The Rank Organisation

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 company itself became a wholly owned subsidiary of Xerox and was renamed XRO Limited in 1997.[1]

The Rank Organisation
TypePublic
IndustryEntertainment
Founded23 April 1937; 85 years ago (1937-04-23)
FounderJ. Arthur Rank
Defunct7 February 1996; 27 years ago (1996-02-07)
FateAssets sold to Rank Group. Film assets now owned by ITV plc
SuccessorRank Group
HeadquartersLondon, England

The company logo, the Gongman, first used in 1935 by the group's distribution company General Film Distributors[2] and seen in the opening titles of the films, became a celebrated and enduring film emblem.[3]


Share this article:

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article The Rank Organisation, and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.