It was in 1933 that J Arthur Rank, a middle-aged Yorkshire flour magnate, decided to equip various Methodist halls and churches with their own movie projectors. Little did he know it then, but Rank ...

OLYMPIC medal-winning wrestler Kenneth Richmond, who became a screen icon as the man who banged the gong for J Arthur Rank films, has died at his home in Christchurch at the age of 80. After winning ...

Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. At least for now, the image of boxer Billy Wells and the famous J Arthur Rank gong are still the official logo ...

Rank is planning to sever its last link with its celluloid heritage with the sale or demerger of its Deluxe film-making arm. The group yesterday said it would investigate "separating" Deluxe from its ...

His gleaming, oiled torso became known to millions as he banged away at the gong whose bongs signalled the start of Rank films that included Blithe Spirit and Olivier’s Henry V. Now the film world is ...

I HAVE never had it verified but, as a young lad, I always understood from an elderly relative that J Arthur's gong bonger was Jerome K Jerome, the author of Three Men in a Boat. I have a sneaking ...

IT WAS eyes down for a full house at Rank after its joint broker threw a few speculative balls into the air. Deutsche Bank advised clients to have a punt because the recent loss of a key contract to ...

After more than 70 years, the only British movie company able to compete with Hollywood has cut its last ties with the industry, writes Geoffrey MacNab. In 1933, J. Arthur Rank, a middle-aged British ...

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