which were shot at their Pinewood Studios, and included those Rank distri ...

, first used in 1935 by the group's distribution company

General Film Distributors General Film Distributors (GFD), later known as J. Arthur Rank Film Distributors and Rank Film Distributors Ltd., was a British Empire, British film distribution company based in London. It was active between 1935 and 1996, and from 1937 it was p ...

The Independent July 16, 1999: Obituary: Sir John Woolf
Retrieved 2 September 2011 and seen in the opening titles of the films, became a celebrated and enduring film emblem.

Origin

The company founder J. Arthur Rank, born in

Kingston upon Hull Kingston upon Hull, usually shortened to Hull, is a historic maritime city and unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies upon the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber Est ...

, UK, was already a wealthy industrialist through his father's

flour Flour is a powder made by Mill (grinding), grinding raw grains, List of root vegetables, roots, beans, Nut (fruit), nuts, or seeds. Flours are used to make many different foods. Cereal flour, particularly wheat flour, is the main ingredie ...

milling Milling may refer to: * Milling (minting), forming narrow ridges around the edge of a coin * Milling (grinding), breaking solid materials into smaller pieces by grinding, crushing, or cutting in a mill * Milling (machining), a process of using ro ...

business, Joseph Rank Ltd, before making his start in filmmaking by financing short religious subjects in line with his

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

beliefs. Rank was a Methodist

Sunday school ] A Sunday school, sometimes known as a Sabbath school, is an educational institution, usually Christianity, Christian in character and intended for children or neophytes. Sunday school classes usually precede a Sunday church service and are u ...

teacher and wished to introduce these beliefs to a wider audience. The Rank Organisation was established, as a means for Rank to consolidate his filmmaking interests, in 1937.

Filmmaking in the 1940s

A loose collective of filmmakers was established by Rank under the banner of Independent Producers Ltd. including Powell and Pressburger, The Archers, consisting of

Michael Powell Michael Latham Powell (30 September 1905 – 19 February 1990) was an English filmmaker, celebrated for his partnership with Emeric Pressburger. Through their production company Powell and Pressburger, The Archers, they together wrote, produced ...

and

Emeric Pressburger Emeric Pressburger (born Imre József Pressburger; 5 December 19025 February 1988) was a Hungarian-British screenwriter, film director, and producer. He is best known for his series of film collaborations with Michael Powell, in a collaborat ...

Cineguild Productions Cineguild Productions was a production company formed by director David Lean, cinematographer Ronald Neame and producer Anthony Havelock-Allan in 1944. The company produced some of the major British films of the 1940s. History of Cineguild Have ...

, consisting of

David Lean Sir David Lean (25 March 190816 April 1991) was an English film director, producer, screenwriter, and editor, widely considered one of the most important figures of Cinema of the United Kingdom, British cinema. He directed the large-scale epi ...

Ronald Neame Ronald Neame CBE, BSC (23 April 1911 – 16 June 2010) was an English film producer, director, cinematographer, and screenwriter. Beginning his career as a cinematographer, for his work on the British war film '' One of Our Aircraft Is Missin ...

, John Bryan, and

Anthony Havelock-Allan Sir Anthony James Allan Havelock-Allan, 4th Baronet (28 February 1904 – 11 January 2003) was a British film producer and screenwriter whose credits included '' This Happy Breed'', '' Blithe Spirit'', '' Great Expectations'', '' Oliver Twist'', ...

, the filmmaking duo of

Frank Launder Frank Launder (28 January 1906 – 23 February 1997) was a British writer, film director and producer, who made more than 40 films, many of them in collaboration with Sidney Gilliat. Early life and career He was born in Hitchin, Hertfordshire, ...

and

Sidney Gilliat Sidney Gilliat (15 February 1908 – 31 May 1994) was an English film director, producer and writer. In the 1930s he worked as a scriptwriter, most notably with Frank Launder on ''The Lady Vanishes'' (1938) for Alfred Hitchcock, and '' Nig ...

