The Rank Organisation (UK)

The Rank Organisation was founded in 1937 by producer Joseph Arthur Rank. Rank, as a company, still exists today as The Rank Group plc., a hotel, resort, and casino operator. The Rank Group acquired all of The Rank Organisation's shares and company in 1995. The Rank film archive is now owned by ITV Studios Global Entertainment, a subsidiary of ITV plc. The films Rank merely distributed have gone to different owners.

(January 1937-May 1955)
Nicknames: "Successor of Lumiton Gongman", "Gong", "Man Hitting Gong", "Gongman", "Lumiton's Big Brother".

Logo: On a backdrop of draped curtains, we see a shirtless man (Carl Dane), hitting a large gong thrice with his mallet. As this happens, we zoom up to the gong, and the words “GENERAL FILM DISTRIBUTORS LTD.” fade in on the gong, while zooming-in.

FX/SFX: It's live-action.

Music/Sounds: The three “hits” of the gong.

Availability: Very rare. However, it is seen on films produced and/or distributed by this company, such as Young and Innocent and Pygmalion, among others.

Editor's Note: The gonging and dark atmosphere may scare some.

(November 9, 1942-November 21, 1997)
Nicknames: "Gong II", "Man Hitting Gong II", "Gongman II", "The New Gongman"

Logo: On a backdrop of draped red curtains, we see a shirtless man, who happens to be Billy Wells, hitting a large gong twice with his mallet. As this happens, we zoom up to the gong, and the words “J. ARTHUR RANK PRESENTS” in a long bold font fade in on the gong.

Variants: The Rank logo has had many renditions over the years. Here are some of them:


 * 1942-1950: “J. ARTHUR RANK PRESENTS”. This one has been nicknamed the “golden age version”.
 * 1950-1997: “THE J. ARTHUR RANK ORGANISATION presents” or simply “THE RANK ORGANISATION presents”. The words are seen in a stylized font. In 1955, this logo was re-filmed with Ken Richmond now hitting the gong.
 * A German variant of the 1955 rendition exists, reading Die Rank Organisation zeigt (roughly translating to The Rank Organization presents ).
 * 1960s: A extremely rare still distribution version where there is no gong footage. Instead are the words "Distributed by THE RANK ORGANISATION" on a curtain background.
 * 1970-1982: “THE RANK ORGANISATION” is seen in Microgramma Bold.
 * 1982-1997: On films distributed by Rank, the words “RANK FILM DISTRIBUTORS present” are seen over the logo in the 1970s logo typeface. The logo is re-framed to make it appear as if it is now a close-up shot, and the gong man is seen repeatedly striking the gong (the footage is looped here).

FX/SFX: Mainly live action, but on the golden age version, the words appear via a “wipe” effect.

Music/Sounds: The two “hits” of the gong. On other early logos, the gong sounds different. Sometimes, it's silent.

Availability: Much more common than the General Film Distibutors Ltd. logo.
 * When The Rank Organisation's film library was sold to Carlton Television in 1997, Carlton deleted the logo from many of its prints (seeing as they have a nasty habit of removing/plastering logos). However, it has since reappeared on remastered prints of these films. Restoration and remastering of the Rank film archive continues under ITV Studios' ownership.
 * Among the films containing this logo are well-known classics such as Henry V, Hamlet, The Red Shoes, The Ladykillers, and The Ipcress File.
 * The 1980s distribution variant can be seen on international prints of The Transformers: The Movie and is retained on the 1999 VHS and 2000 DVD from Rhino Home Video, alongside the 2000 UK VHS and DVD releases from Maverick Entertainment and the 4:3 print featured on the 2007 Metrodome Distribution DVD (Most later prints of the film, like the widescreen remaster, do not have this, as they use North American prints of the film, which contains the 1986 De Laurentiis Entertainment Group logo but retains the gong sounds). It is also seen on recent UK DVDs and TV airings of Weekend at Bernie's and Strictly Ballroom after the current Granada logo (the latter also appears on the U.S Lionsgate Blu-ray), as well as on the 2011 Severin Films DVD and Blu-ray of BMX Bandits.
 * The 1970s variant can be seen on UK TV prints and the Network DVD of Short Circuit (again, after the Granada logo). This logo also recently turned up on an Australian airing of the 1949 film Eureka Stockade. Also appeared on a U.S. streaming print of Gleaming the Cube on Amazon Prime Video. Though Rank distributed Reservoir Dogs in the UK, this did not appear at all on the film. The German variant was spotted on a May 22, 1982 ARD airing of Fähre nach Hongkong (Ferry to Hong Kong).

Editor's Note: This is one of the most famous British logos of all time, but it is understandable that some may be bothered by the loud gong sounds and/or the dark environment.