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The Rank Organisation (UK)
Logo descriptions by Nicholas Aczel, Sean Beard, and Eric S.
Logo captures by Eric S.
Video captures courtesy of daktaritubabu, KidCaibre, IndentsandLogos and Eric S.
Background: The company was founded in 1938 by producer Joseph Arthur Rank as General Film Distributors. Rank, as a company, still exists today as The Rank Group plc., a hotel, resort, and casino operator. The Rank film archive is now owned by Granada International, a subsidiary of ITV plc.
General Film Distributors
(1938-1944)
Nickname: “The Gong Man”
Logo: On a backdrop of draped curtains, we see a shirtless man (Carl Dane), hitting a large gong twice with his mallet. As this happens, we zoom up to the gong, and the words “GENERAL FILM DISTRIBUTORS” in a long Times News Roman-like font fade in on the gong.
FX/SFX: It's live-action.
Cheesy Factor: The words appearing over the live-action logo.
Music/Sounds: The three “hits” of the gong.
Availability: Very rare. However, it was seen on some movies produced and/or distributed by this company, such as Young and Innocent and Pygmalion, among others.
Scare Factor: Medium.
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The Rank Organisation
(1944-1997)
Nicknames: "Gong", “Man Hitting Gong”, “Gongman”, "The New Gongman"
Logo: On a backdrop of draped red curtains, we see a shirtless man (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:
FX/SFX: Mainly live action, but on the golden age version, the words appear via a “wipe” effect.
Cheesy Factor: The words appearing over the live-action logo, as well as the looped footage of the 1982-1997 version.
Music/Sounds: The two “hits” of the gong.
Availability: The Rank Organisation film library was sold to Carlton Television in 1997. Carlton originally deleted the logo from its prints (seeing as they have a nasty habit of removing/plastering logos), but now it is steadily reappearing on recently remastered TV prints and home video releases. Restoration and remastering of the Rank film archive continues under Granada International's ownership. Among the many Rank movies include the classics Henry V, Hamlet, The Red Shoes, Ladykillers, and The Ipcress File, and the 1980s distribution variant can be seen on Transformers: The Movie. Interestingly, the 1970s variant can be seen on Short Circuit in the UK, whenever a TV station decides to air it.
Scare Factor: Medium; 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.
Logo captures by Eric S.
Video captures courtesy of daktaritubabu, KidCaibre, IndentsandLogos and Eric S.
Background: The company was founded in 1938 by producer Joseph Arthur Rank as General Film Distributors. Rank, as a company, still exists today as The Rank Group plc., a hotel, resort, and casino operator. The Rank film archive is now owned by Granada International, a subsidiary of ITV plc.
General Film Distributors
(1938-1944)
Logo: On a backdrop of draped curtains, we see a shirtless man (Carl Dane), hitting a large gong twice with his mallet. As this happens, we zoom up to the gong, and the words “GENERAL FILM DISTRIBUTORS” in a long Times News Roman-like font fade in on the gong.
FX/SFX: It's live-action.
Cheesy Factor: The words appearing over the live-action logo.
Music/Sounds: The three “hits” of the gong.
Availability: Very rare. However, it was seen on some movies produced and/or distributed by this company, such as Young and Innocent and Pygmalion, among others.
Scare Factor: Medium.
_______________________________________________________________
The Rank Organisation
(1944-1997)
Nicknames: "Gong", “Man Hitting Gong”, “Gongman”, "The New Gongman"
Logo: On a backdrop of draped red curtains, we see a shirtless man (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:
- 1944-1955: “J. ARTHUR RANK PRESENTS”. This one has been nicknamed the “golden age version”.
- 1955-1997: “THE J. ARTHUR RANK ORGANISATION presents” or simply “THE RANK ORGANISATION presents”. The words are seen in a stylized font. In 1957, this logo was refilmed with Ken Richmond now hitting the gong.
- 1970-1982: “THE RANK ORGANISATION” is seen in a boxy font.
- 1982-1997: On films distributed by Rank, the words “RANK FILM DISTRIBUTORS present” are seen over the logo in the 1970s logo font. 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.
Cheesy Factor: The words appearing over the live-action logo, as well as the looped footage of the 1982-1997 version.
Music/Sounds: The two “hits” of the gong.
Availability: The Rank Organisation film library was sold to Carlton Television in 1997. Carlton originally deleted the logo from its prints (seeing as they have a nasty habit of removing/plastering logos), but now it is steadily reappearing on recently remastered TV prints and home video releases. Restoration and remastering of the Rank film archive continues under Granada International's ownership. Among the many Rank movies include the classics Henry V, Hamlet, The Red Shoes, Ladykillers, and The Ipcress File, and the 1980s distribution variant can be seen on Transformers: The Movie. Interestingly, the 1970s variant can be seen on Short Circuit in the UK, whenever a TV station decides to air it.
Scare Factor: Medium; 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.
Lazlow |
Latest page update: made by Lazlow
, Jul 14 2009, 4:57 PM EDT
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