, and the directors

Ken Annakin Kenneth Cooper Annakin, OBE (10 August 1914 – 22 April 2009) was an English film director. His career spanned half a century, beginning in the early 1940s and ending in 1992, and in the 1960s he was noticed by critics with large-scale advent ...

and

Muriel Box Violette Muriel Box, Baroness Gardiner, (22 September 1905 – 18 May 1991) was an English screenwriter and director, Britain's most prolific female director, having directed 12 feature films and one featurette. Her screenplay for '' The Sevent ...

. The Company of Youth, the Rank Organisation's associated acting school often referred to as "The Charm School", was founded in 1945. It launched several careers including those of

Donald Sinden Sir Donald Alfred Sinden (9 October 1923 – 12 September 2014) was an English actor. Sinden featured in the film ''Mogambo'' (1953), and achieved early fame as a Rank Organisation film star in the 1950s in films including '' The Cruel Sea'' ( ...

Dirk Bogarde Sir Dirk Bogarde (born Derek Jules Gaspard Ulric Niven van den Bogaerde; 28 March 1921 – 8 May 1999) was an English actor, novelist and screenwriter. Initially a matinée idol in films such as ''Doctor in the House (film), Doctor in the Hous ...

Diana Dors Diana Dors (born Diana Mary Fluck; 23 October 19314 May 1984) was an English actress and singer. Dors came to public notice as a Bombshell (slang), blonde bombshell, much in the style of Americans Marilyn Monroe, Jayne Mansfield, and Mamie Van ...

and

Christopher Lee Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee (27 May 1922 – 7 June 2015) was an English actor and singer. In a career spanning more than sixty years, Lee became known as an actor with a deep and commanding voice who often portrayed villains in horr ...

. Although she was not a member of the school,

Petula Clark Sally "Petula" Clark (born 15 November 1932) is a British singer, actress, and songwriter. She started her professional career as a child actor, child performer and has had the longest career of any British entertainer, spanning more than 85 y ...

was under contract to Rank for a period of time and starred in a number of films released by the studio, including '' London Town'' (1946), one of the costliest flops in British film history. Also under contract to Rank was the Canadian actor

Philip Gilbert Philip Gilbert (March 29, 1931 – January 6, 2004) was a Canadian actor. Background Gilbert was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, and educated at Vancouver College. He was a player with the Rank Organisation, appearing in many films duri ...

Growth

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

Odeon Cinemas Odeon Cinemas Limited, trading as Odeon (stylised in all caps), is a cinema brand name operating in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Norway and Greece, which along with UCI Cinemas and Nordic Cinema Group is part of the Odeon Cinemas Group subsi ...

was purchased. * 1939 –

Denham Film Studios Denham Film Studios (''later dubbed Anvil Studios)'' was a British Film studio, film production studio operating from 1936 to 1952, founded by Alexander Korda, in Buckinghamshire. Notable films made at Denham include ''Brief Encounter'' and D ...

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 36,322, 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, 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, east London. Gainsborough Studios was active between 1924 and 1951. The co ...

, 251 cinemas and the

Lime Grove Studios Lime Grove Studios was a film, and later television, studio complex in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England. The complex was built by the Gaumont Film Company in 1915. It was situated in Lime Grove, a residential street in Shepherd's Bush, and ...

. * In the mid-1940s,

Two Cities Films Two Cities Films is a British film production company. Formed in 1937, it was originally envisaged as operating both in London and in Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Ita ...

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 pol ...

'' (1947), ''

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

'' (1948), '' Vice Versa'' (1948) and '' The Rocking Horse Winner'' (1949). * 1946 – Bought for £1 million+ a 50 per cent share in a chain of 133 cinemas from New Zealander Robert James Kerridge, the biggest exhibition chain in

Australasia Australasia is a subregion of Oceania, comprising Australia, New Zealand (overlapping with Polynesia), and sometimes including New Guinea and surrounding islands (overlapping with Melanesia). The term is used in a number of different context ...

; 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 Pinewood Studios is a British film and television studio located in the village of Iver Heath, England. It is approximately west of central London. The studio has been the base for many productions over the years from large-scale films to t ...

