J. Arthur Rank

Joseph Arthur Rank, 1st Baron Rank (December 23 1888 – March 29 1972) was a British industrialist and film producer, and founder of the Rank Organisation, now known as The Rank Group Plc.

Rank Organisation

In 1937 J. Arthur Rank began to consolidate his movie interests in both the Pinewood Film Studios and the Denham Film Studios and other interests within a new company called the Rank Organisation. In 1938 the Rank Organisation bought the ODEON cinema chain (named after its founder's own ambition: Oscar Deutsch Entertains Our Nation). In 1939 the Rank Organisation bought Amalgamated Studios in Elstree and in 1941 it absorbed the Gaumont-British Picture Corporation who owned 251 cinemas and the Shepherd's Bush Studios (which the Rank Organisation later sold to BBC Television.) It also bought the Paramount cinema chain so that by 1942 the Rank Organisation owned 619 cinemas. A more complete history is found under the Rank Organisation from 1937 to 1986 and The Rank Group Plc which absorbed the Rank Organisation in 1986.

Related Topics:
1937 - Pinewood Film Studios - Denham Film Studios - Rank Organisation - 1938 - ODEON - Cinema - Oscar Deutsch - 1939 - Elstree - 1941 - Gaumont - Shepherd's Bush Studios - BBC Television - Paramount - 1942 - 1986 - The Rank Group Plc

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