Rank Organisation

The Rank Organisation, a United Kingdom entertainment company formed in 1937 and absorbed in 1996 by The Rank Group Plc.

= Origin =

The Rank Organisation was created by J. Arthur Rank in 1937 to consolidate all of his interests in the film industry. A history of these interests prior to 1937 is found under the entry for J. Arthur Rank.

= Growth =

From its inception in 1937 the Rank Organisation became a major force in United Kingdom film, distribution and exhibition. Its trade mark was characterised by its corporate logo of the Gongman and it acquired these properties:

Entertains Our Nation .

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Late 1940s : Acquires majority share in Allied Cinemas and Irish Cinemas Ltd. becoming the largest exhibition circuit in Ireland (a position it maintained until the early 1980s.)

= Assets =

Eventually the Rank Organisation owned five major film studios which included both Pinewood Film Studios and Denham Film Studios and 650 cinemas. Independent Producers Ltd, employed some of Britain s greatest directors, such as Michael Latham Powell and Emeric Pressburger ( Black Narcissus , The Red Shoes , I Know Where I m Going! ), David Lean ( Brief Encounter , Great Expectations ), Frank Launder and Sidney Gilliat ( I See A Dark Stranger , The Happiest Days of Your Life ), Ken Annakin ( Holiday Camp ) and Muriel Box ( The Seventh Veil ).

, one of the costliest flops in British film history.

1959 to 1969, the company made over 500 weekly short cinema films in the Look at Life series, each film depicting an area of British life.

1966 to 1978, the Rank Organization took over production and distribution of the Carry On films, after Anglo-Amalgamated announced after the death of Nat Cohen, they did not want any more Carry Ons produced under them.

= Diversification =

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and closed Independent Producers Ltd.

1956 Partnership with the Haloid Corporation to form Rank Xerox.

= Decline =

The Rank Organisation ceased film production in 1980. In October 1996 The Rank Group Plc became a holding company owning all the outstanding shares of The Rank Organisation.

=See also=

*RHM - formerly Rank Hovis McDougall, the family flour milling company of J. Arthur Rank

= External links =

*[http://www.rank.com Rank Group] *[http://www.odeon.co.uk ODEON Cinemas]