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

and

Islington Studios Islington Studios, often known as Gainsborough Studios, were British film studios 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 studi ...

(the studios at Lime Grove were sold to the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

in 1949, as were Ealing Studios in 1955). * 650 UK cinemas (the Gaumont, Odeon and

Paramount Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. **Paramount Picture ...

chains) plus various international holdings, including subsidiaries in Canada and The Netherlands as well as interests in the Kerridge New Zealand chain and Greater Union Theatres in Australia. *

(later Rank Film Distributors), including the UK distribution rights to

Universal Pictures Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American filmmaking, film production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered at the 10 Universal Ci ...

. *

Eagle-Lion Films Eagle-Lion Films was the name of two distinct, though related, companies. In 1944, UK film magnate J. Arthur Rank created an American distribution company with the name to handle his British films. The following year, under a reciprocal distrib ...

. * Rank Screen Advertising. * Rank Film Laboratories, Denham (later rebranded DeLuxe London after Rank's acquisition of DeLuxe Laboratories from

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...

in 1990). * Manufacturing companies G.B.-Kalee, Taylor Hobson and Bush Radio. * Winter Garden Theatre, London.

Crisis and diversification

Despite funding films which were both popular and critically acclaimed, Rank was in crisis by 1949, having built up a debt of £16 million,Patricia Warren ''British Film Studios: An Illustrated History'', London: B. T. Batsford, 2001, p.120 and reported an annual loss of £3.5 million. Managing director John Davis cut staff, reduced budgets and concentrated film production at Pinewood. Other studio facilities (in

Islington Islington ( ) is an inner-city area of north London, England, within the wider London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's #Islington High Street, High Street to Highbury Fields ...

) were closed, sold (Lime Grove Studios) or leased (Denham). The Rank Organisation closed Independent Producers Ltd. The policies of Davis alienated many in the industry; in particular they led film director

, responsible for some of Rank's most critically and financially successful films, to look elsewhere for backing. J. Arthur Rank stepped down as managing director of the Rank Organisation in 1952, but remained as chairman until 1962. In February 1952

Earl St John Earl St. John (14 June 1892 – 26 February 1968) was an American film producer in overall charge of production for The Rank Organisation at Pinewood Studios from October 1950 to June 1964, and was credited as executive producer on 131 films. ...

of Rank announced the company (in conjunction with the National Film Fince Corporation) would make a slate of 12 movies at a cost of £1,500,000. In August 1952 St John declared Rank would make more films abroad. In January 1955 Rank announced it would make 12 films at a cost of £1,750,000, with new stars including Peter Finch, Jean Carson and Diane Cilento. In October 1955 the company reported its film production was "satisfactory".

Diversification

In 1945, the company bought the Bush Radio manufacturing facility and began to diversify its interests. In the early 1960s Rank took over

Murphy Radio Murphy Radio was a British manufacturer of radios and televisions based in Welwyn Garden City, England. Murphy Radio was founded in 1929 by Frank Murphy and E.J. Power as a volume manufacturer of home radio sets. Its factories were in the He ...

to form the Rank Bush Murphy Group (which was eventually sold to

Great Universal Stores GUS plc was a FTSE 100 retailing, manufacturing and financial conglomerate based in the United Kingdom. GUS was an abbreviation of Great Universal Stores, the company's name before 2001, while it was also known as the ''Glorious Gussies'' amon ...

in 1978). In 1956, Rank began a partnership with the Haloid Corporation to form

, to manufacture and promote its range of plain paper photocopying equipment. In later years, the waning film company assets were hastily converted and pressed into 'Rank Xerox' service. This venture was a gamble but ultimately the company's saving grace, until, once more in financial difficulties, it signed off increasing percentages of its holdings to the parent company, finally becoming fully integrated into Xerox in the late 1990s.John Clemen
Obituary: Sir John Davis
''The Independent'', 1 July 1993 Rank was also a significant shareholder in the consortium which became

Southern Television Southern Television was the ITV broadcasting licence holder for the South and South-East of England from 30 August 1958 to 31 December 1981. The company was launched as Southern Television Limited. However, in 1966, during the application pr ...

, the first ITV television contract holder for the south of England.

Rank Records

In the late 1950s, The Rank Organisation set up Rank Records Ltd. The record label division was named Top Rank Records and Jaro Records (a US subsidiary). In 1960, Top Rank Records was taken over by

EMI EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...

, and in 1962 they replaced it with

Stateside Records Stateside Records, styled as $tateside Records, is a British record label, owned by Warner Music Group and operates through its Parlophone and Warner Records imprints. Upon creation, it initially released licensed American recordings and is n ...

. Top Rank artists included Gary U.S. Bonds,

the Shirelles The Shirelles were an American girl group formed in Passaic, New Jersey, in 1957. They consisted of schoolmates Shirley Owens (later Shirley Alston Reeves), Doris Coley (later Doris Kenner-Jackson), Addie "Micki" Harris (later Addie Harris McF ...

B. Bumble and the Stingers B. Bumble and the Stingers was an American instrumental ensemble in the early 1960s, specializing in rock and roll arrangements of classical melodies. The band's biggest hits were "Bumble Boogie", which reached number 21 in the US, and "Nut Rock ...

Wilbert Harrison Wilbert Huntington Harrison (January 5, 1929 – October 26, 1994) was an American rhythm and blues singer, pianist, guitarist and harmonica player. Biography Harrison was born in Charlotte, North Carolina. He had a Hot 100 number-one hits o ...

Skip & Flip Skip & Flip was a U.S. pop duo, consisting of Skip ( Clyde Battin) and Flip ( Gary S. Paxton). They met while attending the University of Arizona in the late 1950s. Career Once known as The Rockabillies, they recorded on Rev Records as The Pled ...

, Andy Stewart, Craig Douglas and

John Leyton John Dudley Leyton (born 17 February 1936) is an English retired actor and singer. Leyton as a singer is best known for his hit song "Johnny Remember Me" (written by Geoff Goddard and produced by Joe Meek), which reached number one in the ...

. A US branch operated from 1959 to 1961; its artists included Jack Scott,

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 T ...

Rank Audio Visual

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

Bell & Howell Bell and Howell is a United States brand of cameras, lenses, and motion picture machinery. It was originally founded as a company in 1907, and headquartered in Wheeling, Illinois. The company was acquired by Böwe Systec in 2003. Since 2010, the ...

(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 is a Japanese multinational information technology and electronics corporation, headquartered at the NEC Supertower in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. It provides IT and network solutions, including cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI), Inte ...

of Japan. The production of the "classic" Rank TV ran in the mid to late 70s, and a "modern" Rank TV appeared in the early 1980s. The NEC badge did not appear in the

PAL Phase Alternating Line (PAL) is a color encoding system for analog 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.

Motoring

Top Rank was one of the early operators of

motorway service area Motorway service areas (MSA) also known as services or service stations, are rest areas in the UK and Ireland where drivers can leave a motorway to refuel/recharge, rest, eat and drink, shop, use the toilet or stay in an on-site overnight hotel ...

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

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 Granada ( ; ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada (Spain), Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence ...

and now forming part of

Moto Hospitality Moto Hospitality Limited, trading 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) ...

). There were other small specialised groups, including Rank Taylor Hobson who made inspection equipment, Rank Cintel who made telecine (television film scanners) machines, and Gaumont Kalee who made audio analysis equipment.

Declining involvement in the film industry

During this period, Rank started focusing on primarily solidly commercial ventures, largely aimed at the family market. These include the popular

Norman Wisdom Sir Norman Joseph Wisdom, (4 February 1915 – 4 October 2010), was an English actor, comedian, musician, and singer, best known for his series of comedy films produced between 1953 and 1966, in which he portrayed the endearingly inept charact ...

comedies, the

Doctor Doctor, Doctors, The Doctor or The Doctors may refer to: Titles and occupations * Physician, a medical practitioner * Doctor (title), an academic title for the holder of a doctoral-level degree ** Doctorate ** List of doctoral degrees awarded b ...

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 ...

. Films of note produced during this era include ''

Carve Her Name with Pride ''Carve Her Name with Pride'' is a 1958 British war Drama (film and television), drama film based on the book of the same name by R. J. Minney. The film, directed by Lewis Gilbert, is based on the true story of Special Operations Executive agen ...

'', ''

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, cobalt, lead, chromium, vanadium, magnesium, boron, and silicon. The name ''sapphire ...

'', '' A Night to Remember'' and ''

Victim Victim(s) or The Victim may refer to: People * Crime victim * Victim, in psychotherapy, a posited role in the Karpman drama triangle model of transactional analysis * Casualty (person), the victim of an event Films and television * ''The Victim ...

'', as well as a clutch of prestige topics such as the

Coronation of Elizabeth II The Coronation of the British monarch, coronation of Elizabeth II as queen of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms took place on 2 June 1953 at Westminster Abbey in London. Elizabeth acceded to the throne at the age of 25 upon th ...

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 February 1956, Davis announced Rank would make 20 films at over £3 million. He said "great care will be taken to ensure that, while retaining essentially British characteristics the films will have the widest international appeal. This is part of an intensified drive to secure ever widening showing in overseas markets which already return more than half the revenue earned by Pinewood films." That year, Rank announced it would set up distribution in the United States. In October ,Davis listed the Rank actors he thought could become international stars:

Peter Finch Frederick George Peter Ingle Finch (28 September 191614 January 1977) was an English-Australian actor of theatre, film and radio. Born in London, he emigrated to Australia at the age of ten and was raised in Sydney, where he worked in vaudevi ...

Kay Kendall Justine Kay Kendall McCarthy (21 May 1927 – 6 September 1959) was an English actress and singer. She began her film career in the musical film ''London Town (1946 film), London Town'' (1946), a financial failure. Kendall worked regularly unti ...

Jeannie Carson Jeannie Carson (born Jean Shufflebottom; 23 May 1928 – 1 August 2022) was a British-born American actress, singer, and dancer. She has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Early life Born to show business parents, Carson was born as Jean ...

Virginia McKenna Dame Virginia Anne McKenna (born 7 June 1931) is a British stage and screen actress, author, animal rights activist, and wildlife campaigner. She is best known for the films '' A Town Like Alice'' (1956), ''Carve Her Name with Pride'' (1958), ' ...

Belinda Lee Belinda Lee (15 June 193512 March 1961) was an English actress. A profile for the British Film Institute's Screenonline website asserts: "of all the Rank Organisation's starlets, Belinda Lee stands out as the most notorious, yet paradoxically ...

, Michael Craig, Tony Wright,

Maureen Swanson Maureen Ward, Countess of Dudley (25 November 1932 – 16 November 2011), was a British actress. Born in Glasgow, Scotland, she was the daughter of James Swanson. As Maureen Swanson, she featured in British pictures during the 1950s and retired ...

and

Kenneth More Kenneth Gilbert More (20 September 1914 – 12 July 1982) was an English actor. Initially achieving fame in the comedy ''Genevieve (film), Genevieve'' (1953), he appeared in many roles as a carefree, happy-go-lucky gent. Films from this period ...

. In October 1957, at the 21st birthday for Pinewood Studios, Davis said Rank would make 18 films that year and 20 the next, with the latter costing £5 million. In January 1958 Rank announced it would be stopping four films and sacking over 300 workers in an economy measure to do an overall fall in cinema attendances. (Four films it were making at the time were '' A Night to Remember'', ''

Nor the Moon by Night ''Nor the Moon by Night'' is a 1958 British drama film directed by Ken Annakin and starring Belinda Lee, Michael Craig and Patrick McGoohan. It was written by Guy Elmes based on the 1957 novel of the same ttitle by Joy Packer and partly fil ...

'', ''

The Wind Cannot Read ''The Wind Cannot Read'' is a 1958 British drama film directed by Ralph Thomas and starring Dirk Bogarde, Yoko Tani, Ronald Lewis and John Fraser. It was based on the 1946 novel by Richard Mason, who also wrote the screenplay. Ralph Thom ...

'' and '' Innocent Sinners'' which cost £1.1 million in total. In September 1958 the company had lost £1,264,000 on films causing the group's profit to drop from £5 million to £1.8 million. John Davis wound up several long term contracts Rank had with talent. "The trouble with some of them is they won't work," he said. "They lose their sense of proportion." To recoup some of their losses, Rank sold

and its library to

Associated British Picture Corporation Associated British Picture Corporation (ABPC), originally British International Pictures (BIP), was a British film production, distribution and exhibition company active from 1927 until 1970 when it was absorbed into EMI. ABPC also owned appr ...

. In the late 1950s, Sydney Box became head of production; he retired from the industry in 1959. In January 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. In October 1962, Lord Rank resigned as chairman of the company and was replaced by managing director Davis. That year, the company made a group profit of over £6 million and stated 41% of its film production income came from overseas. In October 1964, Davis reported profits of £4.6 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, comprising only child actor ...

'' (which they co-produced with

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

, 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 ''Eagle's Wing'' is a 1979 British Western film made in 1979. It stars Martin Sheen, Sam Waterston and Harvey Keitel. It was directed by Anthony Harvey, with a story by Michael Syson and a screenplay by John Briley. It won the British Soci ...

'', ''

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 unde ...

'', '' The Thirty Nine Steps'', '' Riddle of the Sands'' and '' Silver Dream Racer''. (Another account said the company committed £4 million a year over three years.) 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 Rank cinemas refused to play some of the movies. 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. 16 April 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 by ...

'' – 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 1982, the company partnered with Andre Blay Corporation to license its British title library to home video. In 1986, Rank Film Distributors and archrival Cannon Screen Entertainment signed a deal with the

to gain access to Rank's nineteen feature offerings. In 1987, the Rank Film Distributors group received a $100 million fund for film financing, and the Rank Film and Television division had invested in $32 million that they would take the budget against non-U.S. rights. In 1995, the

Rank Group The Rank Group plc 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 su ...

acquired all the outstanding shares of the Rank Organisation. In spring 1997, the Rank Group sold Rank Film Distributors, including its library of 749 films, to

Carlton Communications Carlton Communications plc was a British media company. It was led by Michael P. Green and listed on the London Stock Exchange from 1983 until 2 February 2004, when it was bought by Granada plc in a corporate takeover to form ITV plc. Carlton s ...

for £65 million and immediately became known as Carlton/RFD Ltd. Pinewood Studios and Odeon Cinemas were both sold off in February 2000 for £62 million and £280 million respectively. The company finally severed its remaining connections with the film industry in 2005, when it sold its DVD distribution business and Deluxe technical support unit.

Filmography

*See List of Films Financed by Rank

References

Bibliography

* Geoffrey Macnab, ''J. Arthur Rank and the British Film Industry'', London, Routledge (1993), . * Alan Wood, ''Mr. Rank'', London,

Hodder & Stoughton Hodder & Stoughton is a British publishing house, now an imprint of Hachette.H ...

(1952). * Quentin Falk, ''The Golden Gong: Fifty years of the Rank Organisation, its films and its stars'', London, Columbus Books (1987),

External links

American Rank Records listing

at

BFI Screenonline Screenonline is a website about the history of British film, television and social history as documented by film and television. The project has been developed by the British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and tele ...

The Rank Organisation
at

IMDb IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rank Organisation, The Butlins Carlton Television British companies established in 1937 Mass media companies established in 1937 Film production companies of the United Kingdom ITV (TV network) 1937 establishments in England 1996 disestablishments in England Recipients of the Scientific and Technical Academy Award of Merit Canadian companies established in 1937 Canadian companies disestablished in 1996 American companies disestablished in 1996

Origin

Filmmaking in the 1940s

Growth

Crisis and diversification

Diversification

Rank Records

Rank Audio Visual

Motoring

Declining involvement in the film industry

Temporary revival and last years

Filmography

See also

References

Bibliography

External links